What Are the Pros and Cons of Forensic Science?

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Some pros of forensic science are that it provides evidence that can be used to help convict criminals and overturn wrongful convictions, but it can also be costly and time consuming to process the evidence. Even when there is some type of forensic evidence, it is possible for the evidence to be processed incorrectly, yielding an inaccurate result.

It is common for there to be a backlog of DNA evidence that has not been processed due to the associated cost and time. DNA evidence generally falls into two categories: evidence from open criminal investigations and DNA samples provided by convicted persons who are trying to have their convictions overturned. The evidence from criminal investigations is the category that is backlogged. Forensic scientists have to comb the evidence to find any signs of biological material. The biological material has to be identified before any DNA can be processed.

It is possible for the evidence to have DNA from multiple people or only fragments of DNA. This makes the process of analyzing even more cumbersome.

Those working as forensic scientists receive higher than average wages. However, working hours can be long for the employees that process the crime scene, and the expected job growth for a forensic scientist is slower than average.