The confluence of three decades of cognitive science and forensic decision-making is a very hot field of inquiry.
Dr. Dror is a prominent researcher into decision-making in the forensic sciences and provides a sobering view of the state of forensic science and why this situation has been described as a “crisis” by the National Research Council. He reminds us of several realities: most front line forensic science is conducted by law enforcement agencies, the role of contextual information in influencing subjective opinions on data (including a detailed look at finger print evidence), the role of evidence contamination on decision-making, and resistance to reforms. While the presentation is focused on the “harder” sciences, it raises implications for forensic behavioral science, where issues of subjective opinion formation is susceptible to error, biases, and other judgment heuristics.
Dr. Dror has a series of presentations which are available on youtube. Special thanks to CONCEPT and Division 41 for making this vital information available.