ISSUE 53 Expert Witness Journal - Journal - Page 34
Researchers to Examine How
Much People Trust Forensic Science
An expert in DNA profiling from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is set to investigate
trust in forensic science as part of a £657,992 project.
Emma Johnston, of DMU’s Leicester School of
Pharmacy, is part of an interdisciplinary study led by
the Open University. It will research the experience of
marginalised groups in the criminal justice system to
see where trust – and distrust – in forensic science
arises and explore how to build trust in the science.
professionals' perspectives on where the science may
enhance an investigation or case and when it might
fall short of helping to provide answers.
Once the investigative work has been completed, the
team will co-design two interactive participatory
games. The first will gather evidence on trust thresholds for forensic science evidence. By utilising small
group interactive action, the team will garner meaningful perspectives from marginalised communities
whose voices are typically excluded. As decisions
handed down are based partially on forensic science,
it is necessary to understand how, when and where
the science is and is not trusted by users.
By exploring the perspectives and experiences of
users when looking at DNA and digital evidence, the
project will develop insights into how public understanding is shaped around the preparation, sharing,
and presentation of forensic evidence, from crime
scene to courtroom.
The aim is to examine whether understanding public
levels of trust in forensic science can better inform
how, when, and why scientific evidence is used in
criminal justice procedures.
The second participatory game will be developed for
online use, where participants will be invited to explore trust in Criminal Justice System authorities,
gathering community insights to establish baseline
trust levels across public user groups. These approaches support the research team's commitment to
empowering the public as active co-designers
throughout design.
The research team aim to develop tools and
educational resources to help to investigate and improve public trust and understanding of forensic science evidence and the processes associated with its
use.
Finally, findings will be used to iteratively co-design a
prototype for a tool to measure the implications and
mitigation of (dis)trust in forensic science evidence.
Tool specifications will be developed throughout the
project lifecycle to ensure a relevant, accessible, and
desirable design, delivered both with user input and
evidence supporting its design.
Ms Johnston said: “We want to explore the
experience of marginalised communities (e.g., those
with less power and choice in their involvement with
criminal justice proceedings) and their trust in forensic science. There is evidence of disproportionalities
in some Criminal Justice System (CJS) treatments and
outcomes and therefore these marginalised groups
may have an intrinsic distrust of the CJS or law
enforcement.
Lara Frumkin, Head of Discipline of Psychology &
Counselling at The Open University, will be leading
the project and working with investigators Heather
Flowe, University of Birmingham; Maria Maclennan,
University of Edinburgh; Niamh NicDaeid, University of Dundee; Vincent Hughes, University of York;
Emmanuel Nsiah Amoako, University of the West
of England and Emma Johnston, De Montfort
University.
"Specifically for forensic science, issues such as
backlogs in digital evidence and disregard for victim
needs during investigations may further compromise
user trust of forensic science evidence. In addition,
marginalised CJS users may not necessarily possess
the knowledge or experience of forensic science compared with others in policing or courtroom processes,
yet must nonetheless navigate the CJS to seek justice
or defend their innocence. This amounts to a subset of
the population who may be users of the CJS, but do
not enter, navigate through or exit it on a level playing field with more experienced or privileged users."
Dr Frumkin said: “Forensic science was originally seen
as a ground-breaking tool for aiding the investigation
of crime, though it is now experiencing a crisis of credibility; government, policymakers, and academics acknowledge that trust and confidence in forensic
science evidence is under threat.
To carry out the project the team will first examine
existing evidence around what trust in forensic science
means to the public generally and marginalised user
groups; stakeholder, policy, practitioner, and government understandings of what trust means; and how
forensic science is used throughout the criminal justice
system. They will then investigate forensic science
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
“This project will establish levels of trust in forensic
science evidence amongst both marginalised communities and comparison user groups, to mitigate mistrust through four specific objectives.”
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