Fact, or Myth?MYTH: Advanced DNA analysis automatically identifies an individual within minutes.
FACT: Contrary to what is usually seen on TV, DNA analysis isn't as simple as swiping a bit of DNA from a crime scene on a cotton swab, and sticking it in a machine just for it to spit out a name in a couple of minutes. The FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) doesn't store any personal data about a person in it, so after the hours or days that it can take to come up with a DNA match (assuming the offender has done something to get his or her DNA put into CODIS), analysists still have to cross match it with other databases and cases, such as unsolved crimes or missing persons cases. |
MYTH: Fingerprints are always reliable, and can be used to identify people easily.
FACT: In reality, fingerprinting can somtimes be unreliable and doesn't always result in a suspect. The proccess is far from perfect, and doesn't always result in a match. AFIS has about 5 million fingerprint records, but only about 3.2 million individuals. This is because someone can have two or more prints in AFIS, if they are arrested more than once. On the other side, the suspect might not have a print in AFIS, because they may have never committed a crime and had their print taken. So, while fingerprinting is super cool, it's really not the magic that it's portrayed as on TV. |
Imagine you’re a young adult living in Georgia. You have a family and live a relatively peaceful life. One day, you hear about those cool DNA kits that can tell you stuff about your ancestry and health risks you’re prone to. As the self-proclaimed “true crimes” investigation enthusiast you are, you decide to upload the results into a website called GEDmatch, just to see if maybe you’re a distant relative to someone famous, good or bad. You upload them, wait a few days, but nothing comes of it. You eventually forget about it and go about living your life. A couple of months later, you get an email saying that you are a familial match to the suspect in a 40-year-old cold case involving the murder of a 21-year-old college student across the country.
Wow, right? |
Using science and newfound technology, forensic scientists and investigators were able to build an entire family tree from the little bit of evidence they had on the suspect and match it to your familial DNA a whole 40 years after the crime occurred.
Just a little while ago, this wouldn’t have even been possible. And now? It's solving old cold cases as we speak. The world of forensic science is rapidly evolving, and with it, the ability to go more in-depth in different scenarios and solve cases faster. |
Fingerprinting is something that actually hasn’t changed drastically since the technique is 150 years old.
The problem? Fingerprinting isn’t always super reliable. Fingerprints have specific ridges, branches, splits, and ends that make them one-of-a-kind. These ridge endings and splits are called minutiae, and they are what ultimately make or break a fingerprint identification. |
One of the most interesting books I encountered during this project was the book Forensic Faith by J. Warner Wallace. In this book, Wallace describes his transition from a strong athiest to a strong advocate for Christ, and shows how his skills and knowledge as a poliece officer and detective helped him come to this conclusion.
The biggest topic he discusses in this book is the idea of "forensic faith," and how we as Christians can use it. |
The best way to answer this question is to look at the different types of faith we can have, and how they compare to one another.
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To put it simply, the answer is to train.
Just like runners train for a marathon, or cadets train to become police officers, you must refine your skills and practice to become good at defending your faith. People usually aren't naturally amazing at everything, and must practice to get better. We as Christians need to train to get better at sharing and defending the word, and to do that we need to expose ourselves to the harsh reality of the world. |