In episode eight of the Forensic Advancement season, Just Science interviews Ron Smith. Smith is a 45-year veteran of latent print analysis and the current president of Ron Smith and Associates, a Mississippi-based company that provides training, consulting, and proficiency testing services to the forensics community.

Over the last 30 years, Smith has witnessed a shift in the role of the forensic scientist in the criminal justice system. He believes that being an expert witness, exhibiting fairness, and staying current are now the most important parts of being a forensic scientist. Listen in as he discusses this shift in more detail and the direction the field of forensic sciences is headed in this installment of Just Science.

This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.