The CWCY is a joint project of the Center of Wrongful Convictions and Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic. It is the only innocence project in the country that focuses exclusively on individuals who were convicted or accused of crimes when they were adolescents or younger. The CWCY believes that youth itself can be a contributing factor to wrongful convictions. Click here to find out why.
The CWCY is dedicated to identifying, investigating, and litigating credible innocence claims of wrongfully convicted young people and preventing future wrongful convictions. We support litigators and advocates in efforts to improve the juvenile and criminal justice system to assure that only reliable evidence is used in prosecuting and convicting youth.
Link: http://www.cwcy.org/Default.aspx
Favorite Quotes
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Smartphone security attacks on the rise.
Worms, spam, viruses and hackers -- they're not just for your desktop or laptop anymore. According to internet security experts they could be well on their way into your pocket or purse.
The popularity of smartphones -- like the Blackberry, iPhone, Palm and the emerging Droid -- is on the rise and shows no signs of letting up.
And that's making the phones a sweeter target for online ne'er do-wells looking to, at the very least, cause mischief and, at worst, rip off unsuspecting phone owners.
"It's guaranteed that almost everything we see on a computer will show up on a smartphone -- and some new things," said Jake Widman, a San Francisco-based technology writer and analyst
Security companies already have seen several threats hitting smartphones. In most cases, they say, they're targeted at individuals rather than the millions of desktop or laptop users that a typical e-mail attack can impact.
"What we haven't seen is the massive anonymous attacking across all of the smartphone bases," Storms said. "[Traditional] worms and viruses continue to breed and move on from computer to computer -- the attacks we see today on the smartphone market are targeted attacks."
Security analysts say they've already seen all of the major online threats -- Trojan horses, viruses, worms -- spreading on smartphones, often through e-mail attachments sent to the phones.
One attack even used a Bluetooth headset to try to attack other Bluetooth users within 20 feet of the infected unit.
Security problems most pronounced in the early days of the smartphone -- when a majority of them ran on a single operating system and it was easier for malware to spread from one phone to the next.
One of the problems now, analysts say, is that people who take security precautions on their home computers either forget to do so with their phones or don't think they need to in the first place.
Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/25/smartphone.security/index.html
The popularity of smartphones -- like the Blackberry, iPhone, Palm and the emerging Droid -- is on the rise and shows no signs of letting up.
And that's making the phones a sweeter target for online ne'er do-wells looking to, at the very least, cause mischief and, at worst, rip off unsuspecting phone owners.
"It's guaranteed that almost everything we see on a computer will show up on a smartphone -- and some new things," said Jake Widman, a San Francisco-based technology writer and analyst
Security companies already have seen several threats hitting smartphones. In most cases, they say, they're targeted at individuals rather than the millions of desktop or laptop users that a typical e-mail attack can impact.
"What we haven't seen is the massive anonymous attacking across all of the smartphone bases," Storms said. "[Traditional] worms and viruses continue to breed and move on from computer to computer -- the attacks we see today on the smartphone market are targeted attacks."
Security analysts say they've already seen all of the major online threats -- Trojan horses, viruses, worms -- spreading on smartphones, often through e-mail attachments sent to the phones.
One attack even used a Bluetooth headset to try to attack other Bluetooth users within 20 feet of the infected unit.
Security problems most pronounced in the early days of the smartphone -- when a majority of them ran on a single operating system and it was easier for malware to spread from one phone to the next.
One of the problems now, analysts say, is that people who take security precautions on their home computers either forget to do so with their phones or don't think they need to in the first place.
Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/25/smartphone.security/index.html
Sunday, October 25, 2009
What will privatizing super maximum prisons in Arizona mean for it's inmates, can they expect fair treatment?
One of the newest residents on Arizona's death row, serial killer Dale Hausner, poked his head up from his television to look at several visitors strolling by, each of whom wore face masks and vests to protect against the sharp homemade objects that often are propelled from the cells of the condemned.
It is a dangerous place to patrol, and Arizona spends $4.7 million each year to house inmates such as Hausner in a super-maximum-security prison. But in a first in the criminal-justice world, the state's death-row inmates could become the responsibility of a private company.
State officials soon will seek bids from private companies for nine of the state's 10 prison complexes that house roughly 40,000 inmates, including the 127 on death row. It is the first attempt by a state to put its entire prison system under private control.
The privatization effort, in its breadth and aggressive financial goals, demonstrates what states — broke, desperate and often overburdened with prisoners and their associated costs — are willing to do to balance the books. Arizona officials hope the effort will put a $100 million dent in the state's roughly $2 billion budget shortfall.
The privatization move has raised questions about the ability of the private sector to handle the state's most hardened criminals. While executions would be performed by the state, officials said, the Department of Corrections would relinquish all other day-to-day operations to the private operator and pay a per-diem fee for each prisoner.
Link:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010127223_prison24.html#
It is a dangerous place to patrol, and Arizona spends $4.7 million each year to house inmates such as Hausner in a super-maximum-security prison. But in a first in the criminal-justice world, the state's death-row inmates could become the responsibility of a private company.
State officials soon will seek bids from private companies for nine of the state's 10 prison complexes that house roughly 40,000 inmates, including the 127 on death row. It is the first attempt by a state to put its entire prison system under private control.
The privatization effort, in its breadth and aggressive financial goals, demonstrates what states — broke, desperate and often overburdened with prisoners and their associated costs — are willing to do to balance the books. Arizona officials hope the effort will put a $100 million dent in the state's roughly $2 billion budget shortfall.
The privatization move has raised questions about the ability of the private sector to handle the state's most hardened criminals. While executions would be performed by the state, officials said, the Department of Corrections would relinquish all other day-to-day operations to the private operator and pay a per-diem fee for each prisoner.
Link:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010127223_prison24.html#
Friday, October 23, 2009
The National Motorist Association has organized every states vehicle code on one easy to read page.
Each state has a vehicle code, which is the collection of laws that govern the use of motor vehicles in that state. Some states make it easier than others to find specific laws, but each state’s vehicle code covers a wide range of violations including speeding violations, red light violations, and other ticketable offenses.
Link:
http://www.motorists.org/blog/vehicle-code-by-state/
Link:
http://www.motorists.org/blog/vehicle-code-by-state/
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Denture creams and an anonymous comment.
I recently received an anonymous comment concerning the possible side effects of denture creams with zinc and other active ingredients. The comment included a link which directed me to a wesbite that a law firm had recently set up. After researching the story online I am led to one conclusion, there are dozen's of attorney's setting up websites looking for possible class action lawsuits against the leading manufactures of these products. It was very difficult to find evidence supporting illnesses associated with using denture creams.
Link: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/12143
Link: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/12143
A shooting in a Day Care center, are police changing their account of what transpired?
ROCKFORD, Ill. (CN) - Police officers chased an unarmed young man into a day care center and shot him in the head in front of 10 children after he surrendered, the children's parents and day care employees say in Federal Court. The families say the police then detained the kids, refused to feed them, lied to them, and tried to make them change their stories about what they had seen.
Guns drawn, Rockford police Officers Stanton North and Oda Poole chased 23-year-old Mark Balmore into the House of Grace Christian Learning Center in August, according to the complaint. Day-care workers said the officers pointed their guns "into a classroom full of children" as they sought Balmore for "alleged criminal activity."
(The Rockford Register Star reported that Balmore may have been involved in "two domestic disputes.")
Balmore hid in a basement equipment room next to the children's play area, and when he came out, unarmed, with his hands raised, the officers shot him once in the head and several times in the back, the day care workers said.
Link:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/10/20/Grisly_Scene_Inside_Day_Care_Center.htm
Guns drawn, Rockford police Officers Stanton North and Oda Poole chased 23-year-old Mark Balmore into the House of Grace Christian Learning Center in August, according to the complaint. Day-care workers said the officers pointed their guns "into a classroom full of children" as they sought Balmore for "alleged criminal activity."
(The Rockford Register Star reported that Balmore may have been involved in "two domestic disputes.")
Balmore hid in a basement equipment room next to the children's play area, and when he came out, unarmed, with his hands raised, the officers shot him once in the head and several times in the back, the day care workers said.
Link:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/10/20/Grisly_Scene_Inside_Day_Care_Center.htm
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
DNA evidence does not always give a complete picture.
Justin Sallis was arrested by U.S. marshals Aug. 17 in Chicago.
The 26-year-old Minneapolis man spent 25 days in jail waiting to be extradited to Minnesota.
On Sept. 11 — the day after he was returned to the Twin Cities — St. Paul police told Sallis he was charged with rape. The victim, 23, who was raped in a St. Paul alley, was a woman Sallis had dated in March.
Sallis told police that. The officer didn't believe him.
But when the investigator for Sallis' attorney showed the victim photos of Sallis, she immediately told them he wasn't the rapist. Later that day, the Ramsey County attorney's office dismissed the felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge against Sallis and offered him a bus ticket back to Chicago.
Sallis declined the gesture.
The key evidence was DNA found on the victim that matched Sallis'. But experts say prosecutors can't always rely on DNA to tell the story. Popular TV shows like "CSI" have made jurors expect DNA evidence in court cases, they say.
Link:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13475788?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com
The 26-year-old Minneapolis man spent 25 days in jail waiting to be extradited to Minnesota.
On Sept. 11 — the day after he was returned to the Twin Cities — St. Paul police told Sallis he was charged with rape. The victim, 23, who was raped in a St. Paul alley, was a woman Sallis had dated in March.
Sallis told police that. The officer didn't believe him.
But when the investigator for Sallis' attorney showed the victim photos of Sallis, she immediately told them he wasn't the rapist. Later that day, the Ramsey County attorney's office dismissed the felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge against Sallis and offered him a bus ticket back to Chicago.
Sallis declined the gesture.
The key evidence was DNA found on the victim that matched Sallis'. But experts say prosecutors can't always rely on DNA to tell the story. Popular TV shows like "CSI" have made jurors expect DNA evidence in court cases, they say.
Link:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13475788?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com
The Fingerprint Sourcebook, can be a useful resource for the private investigator.
Chapters 1 & 4 are available as a Pdf.
The Sourcebook will be published in stages.
Link:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/225320.htm
The Sourcebook will be published in stages.
Link:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/225320.htm
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Two useful websites for the private investigator looking for information about potential bad relationships.
"Don't Date Him Girl" & "Dating Psychos" offer women & men a place to post pictures and information about bad dates. Private investigators looking for information or pictures of clients may find these links to be useful.
Links:
http://dontdatehimgirl.com/search/
http://www.datingpsychos.com/
Links:
http://dontdatehimgirl.com/search/
http://www.datingpsychos.com/
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is a good resource for private investigators working College/University cases.
"The mission of FIRE is to defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience — the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. FIRE's core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.
In 1998, Alan Charles Kors and Harvey A. Silverglate co-authored The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses. In response, they received hundreds of communications and pleas for help from victims of illiberal policies and double standards that violated their rights and intruded upon their private consciences. To answer these calls for help and to transform the culture, Alan and Harvey founded FIRE.
FIRE effectively and decisively defends American liberties on behalf of thousands of students and faculty on our nation's campuses. In case after case, FIRE brings about favorable resolutions for these individuals who continue to be challenged by those willing to deny fundamental rights and liberties within our institutions of higher education. In addition to individual case work, FIRE works nationally to inform the public about the fate of liberty on our campuses.
FIRE's work to protect fundamental rights on campus concentrates on four areas: freedom of speech and expression; religious liberty and freedom of association; freedom of conscience; and due process and legal equality on campus. Ultimately, FIRE seeks to end the debilitating fatalism that paralyzes students and faculty by bringing public attention to the issue while providing protection to those who are now helpless in the face of abuses of power on campuses across the nation."
Link: http://www.thefire.org/article/4891.html
In 1998, Alan Charles Kors and Harvey A. Silverglate co-authored The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses. In response, they received hundreds of communications and pleas for help from victims of illiberal policies and double standards that violated their rights and intruded upon their private consciences. To answer these calls for help and to transform the culture, Alan and Harvey founded FIRE.
FIRE effectively and decisively defends American liberties on behalf of thousands of students and faculty on our nation's campuses. In case after case, FIRE brings about favorable resolutions for these individuals who continue to be challenged by those willing to deny fundamental rights and liberties within our institutions of higher education. In addition to individual case work, FIRE works nationally to inform the public about the fate of liberty on our campuses.
FIRE's work to protect fundamental rights on campus concentrates on four areas: freedom of speech and expression; religious liberty and freedom of association; freedom of conscience; and due process and legal equality on campus. Ultimately, FIRE seeks to end the debilitating fatalism that paralyzes students and faculty by bringing public attention to the issue while providing protection to those who are now helpless in the face of abuses of power on campuses across the nation."
Link: http://www.thefire.org/article/4891.html
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What is the number one lie in police work?
The number one lie in police work, according to Karen Kruger, Senior Assistant County Attorney in Bel Air, Maryland, is: “I can’t recall.”
“If you don’t remember something in an incident, that’s natural,” says Kruger, “but often times during internal affairs investigations an officer will remember every last detail about that day — what he had for breakfast, what uniform he was wearing, and everything else — except for that critical moment during an incident.”
Does that happen naturally? Absolutely. Does it also sometimes come down to a deception by omission? Yep.
There clearly hast to be a prohibition against acts of deception that constitute criminal conduct, intentional misuse of police authority, lies made for personal gain, repeated acts of deception (even if they’re minor) or dishonesty, as well as the deliberate failure to report the misconduct of another officer.
The session on lying was incredibly informative, but it seemed to raise as many questions as it answered. If you don’t know wherever the information you’re passing along is false, are you actually telling a lie? What about mixed-motive lies — those dishonest statements and deceptions made in the effort of pursuing the common good?
Plato said that lying may be acceptable if it is for the common good. Aristotle, Plato’s mentor, said that lying is never acceptable under any circumstance.
Link:
http://www.policeone.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/1951580-IACP-Digest-The-lying-police-officer/#
“If you don’t remember something in an incident, that’s natural,” says Kruger, “but often times during internal affairs investigations an officer will remember every last detail about that day — what he had for breakfast, what uniform he was wearing, and everything else — except for that critical moment during an incident.”
Does that happen naturally? Absolutely. Does it also sometimes come down to a deception by omission? Yep.
There clearly hast to be a prohibition against acts of deception that constitute criminal conduct, intentional misuse of police authority, lies made for personal gain, repeated acts of deception (even if they’re minor) or dishonesty, as well as the deliberate failure to report the misconduct of another officer.
The session on lying was incredibly informative, but it seemed to raise as many questions as it answered. If you don’t know wherever the information you’re passing along is false, are you actually telling a lie? What about mixed-motive lies — those dishonest statements and deceptions made in the effort of pursuing the common good?
Plato said that lying may be acceptable if it is for the common good. Aristotle, Plato’s mentor, said that lying is never acceptable under any circumstance.
Link:
http://www.policeone.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/1951580-IACP-Digest-The-lying-police-officer/#
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a nonprofit consumer organization.
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) is a nonprofit consumer organization with a two-part mission -- consumer information and consumer advocacy. It was established in 1992 and is based in San Diego, California. It is primarily grant-supported and serves individuals nationwide.
The PRC's goals are to:
Raise consumers' awareness of how technology affects personal privacy.
Empower consumers to take action to control their own personal information by providing practical tips on privacy protection.
Respond to specific privacy-related complaints from consumers, intercede on their behalf, and, when appropriate, refer them to the proper organizations for further assistance.
Document the nature of consumers' complaints and questions about privacy in reports, testimony, and speeches and make them available to policy makers, industry representatives, consumer advocates, and the media.
Advocate for consumers' privacy rights in local, state, and federal public policy proceedings, including legislative testimony, regulatory agency hearings, task forces, and study commissions as well as conferences and workshops.
Link: http://www.privacyrights.org/index.htm
The PRC's goals are to:
Raise consumers' awareness of how technology affects personal privacy.
Empower consumers to take action to control their own personal information by providing practical tips on privacy protection.
Respond to specific privacy-related complaints from consumers, intercede on their behalf, and, when appropriate, refer them to the proper organizations for further assistance.
Document the nature of consumers' complaints and questions about privacy in reports, testimony, and speeches and make them available to policy makers, industry representatives, consumer advocates, and the media.
Advocate for consumers' privacy rights in local, state, and federal public policy proceedings, including legislative testimony, regulatory agency hearings, task forces, and study commissions as well as conferences and workshops.
Link: http://www.privacyrights.org/index.htm
A police misconduct website that provides a daily news feed and a national map.
"Did you know that the last time the US government bothered to gather any information about the problem of police misconduct in the United States was in 2002?
Even then, the study they did only covered 5% of the police departments in the US and, on top of that, participation was only voluntary?
One of the biggest obstacles in the way towards solving the problem of police brutality and misconduct is a fundamental lack of information about police misconduct.
This site is devoted to solving that problem by gathering information about reported incidents of police misconduct across the US, analyzing and compiling statistics based from several sources, and then publishing the results of all this information in a reader-friendly way in order to encourage informed debate where it was once impossible to do.
Hopefully, the result of this project will lead to a better understanding of police misconduct, its scope, its effect on society, how it affects its victims, and how best to reduce the rate of police misconduct in the US.
For far too long people have tried to address the problem of police misconduct while devoid of information… We simply hope to change that, and in doing so, change everyone’s life for the better."
Link:
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?page_id=2
Even then, the study they did only covered 5% of the police departments in the US and, on top of that, participation was only voluntary?
One of the biggest obstacles in the way towards solving the problem of police brutality and misconduct is a fundamental lack of information about police misconduct.
This site is devoted to solving that problem by gathering information about reported incidents of police misconduct across the US, analyzing and compiling statistics based from several sources, and then publishing the results of all this information in a reader-friendly way in order to encourage informed debate where it was once impossible to do.
Hopefully, the result of this project will lead to a better understanding of police misconduct, its scope, its effect on society, how it affects its victims, and how best to reduce the rate of police misconduct in the US.
For far too long people have tried to address the problem of police misconduct while devoid of information… We simply hope to change that, and in doing so, change everyone’s life for the better."
Link:
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?page_id=2
Friday, October 2, 2009
Overhaul of Drug Court sentencing urged by NACDL.
A national group of defense attorneys says low-level drug offenders deserve treatment in the public health sector without being penalized by the criminal justice system.
That position was put forward in a report released Tuesday by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which spent two years dissecting drug court programs nationally.
"Drug abuse is a community problem, not a problem for the courts," Cynthia Orr, president of the lawyers group, said in a conference call with national media. "It's cheaper and smarter to get low-risk offenders out of the courthouse and into treatment." State courts and prisons are still overflowing with people charged with use or street-level sale of drugs. The FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2008 issued this month listed 1.7 million drug arrests 12.2 percent of all reported crimes: 4,658 arrests every day, roughly one arrest every 18 seconds.One problem is that many courts force people to enter a guilty plea in order to get into court-supervised treatment programs. Even if an addict achieves lasting sobriety or learns to control antisocial behavior and is unlikely to recommit a crime, the consequences of a criminal conviction a felony or misdemeanor can be lifelong and devastating.
In many programs, the individuals most able to help themselves, or those with more resources, find their way through drug courts into treatment, while defendants most in need of treatment, the hard cases, are set up for failure -- a one-way ticket to jail. This sort of ``skimming'' may give drug courts impressive success statistics, but doesn't make efficient use of the limited resources available. Programs that help people conquer addiction save tax dollars; programs that put addicts into prison for long sentences cost the taxpayers money.
Most drug courts were created by prosecutors and judges faced with overloaded court dockets, and there often has been little opportunity built into the process for defense lawyers to protect the rights of their clients.
Links:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/defense-lawyers-urge-overhaul-of-drug-courts/1040261
http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/9C898E6AFF7E6DB485256EC5005D9D1F/FE51602E35C7830C85257640004F0A0F?OpenDocument
That position was put forward in a report released Tuesday by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which spent two years dissecting drug court programs nationally.
"Drug abuse is a community problem, not a problem for the courts," Cynthia Orr, president of the lawyers group, said in a conference call with national media. "It's cheaper and smarter to get low-risk offenders out of the courthouse and into treatment." State courts and prisons are still overflowing with people charged with use or street-level sale of drugs. The FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2008 issued this month listed 1.7 million drug arrests 12.2 percent of all reported crimes: 4,658 arrests every day, roughly one arrest every 18 seconds.One problem is that many courts force people to enter a guilty plea in order to get into court-supervised treatment programs. Even if an addict achieves lasting sobriety or learns to control antisocial behavior and is unlikely to recommit a crime, the consequences of a criminal conviction a felony or misdemeanor can be lifelong and devastating.
In many programs, the individuals most able to help themselves, or those with more resources, find their way through drug courts into treatment, while defendants most in need of treatment, the hard cases, are set up for failure -- a one-way ticket to jail. This sort of ``skimming'' may give drug courts impressive success statistics, but doesn't make efficient use of the limited resources available. Programs that help people conquer addiction save tax dollars; programs that put addicts into prison for long sentences cost the taxpayers money.
Most drug courts were created by prosecutors and judges faced with overloaded court dockets, and there often has been little opportunity built into the process for defense lawyers to protect the rights of their clients.
Links:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/defense-lawyers-urge-overhaul-of-drug-courts/1040261
http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/9C898E6AFF7E6DB485256EC5005D9D1F/FE51602E35C7830C85257640004F0A0F?OpenDocument
Shortcomings of Forensic Science
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of forensic science schools . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: [email protected]
Her website: http://www.forensicscienceschools.org
There is a forensic scientist inside most of us, the one that comes out and takes over when we watch television serials like CSI and Bones. All that we know about this science comes to us from television. But, sad to say, the idea that forensic science is capable of solving any kind of murder or crime is one that has been perpetrated by television alone, because the reality is far from what we see on TV. Yes, forensic science is useful in helping to solve crimes and bringing criminals to book, but it has a number of shortcomings that sometimes result in the conviction of the wrong person and/or the acquittal of the right one. A few of the shortcomings of forensic science as decided by experts in the field of criminal justice are:
There are no fixed standards for collecting evidence: When the standards vary from place to place and country to country, there is no uniformity. It’s like testing your bodily fluid at different labs and getting back different results. Because only one analysis is conducted, there is no way to verify the accuracy of the results. This compromises the results of the analysis, and you’re not sure whether justice has been served or if the outcome of the trial is a miscarriage of justice.
The scientific practices used to analyze evidence are outdated: Most forensic analysis techniques are outdated, but no attempt is being made to verify their accuracy or even determine if their results are precise and correct. When the methods themselves are questionable, the veracity of the results is definitely in doubt. Practices that have been in use for a number of years are still being used in forensic labs as a matter of routine.
No attempts are being made to develop and incorporate new and relevant practices into forensic analysis: Even though research is being conducted on new and improved forensic techniques, people in this field are still reluctant to usher in the new and throw out the old. Even with forensic science being an important part of most investigative procedures, no real attempt is made to rectify the shortcomings that exist in the methods used to analyze evidence collected from the scene of the crime.
There is no scientific proof to support analytic methods: And most shocking of all, there is no real scientific proof to support the authenticity of the methods being used currently to analyze evidence. When the innocence and life of the accused is at stake, should there not be a more concerted effort to improve the efficiency of forensic science and address its shortcomings?
Her website: http://www.forensicscienceschools.org
There is a forensic scientist inside most of us, the one that comes out and takes over when we watch television serials like CSI and Bones. All that we know about this science comes to us from television. But, sad to say, the idea that forensic science is capable of solving any kind of murder or crime is one that has been perpetrated by television alone, because the reality is far from what we see on TV. Yes, forensic science is useful in helping to solve crimes and bringing criminals to book, but it has a number of shortcomings that sometimes result in the conviction of the wrong person and/or the acquittal of the right one. A few of the shortcomings of forensic science as decided by experts in the field of criminal justice are:
There are no fixed standards for collecting evidence: When the standards vary from place to place and country to country, there is no uniformity. It’s like testing your bodily fluid at different labs and getting back different results. Because only one analysis is conducted, there is no way to verify the accuracy of the results. This compromises the results of the analysis, and you’re not sure whether justice has been served or if the outcome of the trial is a miscarriage of justice.
The scientific practices used to analyze evidence are outdated: Most forensic analysis techniques are outdated, but no attempt is being made to verify their accuracy or even determine if their results are precise and correct. When the methods themselves are questionable, the veracity of the results is definitely in doubt. Practices that have been in use for a number of years are still being used in forensic labs as a matter of routine.
No attempts are being made to develop and incorporate new and relevant practices into forensic analysis: Even though research is being conducted on new and improved forensic techniques, people in this field are still reluctant to usher in the new and throw out the old. Even with forensic science being an important part of most investigative procedures, no real attempt is made to rectify the shortcomings that exist in the methods used to analyze evidence collected from the scene of the crime.
There is no scientific proof to support analytic methods: And most shocking of all, there is no real scientific proof to support the authenticity of the methods being used currently to analyze evidence. When the innocence and life of the accused is at stake, should there not be a more concerted effort to improve the efficiency of forensic science and address its shortcomings?
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