Authors: Yahaya Sumara Sulley, Isaac Oboakoh, Lydia Quansah

Department of Forensic Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale – Ghana

The National Forensic Science Week celebration is marked on the 19th–25th of September of every year. This week has been selected to appreciate the contributions of forensic science to criminal justice and society as a whole. Throughout the week, forensic professionals, research, academic programs, and subdisciplines are celebrated. This article provides a brief introduction, historical perspective and futuristic perspective on forensic science.

What is Forensic Science?

Forensic science is a multidisciplinary field that has provided numerous solutions to the world. One such solution is the remarkable impact forensic science has brought to the world of justice dispensation globally (1). This field of science leverages any scientific fields and processes and relevant fields outside the sciences to solve social and environmental issues that have to do with the court of law, identification and individualization, and clarification of historic events.

Forensic science tries to recreate the series of events that have occurred in a case at hand and point out the “how”, “what”, “when” and eventually the “who” involved. Forensic science spans fascinating events, that cause horror, and those that seem very serious, gloomy and in some cases, uncertain (2).

A Historic Perspective of Forensic Science

Some historical accounts of forensic science practice might not be accepted in contemporary forensic science practice and court proceedings. However, most of them paved the way for understanding modern-day forensic sciences. Many accounts of justice delivery, including the events that led to the imprisonment of the Prophet Yusuf, based on Islamic theological literature and the Holy Quran 12: 21–28, could be classified as having a forensic perspective.

According to legend, the Babylonians used fingerprints to sign contracts around 200 BC, and this process was used in China as far back as the Qin dynasty (3). Forensic science methods could also be derived from the Sherlock Holmes stories in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (4).

Historical perspectives include the efforts of Alexandre Lacassagne, who could coax evidence from dead bodies that most people didn’t really consider in the late 1800s (5). The early 20^th century saw the emergence of Sir Edmond Locard and other renowned scientists who shaped the scope of forensic sciences. Sir Edmond Locard was a French medical examiner who blended his experiences with the world of fiction and revolutionized the forensic field. He has a key forensic science principle to his name; Locard’s Exchange Principle which states that “Every contact leaves a trace”.

He is widely known as the “Father of Forensics,” and it is believed by the scientific community that his efforts have led to the growth of the forensic science we see today (6). The real origin of the discovery of this relevant field of science is mostly not reported, but forensic science as a scientific discipline is about 100 years old (7).

Trends That are Driving Forensic Science Growth

Technology

Technological advancement has revolutionized forensic science practices in recent times. There has been tremendous growth, notably in the areas of DNA, chemistry, and digital forensics (8). For instance, a few decades ago, DNA analysis relied on comparatively large amounts of evidence to obtain a reliable analysis.

Today, forensic laboratories can use minute amounts of DNA that are below the minimum threshold to obtain relevant information that can be used to solve a case related to crime, human identification, or to support or refute historical perspectives. Also, technological advancements have positively influenced the speed and time needed in forensic laboratories. The speed at which results are obtained through forensic procedures has been minimized, while the efficiency of these procedures has also been improved significantly (9).

Forensic science has evolved over the years as it appears to be an integral aspect of legal practice and the judicial systems across the world. The introduction of cutting-edge technologies, which cut across all areas of the discipline, has been very essential to the new era of modern-day forensic science practices. Since then, there have been massive advancements in the areas of collection, preservation, and analysis of biological, chemical, and physical evidence that has led to the resolution of many civil and criminal cases.

Advanced electron microscopic, spectroscopic and molecular tools such as massively parallel sequence analysis are used in investigations involving trace biological and biochemical samples such as blood and DNA. New era forensic technologies allow the use of digital forensic tools by law enforcement for criminal investigations and legal proceedings relating to cyber security and its related incidents. Today, the use of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence-assisted analysis to extract, preserve, decrypt, and analyze digital evidence has become very important in forensic science practice.

Popularity

Public awareness of the importance of forensic science has been influenced by the recent increase in CSI films, which portray the value and efficiency of forensic technologies. The media is also a tool that has been used to propagate the potential of forensic science for justice dispensation (10). Many universities in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs in forensic sciences with a variety of specialization options. Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are among a few countries offering forensic science undergraduate, postgraduate or professional programs in Africa which have enhanced the popularity of the importance of the forensic science discipline across the globe today.

Flexibility and Integration

Forensic science is interdisciplinary. Many subdisciplines have been derived by merging different scopes outside the field of forensic sciences into traditional forensic science. Some of these subdisciplines include digital forensics, forensic accounting, and auditing, which makes it a customer-focused discipline (11). Ethical and quality issues have been made critical aspects of forensic sciences, looking at how the discipline is highly in demand.

Unlike previously, today the rules of evidence are strictly obeyed by forensic scientists for the integrity of evidence to be maintained. True and accurate representation of evidence is highly emphasized in forensic practices all over the world today. One important benefit of the introduction of ethics in forensic practice is the high confidentiality level and information disclosure (12).

Where Does the Future Lie?

The world might not be clear about what the futuristic plan of forensic science is, but forensic science is multidisciplinary, and there is always a high possibility of multiple stakeholders, complex cases, and pressure. It is, hence clear that the future of forensic science is something that is expected to be very promising looking at how innovations and scientific advancements have provided new and modern possibilities that one couldn’t have imagined.

New areas such as microbial forensics (13), biosensors and fingerprint analysis (14), 3D forensics (15), social media forensics (16), forensic DNA phenotyping (17) and cloud forensics (18) will surely bring hope and provide opportunities in the future.

Powerful forensic techniques have significantly minimized the issue of case backlogs within the criminal justice system. Even though forensic science is not a panacea, it is expected to gain more popularity in the future based on its relevance to society. Based on how forensic science research and publications are increasing, forensic science education is likely to increase across the world in the future, and this evolution would be a positive step towards a forensic science revolution in Africa and other countries in the developing world.

Author Perspective

Yahaya Sumara Sulley: “Even though it is not officially designated, the importance of having a National Forensic Science Week celebration cannot be overlooked in a country like Ghana which wants to reap the benefits of forensic sciences. Presently in Ghana, research shows that there is a poor level of public education and awareness concerning forensic science. I believe that if we are tackling this issue step by step, we have to prioritize the communication of forensic science first. We have to focus on a common ground and use science communication as a tool to achieve our objective. Popularizing the Forensic Science Week celebration to appreciate forensic science practice in Ghana could be a means of creating more public awareness about the discipline through seminars, conferences and public gatherings which have been structured to discuss the state and future of forensic science in Ghana. Other activities such as forensic institutional outreach, organizational outreach, and media outreach could also be embarked on to preach the gospel of forensic science in societies”.

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