Investigating the Worldwide Popularity of Forensics

Authors

Heather Stankiewicz, Salve Regina University

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The popularity of forensic science has increased dramatically over the past decade throughout the United States. However, has this popularity spread to other countries around the world and to what extent? In the United States, there are numerous television shows focusing on the law and crime scene analysis, including “CSI,” “Law and Order,” “24,” “Crossing Jordan,” and “Forensic Files,” just to name a few. It is evident that the fascination with forensics has also reached other countries with the spread of the television show “CSI” to England, Thailand, and even India. Because of the popularity with these television shows, this has led many school systems around the globe to add courses relating to this field. Worldwide, colleges are adding forensic science programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate levels. Surprisingly, similar programs are even sneaking their way into numerous high schools and middle schools across the globe. These programs are designed to put a new twist on biology and chemistry classes in order to intrigue students with something that is exciting and familiar. Due to the popularity of forensics, there have been many organizations formed and international conferences held to share knowledge in order to help other countries keep up with the new growing trend. With the popularity of television shows on crime, forensic educational programs, numerous professional organizations, and international conferences pertaining to this field, forensic science has become popular in numerous countries around the world.