Heather Doran

The Clarus project investigated communication and forms of bias within the handling of digital forensic evidence. The research took place in five partner countries (UK, Finland, Portugal, Czechia and Greece) and involved forensic science practitioners, law enforcement organisations, researchers and the public. This comic introduces the fictional Clarusia scenario and explores the research findings from the project, specifically how digital evidence is managed in an investigation into two murders in the fictional city of Clarusia. The focus is on how information is communicated within and between individuals and teams within law enforcement and forensic science. The research highlights how information travels through the different stages of an investigation, indicating where communication can fail, and how bias can appear within systems, tools, and organisational cultures. Some examples contained in the comic were taken directly from the research. The comic does not reflect how all investigations are conducted but brings together different examples and scenarios for the purposes of illustrating where bias and miscommunication can occur.

The Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Lord President of Scotland have worked together with the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh to create a series of judicial primers to assist the judiciary with a better understanding of scientific evidence in the courtroom. They were written by leading scientists and members of the Judiciary, and peer reviewed by practitioners, scientists and judges. The aim of the primers is to present clear, scientifically accurate information and to address the limitations and challenges associated with applying scientific evidence in a courtroom. The Understanding Forensic Science comic series led by the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee reinterprets the primers in order to visualise these issues and challenges for a wider audience.