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c.
Is Criminalistics a Profession?
In 
The Ontogeny of Criminalistics
(1963), Kirk lists three criteria that a pro-
fession must meet: (1) extensive training at a high educational level, (2) a
generally recognized and accepted code of behavior or ethics, and (3) estab-
lishment of competence. The parameters that Kirk promulgates seem both
reasonable and comprehensive. Did criminalistics in 1963 satisfy the require-
ments of a profession? Has the situation changed over the last 40 years? Kirk
cites the slow but finite expansion of academic programs in forensic science
to meet his first standard; currently this situation seems to be in flux. He
mentions the ethical code adopted by the California Association of Crimi-
nalists (CAC) to meet his second standard, but clearly acknowledges a lack
of formal adherence in the field as a whole, relying mostly on his generous
assumption that, “As a rule, even those practitioners not bound by any official
code of ethics tend to be objective, fair and just in their relations to the people
and the law.” His rationalization that, “The exceptions are not more glaring
than those in many of the established professions,” is at best equivocal. The
field has progressed in this area in that at least two national forensic organi-
zations, the American Association of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and the Amer-
ican Board of Criminalistics (ABC) each have codes of ethics, as have other
regional associations (see Appendices B, C, D). However, membership in these
organizations, hence adherence to any code, is still voluntary. Kirk concedes
the absence of any objective assessment of competence, such as certification,
to meet his third criterion. Quite recently, only in the 1990s, the ABC was
formed and began to administer both general and specialty certification
exams. However, like adherence to an ethical code, participation in certifica-
tion procedures is still voluntary. Kirk concludes, “Despite the limitations
still apparent in this relatively new field, the practice of criminalistics is clearly
meeting the requirements of a professional discipline.” Although he may have
been indulging in a bit of wishful thinking with his assessment of the state
of the practice in his day, Kirk clearly set the standard and paved the way for
ongoing progress in this area. We will discuss specific aspects of ethics and
accountability in greater detail in the last chapter of this book.
Thorwald provides a pertinent historical comment that may explain,
though not excuse, some of the lack of focus and cohesion that seems to have
* A concertmaster can make a cigar box sound like a Stradivarius; a beginning student can
make a Stradivarius sound like a cigar box. — Doug Emerson, San Gorgonio High School,
California, band director, 1970.
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Principles and Practice of Criminalistics
characterized the forensic profession in recent times. The second world war,
even more than the first, redirected a technological explosion toward military
efforts. Personnel and resources were pulled from academic pursuits to assist
their country of citizenship in the war effort. While civilian science would
ultimately benefit from advances instigated by wartime progress, the imme-
diate effect on the newly emerging forensic field was a dissipation of focus
leading to a disorganization of the profession from which we are still recov-
ering. Although methods and procedures continued to be disseminated, the
accompanying training in analytical details and interpretation guidelines was
less than uniform, and the importance of quality assurance was often lost in
the haste to get laboratories up and running. The urbanization instigated by
the baby boom population explosion, along with the more effective firearms
spawned by the war, created a predictable environment for the growth of
violent crime, as did the increase in recreational drug use. The need for
physical evidence analysis was increasing both in quantity and variety.
As forensic science has matured, the need for high standards, professional
cohesion, and an intellectual framework has slowly come to be acknowledged.
A systematic literature, one of the earmarks of an autonomous discipline has
emerged. Current technological advances are directed more toward automa-
tion, efficiency, and increasing sensitivity, than toward discovering novel or
revolutionary methods. While the battle between the obligatory pragmatism
of an applied science and the essential cerebral discourse of an academic
discipline remains in the balance, we can be assured that it is only the
continuing conflict that will lead to progress.