Forensic Science

Chapter 1: Introduction

Ms. Merehan
Adel
What is Forensic Science?
• It is the application of science to those criminal and civil laws
including people, places and things that are enforced by police
agencies in a criminal justice system.
• Applied Science, applies:
Chemistry
Biology
to civil and criminal law (Areas of Forensic science)
Physics
Geology
• Often called “criminalistics”
• Places physical evidence into a professional discipline.
History of Forensic Science
 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

• Popularized physical detection methods in a crime scene

• Developed the character Sherlock Holmes
 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• 1887 published first novel, A Study in Scarlet
• "I've found it! I've found it," he shouted to my companion, running towards us with
a test-tube in his hand. "I have found a re-agent which is precipitated by
haemoglobin, and by nothing else . . . . Why, man, it is the most practical medico-
legal discovery for years. Don't you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood
stains? . . . . The old guaiacum test was very clumsy and uncertain. So is the
microscopic examination for blood corpuscles. The latter is valueless if the stains are
a few hours old. Now, this appears to act as well whether the blood is old or new.
Had this test been invented, there are hundreds of men now walking the earth who
would long ago have paid the penalty of their crimes. . . . Criminal cases are
continually hinging upon that one point. A man is suspected of a crime months
perhaps after it has been committed. His linen or clothes are examined and
brownish stains discovered upon them. Are they blood stains, or mud stains, or rust
stains, or fruit stains, or what are they? That is a question which has puzzled many
an expert, and why? Because there was no reliable test. Now we have the Sherlock
Holmes's test, and there will no longer be any difficulty."

→ had a considerable influence on popularizing scientific crime-detection methods

Mathieu Orfila (1787 – 1853)
• Father of Forensic Toxicology

• 1814 - Treatise on detection of poisons & their effects

on animals.
Alphonse Bertillon (1853 – 1914)

• Father of Criminal Detection by measuring physical

features.
• Devised the first scientific system of personal
identification, using body measurements known as
anthropometry (Bertillonage) in 1879.
Dr. Juan Vucetich
• Conducted a primary Classification of fingerprints
 Francis Galton (1822 – 1911)
• Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their
classification.
• He classified fingerprints into three pattern types (loops, arches
and whrols)

• 1892 – Published a book entitled Finger Prints

Sir Edward Henry
• Devised a fingerprints classification system (1901)
that still used today to categorize sets of
fingerprints and store them for easy retrieval.
Alexandre Lacassagne
• He founded the world’s first forensic
science laboratory in France in 1910
Edmond Locard (1877 – 1966)
• Demonstrated how the principles
developed by Hans Gross could be
incorporated into a workable crime lab.
• Locard's exchange principle states that
once contact is made between two
surfaces a transfer of material(s) will
occur.
Leone Lattes (1887 – 1954)
• Father of bloodstain identification.
• Devised a simple procedure for determining the blood type (A,B,O,AB)
of a dried bloodstain
Sir Alec Jeffries
• Developed first DNA typing method (DNA
fingerprinting) in 1980s.
Kary Mullis
• His work in 1980s led to the discovery of the
“Polymerase chain reaction” (PCR).
 Calvin Goddard (1891 – 1955)
• Used a comparison microscope (which is 2
standard microscopes joined with a
bridge) for bullets, cartridges, fibers,
toolmarks and hairs.
• Published study of “Tool marks” on bullets
Albert S. Osborn (1858 – 1946)
• Developed fundamental principles of document
examination
• 1910 – Treatise Questioned Documents

• Was responsible for the acceptance of documents as

scientific evidence by the courts.
Organization of a
Crime Laboratory
Crime Labs
• Since the 1960's the number of crime labs increased due to the courts
demanding secure scientifically evaluated evidence.
• More crimes
• More drug related crimes
• Greater need for physical evidence
• Use of DNA profiling (1990’s)
Services of the Crime Lab
• Many local crime laboratories have been created solely for the
purpose of processing evidence
• Currently most of their energy and funds are used to analyze drugs and DNA.
• In 1932, Hoover first established a national forensics laboratory to
support all law enforcement in the U.S.
• The oldest American forensics laboratory is in Los Angeles, California,
created in 1923 by August Volmer.
Crime Lab Units
Standard Optional
Physical Science Toxicology
Biology Fingerprints
Firearms Polygraph
Documents Voice Print
Photography Evidence
 Basic Services Provided by
Full-Service Crime Laboratories
• Physical Science Unit:
• Applies the principles and techniques of
Chemistry
Physics
Geology
to the identification and comparison of crime-scene evidence
• Biology Unit:
Identifies dried bloodstains and body fluids
Compares hairs and fibers
Identifes and compares botanical materials such as wood and plants
Performs DNA analysis
Basic Services (continued)
• Firearms Unit: examines
• Firearms
• Discharged bullets
• Cartridge cases
• Shotgun shells
• Ammunition of all types

• Document Examination Unit:

• Analyzes handwriting, paper and printers of documents

• Photography Unit:
• Examines and records physical evidence at the crime scene
and at suspects' locations
Optional Services Provided by Full-Service Crime Labs
• Toxicology Unit:
• Examines body fluids and organs in order to determine the
presence and identification of drugs and poisons

• Latent Fingerprint Unit:

• Processes and examines evidence for latent fingerprints
• i.e. those found on surfaces

• Polygraph Unit:
• Uses lie detectors, an essential tool of the crime
investigator rather than the forensic scientist
Optional Services (continued)

• Voiceprint Analysis Unit:

• Involved in cases of telephone threats or tape-recorded messages
• Investigators may be able to connect a voice to a particular suspect
• Evidence-Collection Unit:
• Incorporates evidence collection into a total forensic science service
The Functions of the Forensic Scientist

• Analysis of Physical Evidence

• The forensic scientist must be skilled in applying the principles and techniques
of the physical and natural sciences in order to identify the many types of
evidence that may be recovered during crime investigations.
• Expert witness
• An expert witness possesses a particular skill or has knowledge in a trade or
profession that will aid the court in determining the truth.
The Functions of the Forensic Scientist (continued)
• Specially trained evidence collection technicians

□ Training in Proper Recognition,

Collection, and Preservation of
Evidence is required so that
the forensic pathologist, as the
medical examiner or coroner,
can determine the cause of
death via an autopsy.
Other Forensic Services
Death can be classified into five different categories:
natural death, homicide, suicide, accident or
undetermined manner of death.
• Forensic Pathology
• The cause of death can often be determined by
performing an autopsy
 Other Forensic Services - 2
• Forensic Pathology – continued
• After a human body expires there are several stages of
death
 Rigor Mortis
• immediately following death, the muscles relax and then become rigid,
shortening of the muscles.
• If a body needs to be transported when rigor mortis is at its peak, it
might be necessary to break bones to change the position of the body.
• Livor Mortis
• when the human heart stops pumping, due to the blood begins to
settle in the parts of the body closest to the ground due to gravity. The
skin will appear dark blue or purple in these lower areas close to the
ground.
• Algor Mortis
• the process in which the body temperature continually cools after
death until it reaches room temperature, enabling the medical
examiner to establish the general time of death.
Other Forensic Services - 3
• Forensic Anthropology:
• Primarily involves the identification and examination of skeletal remains, in
order to determine if the remains are human or another type of animal.
• If human, ethnicity, sex, approximate age, and manner of death can often be
determined by an anthropologist.
Other Forensic Services - 4
• Forensic Entomology
• The study of insects and their developmental stages
• Can help to determine the time of death by knowing when those stages
normally appear in the insect's life cycle
Other Forensic Services - 5
• Forensic Psychiatry
• The study of human behavior and legal proceedings in both civil and criminal
cases
• In civil and criminal cases, competency often needs to be determined
• In criminal trials, the evaluation of behavior disorders is often required in
order to establish the psychological profile of a suspect.
Other Forensic Services - 6
• Forensic Odontology
• An odontologist can match bite marks to a suspect's teeth, or match a victim
to his dental x-rays
• Results in an identification of an unknown individual
• Forensic Engineering
• Used to analyze construction accidents, and the causes and origins of fires or
explosions
Forensic Analysis
• Can include organic and inorganic analytical techniques
• Organic analysis of unknown substances
• Includes analytical techniques such as Chromatography, UV- visible and infrared
Spectrophotometry and Mass Spectrometry.
• Inorganic analysis
• Includes techniques such as the emission spectrum of elements, Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometry, Neutron Activation Analysis, and X-Ray Diffraction Analysis.