When might a detective use forensic analysis?

Forensic analysis is primarily utilized to examine physical evidence collected from a crime scene. This process involves the scientific examination and evaluation of various types of evidence, such as fingerprints, blood samples, or ballistic materials. By analyzing this physical evidence, detectives can uncover critical information that may link a suspect to a crime or help establish a timeline of events.

For instance, DNA evidence can confirm the presence of a suspect at a scene, while ballistic analysis can match a firearm to specific bullets found. This type of empirical evidence often plays a pivotal role in the investigative process, providing an objective basis for building a case.

The other options refer to aspects of the investigation that do not directly involve the physical evidence itself, such as assessing motives or witness credibility, which are more subjective processes, or evaluating a suspect’s mental state, which falls under psychological analysis. These elements, while important in their own right, do not engage the same scientific methods that forensic analysis entails.