Bitemarks: Their Use in the Contemporary Justice System
Iain Pretty · Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science · 2015
Abstract Bitemark evidence has been used in criminal matters since the mid 1960s. However, since the introduction of the science, there has never been a strong evidence base for the principles and practices of positively identifying an individual from a bitemark. The 2009 National Academy of Sciences report into forensic science highlighted bitemark analysis as an area of practice without the necessary evidence base, including error rates, validity, and reliability testing. Since that time, the published research has cast further doubt on the science and has been accompanied by numerous cases of wrongful convictions where bitemark analysis has been shown to be at fault. This article describes how bitemark evidence must be limited if it is to have any continued place within the criminal justice system.