Future of Forensics
Social Impact
As innumerable people know, forensic science has a crucial role in society. Without forensic science, criminals would be on the loose, lurking around in dark alleys at night. From the public perspective, the police can arrest criminals to protect victims and community. Not only can it identify criminals, it can also probably solve
cold-file cases; some criminals may be resposible for multiple cases.
With the use of forensics, it can also unite families. Solely in the United States, we have tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, wildfires, etc; we cannot control these natural disasters, unlike crimes. Family members can easily be separated through confusion in these circumstances. Through forensics, a family member can provide their DNA fingerprint and forensic scientists can trace their lost family member(s). (Source: How Does Forensic Science Affect Your Life)
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Regulatory, Ethical, and Legal Issues
There are ethical issues with forensic science due to the use of DNA fingerprints. Some people feel there is a privacy issue for using their DNA fingerprints for criminal investigation when they are simply a suspect; they haven't committed a crime. Though the main purpose of inventing DNA fingerprinting was to preserve the
convicted criminal's fingerprints, it's being used against ones that haven't committed a crime. For example, if someone was only suspected to have committed a misdemeanor (e.g. stealing an apple), a sample of their DNA fingerprint would be kept on the database even if the person is innocent. (Source: Real Concerns over the Ethics of a DNA Database)
Though there is no actual potential "risk" from the ethical issues listed above, there are inconveniences from gathering too much DNA fingerprints. Gathering an abundance of unuseful fingerprints can cause confusion while trying to determine a suspect's justice. When too many fingerprints are brought into a crime, it can cause unneeded confusion while trying to solve the case. (Source: Real Concerns over the Ethics of a DNA Database)