Forensic intelligence: Data analytics as the bridge between forensic science and investigation

Abstract

Scientists should not play a role in investigations nor should investigators play a role in the scientific analyses. One way to bridge the relationship between the forensic scientist and the police investigator is through an Intelligence Analyst (IA) who is part of the forensic services operation. The IA offers the ability to walk between the role of scientist and law enforcement, receiving data after completion of scientific analyses and translating the information into actionable intelligence. The additional bridging and translating services represent a paradigm shift with increased emphasis on investigative contributions from forensic analysis. Forensic intelligence incorporates forensic data early in an investigation in a holistic case approach that incorporates possible datasets and information that could be relevant to the investigation. We present a brief review of the value added when an IA provides the bridge between the forensic laboratory and police investigators to enhance the use of forensic evidence.

Interpol review of forensic management, 2019–2022

“…Following the dissolution of the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) in 2017, the National Institute of Justice formed the Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG), which has produced several white papers reviewing new technologies looking at 3-D imaging (NIJ Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG), 2021a), LC-MS-Based Forensic Toxicology Screening (NIJ Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG), 2021b), Next Gen Sequencing (NIJ Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG), 2021c), and Proteomic Mass Spectrometry (NIJ Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG), 2021d). Other technological research includes consideration of technologies more broadly instituted across other industries such as machine-learning [ 13 ] and opportunities to enhance forensic intelligence using big data [ 38 , 39 ].…”

“…Perhaps there is a stronger role for the forensic generalist or intelligence analyst to bridge the gaps between silos and expand the linkages between the forensic laboratory and police investigators [ 39 , 61 ]. Various alternative methods have been proposed to improve the role of forensic intelligence in investigation [ 62 , 63 ].…”

“…The integration of big data into forensic intelligence offers similar gains to those achieved in medicine, retail sales, and the financial sector [ 39 ]. Similarly, blockchain developments may simplify the management of evidence and chain of custody concerns (Sathyaprakasan et al, 2921).…”

“…Forensic science laboratories are often organized as government entities or nonprofits, and as such, laboratory directors seek to maximize an objective other than profit. When the maximizing objective is centered towards policing or judicial outcomes, rather than an emphasis on science, bias and error can be introduced [ 39 , 45 ]. This is especially true if funding is tied to these policing and judicial outcomes [ 128 ].…”

“…Furthermore, since the cost of error is not often a part of a laboratory director's management calculus, as it might be for a hospital chief executive, incentive to minimize error is reduced [ 15 ]. The result is an environment where cognitive bias occurs leading to error and potentially wrongful conviction [ 15 , 16 , 20 , 39 , 52 , 107 ]; House of Lords, 2019 [ 55 ]; or wrongful liberty [ 112 ]. Cognitive bias can take the form of conviction bias or pro-police bias [ 17 , 106 ], contextual bias [ 107 ]; [ 55 , 128 ], gender bias [ 82 ], confirmation bias [ 107 , 128 ], a rape myth belief leading to inadequate levels of SAKs submission (Campbell & Fehler-Cabral, 2022), and funding bias [ 128 ] among other biases [ 130 ].…”