Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Scientific Integrity In The Forensic Sciences: Consumerism, Conflicts Of Interest, And Transparency, Nicholas V. Passalacqua, Marin A. Pilloud, William Belcher

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to discuss scientific integrity, consumerism, conflicts of interest, and transparency within the context of forensic science. Forensic scientists play crucial roles within the legal system and are constantly under various pressures when performing analytical work, generating reports based on their analyses, or testifying to the content of these reports. Maintaining the scientific integrity of these actions is paramount to supporting a functional legal system and the practice of good science. Our goal is to discuss the importance of scientific integrity as well as the factors it may compromise, so that forensic practitioners may be …