Trever
Should I pursue a career in Forensics if it is largely considered to be unscientific?
Hello, I am a freshman in community college, and I've been recently more intrigued in pursuing Forensics in school and as a career choice. I was feeling pretty good about it, but then after doing some more research online, it seems to be that most of what makes up Forensics is quite unreliable when it comes to actually applying science to criminal justice. Such as DNA analysis being unreliable, ballistics and things like threads from clothing being unreliable. I haven't looked much deeper into the reasoning for these claims yet, but I will say that they make me feel quite discouraged from pursuing a career that took a lot of thought to decide on. I still have time to change direction, but I would love to hear any possible advice about the validity of claims like this, and what I should maybe do going forward. Thank you in advance!
2 answers
Karin P.
Karin’s Answer
I think you are confusing "unscientific" and infallible. Forensics is definitely based on science and the main reason many criminals can be found and convicted. DNA evidence is often considered the gold standard of forensic evidence - used to convict criminals but also to exonerate innocent people. That's not to say, that mistakes don't happen, but they can happen in any science.
Just like in any science, you need to understand the scientific basis of the method you use for an analysis, the detection limit of the method and the instrumentation you use for the analysis. You need to consider the possibility of contamination as well as all other sources of error (including human error) and consider the confidence interval. Preparation methods, analytical methods and results are tested and validated to get the best results, and the interpretation of results is an important part of the work. As a scientist you always question your results and try to confirm preliminary results. In forensics you usually have more than one kind of evidence. The different techniques used on different types of samples often complement each other and increase the confidence interval. That's where years of education, training and experience come in.
If you think you might be interested in forensics, talk to some people who work in this field to get a better picture what their work entails. Majoring in forensics is not the only path into a forensics lab. There are chemists, biologists, geologists, computer scientists and many more specialists working in forensics. See if you can arrange for a visit to a forensics lab or maybe even an internship. The central lab for the Virginia Department of Forensic Services is in Richmond. Regional labs are in Norfolk, Manassas and Roanoke. Also in Richmond are Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) which offers an undergraduate degree in forensics, as well as the Virginia Forensic Science Academy where law enforcement personnel train.
If you like analytical sciences and like to solve riddles but don't want to help putting people in jail, you could also look at the environmental field. You could major in environmental science or chemistry and analyze pollution in air, soil and water samples.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Karin recommends the following next steps:
Raj Khurana
Raj’s Answer
Forensics is very much science and engineering. Example, for human criminal activity, you need to understand human biology and related areas, such as DNA. For computer criminal activity, you need to have knowledge of computer science and related computer forensics.
Regardless of what you decide to pursue, my basic guidance is to study something you like and are passionate and curious about. In your path, be prepared for ups and downs but you should never give up in spite of obstacles and complete your college degree.
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Trever