Welcome to Thomas Insights — every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in industry. Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

CBS began broadcasting a show called Man Against Crime in 1949, only the third year TV shows were aired in the U.S. Shows like NCIS, Law and Order, and Criminal Minds have all enjoyed long runs, some of which are now stretching into their 20th season. While many aspects of these crime shows are sensationalized for entertainment purposes, viewers often ask: How much of the forensic technology is true to life? 

Is Forensic Technology Accurate?

The short answer: yes and no. 

Some types of forensic technology are considered to be reliable a high percentage of the time. However, not all forensic evidence is backed by rigorous scientific research.

DNA analysis is generally considered to be the gold standard in forensic technology, having been proven through round after round of experimentation and validation. For those that do watch crime shows, it may come as a surprise that fingertips aren’t always all that accurate. 

It’s not only that accuracy can vary between different types of forensic technology. A study by the National Research Council found that lack of training, standards, and consistency among forensic labs and law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels prevents forensic results from being 100% accurate. While the technique might yield accurate results, rarely are forensic procedures followed perfectly — which can lead to varied success. 

Latest Trends in Forensic Technology

Forensic technology is becoming more advanced. Long gone are the days in which dusting for fingerprints was a detective’s best chance of finding a criminal. Here are some of the ways in which forensic technology can be used to solve a case. 

DNA Analysis

DNA profiling is used to identify individuals based on their unique genetic makeup. There are a number of ways to use DNA; a lab can match DNA found at a crime scene to a suspect, for instance. DNA is also used to identify victims — even in cases where no crime was committed, such as the recent condo collapse in Florida. 

DNA analysis has also become more advanced, leading to practices such as DNA sequencing of phenotyping. “DNA Phenotyping helps forensic experts combine genomics and computer power to generate a police sketch of a person from a single DNA specimen, found from a crime scene,” explained one expert. “A human cell contains 23 chromosome pairs that code all our outwardly visible appearance. Computers help in generating trait probabilities by decoding a DNA. This modern technological advancement can determine sex, red/black/blonde/brown hair, brown eyes, and adult height with an accuracy of around 90% or above.” 

DNA is considered the most accurate form of forensic technology and has even led to the convictions of innocent people being overturned. 

Hair Bacteria Assessment

Forensics can match a suspect to their victim based on hair samples, specifically in cases of sexual assault. Hair samples have microbe populations that mix when two people engage in sexual activity. These microbes offer a new way to link a suspect to a crime scene; microbes differ from person to person and go beyond someone’s DNA to provide a more dependable clue. 

Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) 

This long-winded name serves a very simple purpose. An LA-ICP-MS machine uses highly sensitive isotopic recognition to break glass samples of any size down to their atomic structure. This allows forensic scientists to match even a minuscule shard of glass found on someone’s clothing to a glass sample from the crime scene. LA-ICP-MS can even be used to figure out the direction of a bullet, the force of a weapon, and the type of weapon used in the crime. 

Body Farms

This is where things get really gross. Body farms are outdoor laboratories where real human cadavers are left to decay in varying conditions — such as in wet conditions, dry conditions, different soil types, and so on — to understand exactly what happens to the human body after death. For example, studying the life-cycle of insects such as maggots (I warned you this part was gross!) can allow experts to pinpoint time-of-death with incredible accuracy. Author Mary Roach explores body farms in depth in her bestselling exploration of cadaver forensics, Stiff.

While some of these technologies are more accurate than others, advances in forensic technology mean that criminals featured on TV will need to be more and more creative if they hope to get away with their crime. 

Image Credit: PRESSLAB / Shutterstock.com

More from Industry Trends