The dominant conception of forensic science as a patchwork of disciplines primarily assisting the criminal justice system (defined as 'forensics' in this article) is in crisis, or at least shows a series of anomalies and serious limitations. While the symptoms have been largely discussed previously, we argue that many of the commonly suggested solutions may not solve the fundamental problem. As a solution, we propose the forensic science community revive the forensic science perspective from its historical roots that is, the study of crime and its traces. This will lead to the development of holistic models to provide a strategy to integrate technologies, and to help scientists develop their potential to engage in a more significant way in policing, crime investigation and, more generally, in criminology, instead of further compartmentalising the various forensic fields.

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