GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Security research projects related to forensics typically focus only on technologies and data, while the process by which forensic experts evaluate and interpret the evidence is often put aside. However, cognitive methods and human judgement play a significant role as forensic experts observe and interpret the data. By doing this, forensic experts are almost inevitably exposed to irrelevant contextual information (such as suspect’s criminal record or ethnicity, a type of the information that can be obtained due to a liaison between a forensic expert and investigators, police and the prosecution), which can potentially cause bias. In contexts where digital technologies are involved in creating forensic outcomes, biases and loss of transparency can also arise from different roles and disciplinary backgrounds of the different actors working on and with the digital tools.

Understanding how human interaction, both internally and in the European context, impacts on decisions at all levels of an investigative process is critical for the development of safe justice outcomes. In forensic practice, it is crucial to understand the impacts of various types of biases on interpretation and reasoning, and to develop methods to increase the robustness of reasoning and of experts’ decision making. Research is needed to evaluate, develop and enhance methods and cognitive techniques to communicate non-ambiguously in the forensic and legal context, as well as to develop, improve and enhance communication mechanisms between the actors of the criminal justice chain.