This article addresses the forensic community’s debate over the state of forensic science knowledge and technological development, what some impediments to progress are, the transfer of academic advancements in forensic science to operational science in crime laboratories, and federal efforts to move forensic science forward.
The 2009 National Research Council report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, was highly critical of what was passing for science in some fields of forensics and had an immediate impact on law enforcement, crime laboratories, courtrooms, and the broader scientific community. The efforts to improve forensic science have been significant and ongoing since the National Research Council report, but has the problem been solved? Does the forensic testimony now introduced in court rest on solid scientific ground? This article examines those questions and provides an overview of the changing landscape of forensic science.