The work of detectives in gathering intelligence through conventional investigations is paramount to criminal apprehension and to inform judicial debates. However, through the years, it has become clear that the role of forensic science for the analysis of trace evidence can often be crucial to steer investigations and make court cases more robust. The opportunity for forensic science to contribute to narrow down the pool of suspects and provide scientific evidence to prove/disprove the defendant’s statement can have a tremendous impact on savings to the public purse and on speeding up investigations by minimising human resources. Most importantly, more and better informed judicial debates would contribute to avoid or minimise miscarriage of justice.