Morgan R M
UCL Centre for the Forensic Sciences, 35 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9EZ, UK; UCL Security and Crime Science, 35 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9EZ, UK.
Sci Justice. 2017 Nov;57(6):455-459. doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2017.06.002. Epub 2017 Jun 10.
There has been a call for forensic science to actively return to the approach of scientific endeavour. The importance of incorporating an awareness of the requirements of the law in its broadest sense, and embedding research into both practice and policy within forensic science, is arguably critical to achieving such an endeavour. This paper presents a conceptual model (FoRTE) that outlines the holistic nature of trace evidence in the 'endeavour' of forensic reconstruction. This model offers insights into the different components intrinsic to transparent, reproducible and robust reconstructions in forensic science. The importance of situating evidence within the whole forensic science process (from crime scene to court), of developing evidence bases to underpin each stage, of frameworks that offer insights to the interaction of different lines of evidence, and the role of expertise in decision making are presented and their interactions identified. It is argued that such a conceptual model has value in identifying the future steps for harnessing the value of trace evidence in forensic reconstruction. It also highlights that there is a need to develop a nuanced approach to reconstructions that incorporates both empirical evidence bases and expertise. A conceptual understanding has the potential to ensure that the endeavour of forensic reconstruction has its roots in 'problem-solving' science, and can offer transparency and clarity in the conclusions and inferences drawn from trace evidence, thereby enabling the value of trace evidence to be realised in investigations and the courts.
一直有人呼吁法医学积极回归科学探索的方法。从最广泛的意义上讲，将对法律要求的认识纳入其中，并将研究融入法医学的实践和政策中，对于实现这一探索而言至关重要。本文提出了一个概念模型（FoRTE），该模型概述了痕迹证据在法医重建“探索”中的整体性质。该模型为法医学中透明、可重复且可靠的重建所固有的不同组成部分提供了见解。阐述了将证据置于整个法医学过程（从犯罪现场到法庭）中的重要性、为支撑每个阶段而建立证据库的重要性、能洞察不同证据线索相互作用的框架的重要性，以及专业知识在决策中的作用，并确定了它们之间的相互作用。有人认为，这样一个概念模型对于确定在法医重建中利用痕迹证据价值的未来步骤具有价值。它还强调，需要制定一种细致入微的重建方法，将实证证据库和专业知识结合起来。概念性理解有可能确保法医重建的探索扎根于“解决问题”的科学，并能在从痕迹证据得出的结论和推论中提供透明度和清晰度，从而使痕迹证据的价值在调查和法庭中得以实现。
