Are Forensic Scientists Experts?

Despite playing a critical role in our criminal justice system, very little is known about the expertise of forensic scientists. Here, we review three disciplines where research has begun to investigate such expertise: handwriting analysis, fingerprint examination, and facial image comparison. We assess expertise against the scientific standard, but conclude that meeting this standard does not provide a sufficiently high benchmark for the forensic sciences. Forensic scientists must demonstrate a minimum standard of performance, the ability to defer judgement in cases at high risk of error, and the ability to effectively communicate the strength of their evidence to factfinders. We discuss the limitations of current forensic science expertise research to adequately capture factors affecting operational accuracy and outline crucial differences between studies assessing perceptual skill and operational accuracy. Finally, we identify key areas for future research and encourage cognitive scientists to engage in forensic science research.