The CSI Forensic Sciences Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the educational, research, and training initiatives in crime scene investigation, law enforcement, and forensic science in general. It operates as a subsidiary of the CSI Academy of Florida whose motto is “Dedicated to Finding the Truth.” Likewise, the CSI Forensic Sciences Foundation adheres to a similar fundamental principle – “Evidence Speaks the Truth.”
This concept is based on a foundational principle of forensic science, first stated by forensic science pioneer Edmond Locard in the early 1900’s, that “every contact leaves a trace.” This concept would later become known as Locard’s Theory of Exchange and would represent an integral element of crime scene processing and investigation. Paul Leland Kirk – one of the foremost criminologists of his time – further expanded on the principle by stating that,
Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him. Not only his fingerprints or his footprints, but his hair, the fibers from his clothes, the glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the paint he scratches, the blood or semen he deposits or collects. All of these and more, bear mute witness against him. This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it cannot be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can diminish its value.
Paul Leland Kirk
It is this fundamental principle that drives the initiatives of the CSI Forensic Sciences Foundation. Evidence cannot be wrong; evidence cannot lie. Whatever form it takes, evidence speaks the truth and it is our responsibility as investigators to investigate that truth and use it to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, to provide a voice to the voiceless, and to bring justice and closure to victims of crime.
