Present Forensic Technologies
1. Lack of inexpensively, mass-produced, widely available protective gear
i.e. gloves, first line of defense in protecting the crime scene investigator from bio-hazards
2. No easy accessibility of tools to document the scene
Tools are needed for preservation of evidence to present to courts
→ Current photography & videography: 35mm cameras, automated color film processing, high resolution 25-100 ISO film
3. No magnetic fingerprint brush invented (yet)
There is a danger of brushing the fingerprints away, difficulty in developing fingerprints at a crime scene. Manual searches are done to find a match to suspects. Manual fingerprint identification is time consuming.
→ Now: Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) automatically compares a latent print from a crime scene to a databank of known fingerprints in a short period of time]
4. Poor analysis of body fluids
ABO blood types and genetic markers were used, which required large amount of blood evidence. Also susceptible to environmental degradation.
→ Now: DNA analysis of the 20th century: Accuracy, Small amount needed (PCR can amplify it), does not degrade over time
5. No databases: low success rates of identifying suspects
→ Now: a DNA profile from crime scene body fluids can be compared to a database of DNA profiles. Several states are routinely making "hits" from past unsolved cases to new DNA data currently collected from convicts. Databases can even be shared between states.