A Study on the Issues and Challenges of Forensic Science under the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

           Forensic science is the application of various disciplines of science to legal matters. Forensic science is an application and procedure involved mainly on the criminal side during the criminal investigation and is governed by the legal standards of admissibility of evidence and criminal procedure. The problems in forensic science typically tend to contribute to many wrongful convictions at times. The crisis in forensic science is a complex global challenge which brings an impact on the criminal justice system. The methods which are involved and handled at times result in wrongful convictions. Quality standards for forensic evidence sometimes remain inconsistent.  This inconsistency brings a lot of discrepancies while coming to a conclusion. The problem arises mainly because of the investigators’ reckless negligence, including forensic experts and police officials. The main challenge that influences the criminal justice system is unreliability or invalidness of forensic discipline,  insufficient validation of a method and misleading testimony. The paper  elucidates the role and applicability of forensic Science in the criminal justice system, the impediments involved in the forensic investigative procedure and its impacts on the criminal Trial and also the scientific challenges and problems in retrieving forensic evidence. The Non-empirical approach is adopted for the study  based on published information from journals, reports and newsletters from secondary sources. This paper aims to explore the challenges and impediments involved in the role of forensic science in criminal trials and highlights the role and applicability of forensic Science.