Forensic Science Text 5 Questions

Forensic Science Text Questions 1. Why do you think forensic scientists are so careful that the tests they do are sensitive, reproducible, and specific? What might happen if they were less careful about this? I think they are so careful is about the tests they to because evidence is fragile and can easily be contaminated or destroyed;. If they were less careful they could mess up their results and could either mess up the case and send the wrong person to jail or could not help with the case at all. 2. Which type of evidence do you think is most useful in an investigation? Why? I think physical evidence is most useful in an investigation because they are easier to identify than other evidences and are not easily destroyed and contaminated. They also help forensic scientists to understand the crime scene and identify suspects. 3. Why do you think forensic scientists continue to look for class characteristics given their limitations? I think forensic scientists continue to look for class characteristics given their limitations because they help them track and narrow down many possibilities and help them piece the crime together in the courtroom. Each piece of class evidence can serve as corroboration for the events and aspects of the crime. Most pieces of evidence in the courtroom, from witnesses to documents, are open to subjective interpretation. Class characteristics provide support for other pieces of evidence. Although they may not be useful by themselves, class characteristics support other evidence to make a case stronger. 4. What do you think would be some of the challenges in collecting and preserving impressions? Why? I think some of the challenges in collecting and preserving impressions is that you have to be really careful and apply proper techniques because if don’t do it properly you can miss something or something somewhere its not supposed to be. 5. If you were on a jury, do you think you would expect individual characteristics in the evidence? Why or why not? What effects might it have if individuals expect to have individuals characteristics presented? No, because individual characteristics depend on the case and its not possible for every case to have individual characteristics. This can create issues during trials, especially when jurors have been led by the media to expect matches. Evidence with individual characteristics, like fingerprints or bullets, may not even be available at all crime scenes.