The grisly work of forensic investigators at the scene of a possible war crime.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on forensic evidence
Displaying 1 - 20 of 21 articles
As a forensic scientist who has worked at thousands of homicide, sexual assault and serious crime scenes, I can tell you the process is not as straightforward as depicted on popular true crime shows.
Artificial intelligence could help police catch criminals – but we need human experts for the big cases.
No one knows exactly how AI-based DNA analysis software works, so it can’t be scrutinised in court.
The debate about the reliability of forensic evidence reflects a lack of understanding of how forensic science is best used in the justice system, rather than a problem with forensic science itself.
What happens during a forensic medical examination? And if you’ve been sexually assaulted, what can you expect?
‘This is going to affect how we determine time since death’: how studying body donors in the bush is changing forensic science.
The Conversation, CC BY77.2 MB (download)
On the outskirts of Sydney, in a secret bushland location, lies what's officially known as the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research. In books or movies, it'd be called a body farm.
The Ixil people of Guatemala dream of the places where their dead, massacred during the country’s armed conflict might be located.
Lifting fingermarks from a crime scene often destroys the DNA they can contain.
Research is increasingly proving fingerprints can be used for much more than identifying people.
Fingerprinting is a valuable police tool for tracking down suspects, but it’s not perfect. However, we can reduce the risk of any mistaken identity if we work within the limits of fingerprinting.
Forensics has a way to go before it’s a mature, academic science. Attorney General Jeff Sessions just terminated an independent commission charged with helping it get there.
Is forensic science an oxymoron? A new White House report suggests there are major issues with many of the forensic disciplines used to convict defendants of crimes in the U.S.
A US report has cast doubt on a range of techniques commonly used to secure criminal convictions, such as identification using bite marks, hair strands or footwear.
New plastic banknotes pose a challenge to forensic scientists that clever chemistry can solve.
Bodies thought to belong to members of Russia’s murdered royal family are to be re-examined for new evidence but forensics has its potential and limitations.
So much of modern life involves our digital devices – including crime. As the field of digital forensics gains prominence, practitioners need practical and ethical guidelines.
Forensic science has revolutionised justice, but we may have too much faith in it.
Forensics is changing in the digital age, and the legal system is still catching up in terms of how it uses digital evidence.
Despite what we see on television, forensic science is not always easy to understand or simple to convey to a jury, many of whom may not have studied science since they were in school. When a case fails…
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer, The University of Melbourne
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Centre director, University of Dundee
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Director Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, University of Dundee
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Honorary Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow, University of Leicester
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PhD student in computer science, Murdoch University
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Professor of Criminal Jurisprudence, University of Nottingham
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Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice and Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
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Deputy Dean, School of Law, Deakin University
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Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Georgia State University
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Reader, Loughborough University
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Professor of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Bournemouth University
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Professor of Data Science, Bournemouth University
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Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science, Murdoch University
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Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Surrey
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Professor of Chemistry and Forensic and Investigative Science, West Virginia University
