Jaela West-Lewis

Mrs. Haack

Global Scholars: Convergent Science

13 March 2020

Extracurricular 4: The Danger of Insufficient Funding

The Extracurricular Analysis assignment is to complete, outside of Glenelg’s curriculum,

some sort of extracurricular activity, whether it be an analysis of research, a competition, a news

item, etc. The subject must relate to the primary research focus, the essential question of the

scholar. Four analyses in total must be completed. In this extracurricular analysis, I will be

looking at the impact of insufficient funding in forensic science departments.

With the conclusion that forensic science is very relevant in the modern age of criminal

justice, its usefulness has been proven over the years of improved criminal justice proceedings.

While individual aspects of forensic science, like fingerprints or DNA, can only be so useful on

their own, their collective use is what gives cases their strength and sends many deserving

individuals to prison for the betterment of society. But with insufficient funding in the forensic

departments across the world, this commitment to justice is unable to be fulfilled. The main thing

that insufficient funding impacts in the quality of forensic science evidence that is produced by

police and independent laboratories. According to Dr. Gillian Tully, a forensic science regulator,

“the main challenge to achieving quality forensic science over the past year was financial,”

(“Insufficient”). There also exists the increasing demand to produce more evidence. With that, it

would be most efficient to hire more staff. But because of the under-funding, laboratories cannot

hire additional staff in order to attempt to keep up with the increase workload. (“Strengthening”)
With insufficient funding it can also lead to less reliable results to tests of evidence. If the proper

equipment is lacking, cheaper alternatives might be the only option for a department. With those

cheaper alternatives, the risks for inaccurate results increases. With the appropriate funding,

proper systems for organization, more staff, and better equipment can be purchased and provide

the men and women who work to solve criminal cases and give closure to those affected can be

efficient and do their jobs well. As I wish to enter the forensic science field in the future, this

issue has become important to me. I heard from the scientists at Prince George’s County

Forensics Department that gaining positions in police departments was very selective and

difficult and it was a long journey to a regular, paid position.

Before completion of my Hands-On Learning activity, I had little understanding of

funding for forensic science. After talking to various department heads at Prince George’s

County Forensic Department, they told me of their understaffing issues and need of more or

better equipment or more space. They told me of their unsuccessful fight to gain the tools they

needed to be efficient. This analysis supports their statements and brings to light the injustice

done by these actions. If more noticeable fields were impacted like this, like police or fire

department, then people would be outraged on how it affected their lives. Forensic science needs

o be regarded that way too. Evidence is one of the most important aspects of criminal justice,

which put away individuals that can impact people’s lives, for example monetarily or by taking

actual lives. This issue needs to be taken seriously or its unimportance to people will allow more

things to slip through the cracks.

Learning of the insufficient funding given to forensic science departments made me think

of a new lens to examine my essential question through. Instead of looking at the relevancy and

reliability of forensic science through a scientific lens, my last two analyses have been looking
through a social lens. Looking at how people viewed forensic science and its relevancy to them.

With the lack of funding, those who decide the money distribution must not believe forensic

science is all that important, or that it is managing fine as it is. Those opinions hurt the forensic

science field and the fate of criminal justice in this society all together.
 Works Cited

"Insufficient Funding for Forensic Science Puts Justice at Risk." Forensic Magazine, 2017.

ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1860331253?accountid=1098.

"Strengthening Forensic Science Includes Supporting Forensic Laboratory Funding." Innocence

Project, 18 Sept. 2017, www.innocenceproject.org/strengthening-forensic-science-

includes-supporting-forensic-laboratory-funding/.