The Impact of Forensic Evidence on Arrest and Prosecution (IFEAP): Final (almost) Findings.

• In Event: Sentencing, Evidence, and Alternative Courts

Abstract

In January 2012, NIJ funded research into the use of forensic evidence in producing arrests and fostering prosecutions within Connecticut. The proposed research examined forensic analyses, taken from the Connecticut State Crime Laboratory, from a random sample of approximately 2,000 police investigative case files throughout Connecticut. This study traces the examination of forensic evidence through the relevant police agency, and on to any resulting prosecution and court sentence. The data collected were examined with an eye toward possible improvements in prioritization, solvability, and prosecutorial objectives. In all, the benefit of the analysis of forensic evidence has proven to be far from axiomatic in improving investigative outcomes within the State of Connecticut.

Author

• David Schroeder, University of New Haven