Forensic Investigation: It’s Not Just for Big Cities

Many police executives operate under the misguided impression that because their agencies are smaller they lack the operational capacity to fully appreciate the benefits of DNA evidence recovery and forensic examination. These executives think forensic investigation is big-city detective work. But regardless of the limitations of an agency’s human resources or the inaccessibility of funds to train and equip those resources with state-of-the-art equipment, any department can benefit from the power of forensic technology and the value it brings to law enforcement service delivery. Notwithstanding their size, law enforcement organizations must exploit the full potential of all the scientific technology available to them. The advancement of such technology, coupled with the power of DNA in the retrospective investigation of crime, has produced highly effective results for policing.