Cited by 6Crime, Illicit Activities, and GovernanceLegal processes and jurisprudenceDigital and Cyber Forensics

Intelligence and the Value of Forensic Science

Open access
Speaker, Paul J.·2024·Forensic Sciences

Abstract

Recent research has seen a rapid expansion in the reference to front-end forensics as an indication of the untapped value of forensic science. While some of these contributions have centered on development of forensic intelligence from a single area of investigation, others call for a more fundamental change in the relationship between crime laboratories and policing, particularly relating early laboratory analysis with big datasets to provide leads to investigators. We highlight several recently implemented tactical strategies of crime laboratories that contribute to the body of forensic intelligence. Beyond the scientific gains from these tactical applications, the corresponding details on associated efficiencies, costs, time savings, and quality improvements offer insights towards patterns of success for the community of crime laboratories. Further details expand an interpretation of what constitutes success with an eye on the contributions of the crime laboratory towards public health, safety, and protection of the innocent in addition to societal gains from conviction of the guilty. The economic interpretation of the value provided by the forensic laboratory assists in the cost–benefit review of strategic and tactical decisions and supports the justification for laboratory public funding with measures of the return on investment from public support of the forensic laboratory. Examples of the cost savings from crimes avoided include the returns from testing the backlog of unsubmitted sexual assault kits with USD 81 of costs avoided for each USD 1 spent to high-efficiency laboratories achieving gains of USD 646 for each UD 1 spent on de novo case submissions.

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  • The lack of timely provision of forensic testing results and the push to address backlogs remain an ongoing concern for several jurisdictions.

    “However, the lack of timely provision of forensic testing results and the push to address backlogs of unexamined cases remain an ongoing concern for several jurisdictions, as evidenced in the literature [18, 19, 20, 21], making this a significant quality issue for the industry to address.”

    From Quality issue management and disclosure in forensic science: A survey of practice and perceptions (2025) · cites this paper as [19]

    Section 3.3.1 (Arkansas; page unavailable) describes efforts to shorten turnaround times and reduce a 5,000-case backlog. Section 3.4 (Measuring the Value of Forensic Science; page unavailable) mentions several jurisdictions’ efforts to test previously unsubmitted sexual-assault kits. These passages support the concern about delays and backlogs, but do not establish that untimely results and backlogs remain ongoing concerns across several jurisdictions. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Speaker, P. J. Project FORESIGHT Benchmark Data 2012-2013. Morgantown, WV: WVU Research Repository 2014, https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1141/ (accessed on 15 November 2023) Preprints.org (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 19 February 2024 doi:10.20944/preprints202402.0967.v1 · DOI
  2. Roy, S., & Ray, K. S. Role of Forensic Intelligence in Crime Analysis. International J. Law Mang. & Human. 2022, 5(3), 2250-2254.
  3. Taylor, M., & Marsden, A. Integration of Geographic Profiling with Forensic Intelligence to Target Serial Crime. In The Crime Analyst's Companion 2022, 141-161. Springer International Publishing.
  4. Awang, N. A., Lee, K., Teoh, W. K., Kunalan, V., Abdullah, A. F., & Chang, K. H. Physical and Chemical Discrimination of Methamphetamine Tablets for Forensic intelligence. Malay. J. Anal. Sci. 2021, 26(1), 130- 151.
  5. Campos, E. G., Martinis, E. C., & Martinis, B. S. Forensic Analysis of Illicit Drugs and Novel Psychoactive Substances in Wastewater. Braz. J. Anal. Chem. 2022, 34(9), 15-34; DOI: 10.30744/brjac.2179-3425.RV-19- 2021. · DOI

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Authors
Speaker, P. J.
Affiliations
West Virginia University (US)
Corresponding author
Speaker, Paul J.
Venue
Forensic Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2024-03-18
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
184-200
ISSN
2673-6756 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4392927113
Cited by
6
References
106
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
FWCI
4.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Forensic Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Preprints.org (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (Award 15PNIJ-21-GK-02192-MUMU)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Law › Legal processes and jurisprudence
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Digital and Cyber Forensics
Keywords
forensic intelligence, crime laboratories, big data, cost-benefit analysis, return on investment, crime prevention

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