Forensic Science & Criminal Investigation

Forensic science plays a vital role in the criminal justice system by providing scientifically based information through the analysis of physical evidence. During an investigation, evidence is collected at a crime scene or from a person, analysed in a forensic laboratory and then the results presented in court.Forensic Science defines as “The application of science to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced by the police agencies in a criminal justice system”. Forensic Science deals with the application of the knowledge and methodology of various disciplines of science to legal matters. It involves the use of multiple disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, computer science and engineering for evidence analysis. For instance, physics is used to understand the pattern of a blood spatter, biology to establish the source of an unidentified suspect and chemistry to determine the composition of drugs. Thus, the role of forensic science in criminal justice and the legal system is highly critical but is often underrated.