Abstract

Forensic evidence is an important component in criminal justice decision - making. Yet, few studies have examined the effectiveness of the various macro - types of forensic evidence in facilitating arrest. This article analyzed over 4000 case files from five cities to determine how the collection and analysis of three macro - types of forensic evidence (Classification, Identification, and Progenitor) affect the probability of arrest across five different crime types. The results of several sets of logistic regression analyses suggest that forensic evidence affects the probability of arrest, but that the impact is not consistent across different types of crime or macro - types of forensic evidence. These findings suggest that the standard practice of dichotomizing forensic evidence collection to determine its effectiveness obscures how the macro - types of forensic evidence correlate with the odds of arrest differently across crime types.

Document Type

Article

Source Publication

Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society

Version

Published Version

Publication Date

2020

Volume

21

Issue

3

First Page

17

Last Page

38

Rights

© 2020 by the journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society (CCJLS) and The Western Society of Criminology. Used by permission.

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