Law

Logically, obsolete or outdated crime laboratory equipment can easily devastate the systematic administration of justice. Long-term avoidance or ignorance of the need of modern forensic equipment can affect the ability of a laboratory to process activities accurately and in a well-timed manner. Therefore, to stay current with criminal justice administration, it is vital that forensic equipment in a laboratory are regularly updated. Not having upgraded forensic equipment and capabilities will certainly place a law enforcement agency behind its notorious adversariesthe criminal elements.

Some of the most important forensic equipment and capabilities that must be present in crime laboratories nowadays are the DNA technologies used in forensic investigations. If used intelligently, DNA technologies for identification can be very effective in crime investigations. Other technologies and capabilities that are indispensable in a laboratory today include Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis Short Tandem Repeat Analysis Mitochondrial DNA Analysis and Y-Chromosome Analysis.

Basically, these DNA technologies are capable of analyzing information matches easily at various locations on the genome of a person. Through these technologies, hair, bone, blood, and other body products and tissues can be examined and matched, thus making a persons participation to a crime more accurate. Because of the numerous probes that can be used in DNA analysis, the ensuing matches can be a strong verification on whether or not the suspect is indeed the right or wrong person.

Obviously, one of the greatest flaws of criminal justice administration is the failure to openly accommodate changes in crime laboratories. Unfortunately, an outdated laboratory can lead to delays and inaccuracies in examining evidence, or even result in the outsourcing of expensive companies that analyze evidences. Therefore, it is without doubt that updated forensic equipment and capabilities are very vital in a crime laboratory and essential to the accomplishment of the objectives of the criminal justice administration.