Forensic Professional in Ethical Issues

Abstract

The forensic science is the use of science to the civil and criminal laws and it is based on applied ethics. The preservation and identification of the evidences will include many people and they can also be mishandled. The risks of mishandling are started after the occurrence of the crime. After the crime scene the evidences are sent to the laboratory for analysis. Different disciplines of the forensic sciences have been making testimony for the prosecution and conviction of the criminals so that the innocent people can be provided with justice. There are several domains of the forensic science like finger prints, bite marks, tool marks, and the fire arms examination, analysis of chemicals, patterns and paints, marks of shoes and tires. There is several code of ethics and specialty guidelines for the forensic psychologists and the specialty guidelines are formed according to the ethical principles of the psychologists. The guidelines are created to guide the forensic psychologists so that they can monitor the professional conduct in the court and in other legal proceedings.

Abstract2

Introduction4

The Forensic Sciences6

Land Mark Studies8

Classic Confirmation Biases9

Effects of Social Perception10

Motivational and Cognitive Sources of Bias11

The Bias of Forensic Confirmation13

Effects of Context on Forensic Judgments14

Ethics and Forensic Testimony15

Speciality Guidelines16

Solutions for the Reduction of Bias17

Conclusion18

References19

Forensic Professional in Ethical Issues

Introduction

The forensic science is the application of the science to the criminal and civil laws. It is a field that is based on the applied ethics. The collection, preservation and identification of the forensic evidences will include many people. The evidences can be mishandled accidently or deliberately. The risks start at the crime scene because there are evidences of the mishandling, planting and destruction. After the process at the crime scene, the evidences are sent for analysis to the forensic laboratory. The evidences can be contaminated due to poor methods of testing, mislabeling, excessive use or destruction. The report is created after the analysis of the evidences. The workers should be honest in reporting the results of examination. There have been many cases in which the trusted representatives have misreported the results.

The errors of forensic science have been increasing with a high frequency in the wrongful convictions. It is stated by Hampikian, Akselrod & West (2011) in “The genetics of Innocence” that there are numerous type of forensic science testimony which are used in a wrong way to convict the innocent people. Those cases in which the transcripts of trial and reliable data was accessible for reviewing included approximately 40% of the serology testimony that is regarded on a higher rate. Moreover, 5% included the bite mark comparisons, 25% were the hair comparisons and about 5% included the comparisons of finger prints. A derisive evaluation was published by the NAS (National Academy of Sciences) in the year 2009 regarding the forensic disciplines. The evaluation included fire arms and tool marks, evidences of impression, analysis of hairs and fibers, finger prints and hand writing. According to the NAS (National Academy of Sciences), there are many ...