Trust in forensic science evidence in the criminal justice system: The experience of marginalised groups

Forensic science was originally seen as a ground-breaking tool for aiding the investigation of crime, though is experiencing a crisis of credibility; government, policymakers, and academics acknowledge that trust and confidence in forensic science evidence is under threat (UK House of Lords, 2019). This novel, interdisciplinary project will examine where (dis)trust in forensic science evidence arises amongst marginalised users of the CJS, co-designing a tool to mitigate this distrust. The project will explore user perspectives and experiences with crimes involving DNA and digital evidence, developing insights into how public understanding is shaped around the preparation, sharing, and presentation of forensic science evidence in the end-to-end crime scene to courtroom journey. It will establish levels of trust in forensic science evidence amongst both marginalised communities and comparison user groups, to mitigate mistrust through four specific objectives.

First, we will examine existing evidence around what trust in forensic science means to the public generally, and marginalised user groups specifically. We will compare this with stakeholder, policy, practitioner and government understandings of what trust means and how forensic science is used throughout the CJS. Next, we will investigate stakeholder and forensic science professionals' perspectives on where the science may enhance an investigation or case and when it might fall short of helping to provide answers. Third, we will co-design two interactive participatory games. The first will establish thresholds of where different user groups would be willing to trust forensic science evidence, from evidence gathering to verdict. The purpose of the small group interactive participatory action method is to garner meaningful perspectives from marginalised communities whose voices are typically excluded, and comparison groups. As recipients of decisions handed down partially based on forensic science, it is necessary to understand how, when and where the science is and is not trusted by users. The second participatory game will be developed for online use, where participants will be invited to explore trust in CJS authorities, gathering community insights for the purpose of establishing baseline trust levels across public user groups. These approaches support the research team's commitment to empowering the public as active co-designers throughout design: data collection, analysis, ideation, design development, testing, and refinement. Finally, findings will be used to iteratively co-design a prototype for a tool- with users, for users- to measure the implications and mitigation of (dis)trust in forensic science evidence. Tool specifications will be developed throughout the project lifecycle to ensure a relevant, accessible, and desirable design, delivered both with user input and evidence supporting its design.

Potential project benefits are multi-layered. Theoretically, the project will contribute to current debates around trust in forensic science evidence from the user perspective, particularly marginalised communities. Methodologically, it will adopt an interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach, encompassing quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, focus groups, design thinking, citizen science, participatory games and iterative prototypes. These will provide insights on the role of user voice in establishing trust between different CJS communities: users, CJS staff, and policymakers. At a practical level, the project yields opportunities for analysis across stakeholders and users for an in-depth understanding of mismatches in trust in forensic science. Findings will help mitigate distrust amongst marginalised CJS users, thus reducing tensions in the use of forensic science.