Citation

Mousseau V, Baechler S, Crispino F. Sci. Justice 2019; 59(5): 524-532.

Affiliation

International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC), Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Forensic Research Group (Laboratoire de recherche en Criminalistique), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada; Département de chimie, biochimie et physique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Forensic Science Society, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.scijus.2019.04.004

PMID

31472797

Abstract

What do policing leaders think and know of forensic science? Beyond crime scene investigators or detectives, how do police senior managers perceive the role, utility and limitations of forensic science? Very few empirical studies have addressed the issue. Forensic scientsts should be concerned about the perception that law enforcement senior managers have of their discipline for two reasons. First, strategic and financial decision-makers are obviously key players in the overall administration and provision of forensic science, either as a supervisor, money provider or as a customer. Second, literature has highlighted that other actors involved in forensic science underestimate the scope and possibilities offered by forensic science, hence limiting its exploitation and potential. Following interviews with 18 police senior managers from Quebec (Canada), this study shows that they generally restrict forensic science to a reactive discipline whose role and utility is to identify offenders and support the Court. This understanding of forensic science, like that of many others including a significant share of forensic scientists, differs from the perception of other police activities in modern law enforcement agencies where proactive action is sought. Considering these findings and the growing body of literature which calls for forensic science to connect more tightly with policing and security, we advocate a more extensive education of police leaders regarding the scope of forensic science.

Copyright © 2019 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Crime scene investigation; Forensic education and training; Forensic management; Forensic science; Police management; Policing