What Are The Effects Of Bias In Forensic Professionals

Problem Statement: What are the effects of bias in Forensics and how can Forensic Professionals combat this issue?

What is Bias:

The issue of bias in forensic science is a crucial one for the field of forensics to address. Bias is defined as the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way (“Bias”). The topic is important to the forensic field because it has been known to greatly impact the accuracy and reliability of results produced by forensic professionals. If a forensic analyst holds biases, either knowingly or unknowingly, it can influence various results such as influence DNA mixture interpretations, fingerprint comparisons, toxicology, and other forensic science judgements (Dror et al. 1). By understanding

These types include (but are not limited to) confirmation bias, contextual bias, and implicit bias. Confirmation bias refers to the favoring of information that confirms existing beliefs and perceptions, while ignoring information that contradicts one’s opinions (https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/safeguarding/types-of-bias/). This form of bias could influence a forensic professional to focus on data that may confirm their own beliefs about a person or evidence within a case creating misjustice in forensic processes. Secondly, there is contextual bias which refers to an unconscious bias of external influences that may affect how information is perceived. In forensics, this can be exhibited through preconceived notions concerning specific attributes about a person, even though the attributes should have little impact on the forensic process itself. An example of contextual bias is exhibited in a study determining how forensic professionals analyze immunoassay tests for opiate-type drugs. The study discusses how throughout multiple trials of this experiment, professionals were shown to be biased in their choice of tests based on the age of the individual in the case study. The study allowed

Other factors that may have influenced the students’ judgement were the race of the victim whom the sample belonged to, as well as the manner in which the victim passed away.

The results of this study also may illustrate examples of implicit bias which suggests that people unconsciously attribute certain qualities to certain social groups (https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/safeguarding/types-of-bias/). It is seemingly easier to stereotype groups of people and classify them with certain behaviors. This practice makes it easier to assume a person of a given race, gender, social class, or other classified group will almost always exhibit certain characteristics. In forensics, this thought process can affect how a professional conducts standard forensic procedures.

Impact of