The progressive opening of forensic science toward criminological concerns

Technology is increasingly offering new means of human behavior traceability. This situation is challenging the standing, scope and role of forensic science in the criminal Justice System. At the same time, criminology is developing methodologies that encompass virtual worlds, and deal with the increasing quantity of accessible digital data reflecting criminal behaviors. Identifying how these concerns overlap begs the question: should we reconsider the articulation of many aspects of both forensic science and criminology? This article proposes a progressive and systematic modeling activity along five steps: (i) the expression of the investigative logic of forensic science; (ii) the use of theories in environmental criminology; (iii) a more systematic search for associations between traces and between crime situations; (iv) the search for studies in diverse areas of criminology that actually or potentially rely on forensic case data and (v) the suggestion of models and methods for framing the approach.