Using the hands-on learning techniques provided in this manual, students will master the practical application of their theoretical knowledge of forensics. Download PDF. It describes how various forms of evidence are collected, preserved and analyzed scientifically, and then presented in court based on the analysis of the forensic expert.
The book addresses knowledge of the natural and physical sciences, including biology and chemistry, while introducing readers to the application of science to the justice system.
New topics added to this edition include coverage of the formation and work of the NIST Organization of Scientific Area Committees OSACs , new sections on forensic palynology pollen , forensic taphonomy, the opioid crisis, forensic genetics and genealogy, recent COVID fraud schemes perpetrated by cybercriminals, and a wholly new chapter on forensic psychology.
Each chapter presents a set of learning objectives, a mini glossary, and acronyms. While chapter topics and coverage flow logically, each chapter can stand on its own, allowing for continuous or selected classroom reading and study. Forensic Science, Fourth Edition is an ideal introductory textbook to present forensic science principles and practices to students, including those with a basic science background without requiring prior forensic science coursework.
It includes training and education requirements, salary statistics, and professional and Internet resources. Ethics in Forensic Science Author : J. A failure of forensic scientists to act ethically can result in serious adverse outcomes. However, while seemingly simple to define, the application of being "ethical" is somewhat more obscure. That is, when is ethical, ethical, and when is it not? Because we have an adversarial legal system, differences of opinion exist in forensic science.
However, there are instances when differences are so divergent that an individual's ethics are called into question. In light of not only the O. Simpson trial - the first national trial to question the ethical behavior of forensic scientists - and the National Academy of Science critique of forensic science, ethical issues have come to the forefront of concern within the forensic community.
Download Download PDF. Translate PDF. Forensic science is essentially the search for information concerning past events specific to criminal investigations. Can also identify different stages of decomposition and estimate time since death. Particularly useful with maggots, as their rate of development can aid in the estimation of time since death. What is the role of the Forensic Scientist? To answer questions for their employer Forensic scientists are approached with a question or problem to sol e.
Questio s like Whe e did this o e f o? Sometimes the answer is easy to come by for the forensic scientist, but sometimes these simple questions will take days, weeks, even months, of sample taking, research, and analysis to answer. To be objective Forensic scientists are not responsible for determining who is guilty of the crime; that is for a jury to decide.
As an expert, the forensic scientist is not trying to prove anything, but is employed to provide information in an accurate and objective manner. To act as an expert witness The culmination of the analysis performed and conclusions reached is the expert witness report. This report is given to their employer and is then submitted to the court as evidence in the trial stage of a criminal investigation.
The forensic scientist may be called upon by the court to appear personally as an expert witness to be questioned on their report. It is therefore ESSENTIAL that the report be as truthful, accurate, and thorough as possible lest the opposing side is able to poke holes in your testimony and therefore discredit you as an expert. What is the goal of the Forensic Scientist?
Proxy indicators are the traces left behind from contact. These indicators can be traced back to their source thus placing a suspect at the scene of crime. Most work done by specialists deal with identifying and locating the origins of proxy indicators. During a criminal investigation: A forensic specialist will be contacted by the police only if their skills are required.
The scientist may get involved at the start of the investigation, or sometime after the investigations has commenced. Most forensic scientists work in the lab, but some do visit the scene of crime. The book addresses knowledge of the natural and physical sciences, including biology and chemistry, while introducing readers to the application of science to the justice system. New topics added to this edition include coverage of the formation and work of the NIST Organization of Scientific Area Committees OSACs , new sections on forensic palynology pollen , forensic taphonomy, the opioid crisis, forensic genetics and genealogy, recent COVID fraud schemes perpetrated by cybercriminals, and a wholly new chapter on forensic psychology.
Each chapter presents a set of learning objectives, a mini glossary, and acronyms. While chapter topics and coverage flow logically, each chapter can stand on its own, allowing for continuous or selected classroom reading and study. Forensic Science, Fourth Edition is an ideal introductory textbook to present forensic science principles and practices to students, including those with a basic science background without requiring prior forensic science coursework. With today's popular television programs about criminal justice and crime scene investigation and the surge of detective movies and books, students often have a passion for exploring forensic science.
This dynamic, visually powerful text has been carefully crafted to ensure solid scientific content and an approach that delivers precisely what you need for your high school course. Student materials combine math, chemistry, biology, physics, and earth science with content aligned to the National Science Education Standards, clearly identified by icons.
This book balances extensive scientific concepts with hands-on classroom and lab activities, readings, intriguing case studies, and chapter-opening scenarios. The book's exclusive Gale Forensic Science eCollectionTM database provides instant access to hundreds of journals and Internet resources that spark the interest of today's high school students.
The new edition includes one new chapter on entomology and new capstone projects that integrate the concepts learned throughout the text. Comprehensive, time-saving teacher support and lab activities deliver exactly what you need to ensure that students receive a solid, integrated science education that keeps readers at all learning levels enthused about science. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
This new edition of Forensic Science: The Basics provides a fundamental background in forensic science as well as criminal investigation and court testimony. It describes how various forms of data are collected, preserved, and analyzed, and also explains how expert testimony based on the analysis of forensic evidence is presented in court. The book. Forensic Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications presents a new approach to the study of applications of chemistry to forensic science.
It is edited by one of the leading forensic scientists with each chapter written by international experts specializing in their respective fields, and presents the applications of chemistry, especially analytical chemistry, to various topics that make up the forensic scientists toolkit.
This comprehensive, textbook includes in-depth coverage of the major topics in forensic chemistry including: illicit drugs, fibers, fire and explosive residues, soils, glass and paints, the chemistry of fingerprint recovery on porous surfaces, the chemistry of firearms analysis, as well as two chapters on the key tools of forensic science, microscopy and chemometrics. Each topic is explored at an advanced college level, with an emphasis, throughout the text, on the use of chemical tools in evidence analysis.
Forensic Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications is essential reading for advanced students of forensic science and analytical chemistry, as well as forensic science practitioners, researchers and faculty, and anyone who wants to learn about the fascinating subject of forensic chemistry in some depth. Forensic Anthropology serves as a graduate level text for those studying and teaching forensic anthropology, as well as an excellent reference for forensic anthropologist libraries or for use in casework.
While writing a book targeted for one end of that spectrum most likely makes it unsuitable for the other end, we see Fundamentals of Forensic Science as being appropriate across that spectrum. Educators teaching a forensic science course for the first time will find the supplemental course materials helpful in getting started. Experienced educators will find these resources helpful as well but will also appreciate the breadth and depth of the chapters of this text.
Despite its broad applicability, our intent in writing Fundamentals of Forensic Science was for students who have already taken basic science courses. Fundamentals of Forensic Science is organized roughly along the timeline of a real case. It begins with an introduction and history of forensic science as background to the discipline and the structure of a modern forensic science laboratory. Chapter 2 covers the processing of crime scenes and Chapter 3 covers the nature of forensic evidence. In Chapters 4 Microscopy , 5 Spectroscopy , and 6 Chromatography , we cover the basic methods of analysis used in most, if not all, forensic science examinations.
The biological sciences are then presented: Pathology Chapter 7 , anthropology and odontology Chapter 8 , entomology Chapter 9 , serology and blood pattern analysis Chapter 10 , DNA Chapter 11 , and finally hairs Chapter The third section covers physical evidence, including friction ridges Chapter 19 , questioned documents Chapter 20 , firearms and toolmarks Chapter 21 , shoeprints, tire treads, xvi Preface to the First Edition and other impression evidence Chapter The final chapter in the book looks at the intersection of forensic science and the law Chapter With a project like writing a textbook we submit that no project is like writing a textbook!
Our aim was to yield only where necessary and to dig in when we felt our vision of the book was in jeopardy. We feel that the decisions we made have resulted in a better product and hope that you do as well. The early days of forensic science could certainly be called mixed, when science served justice by its application to questions before the court. Forensic science has grown as a profession and into a science in its own right.
The discipline divides neatly into halves, like the term that describes it. Areas of Forensic Science Criminalistics The term criminalistics is sometimes used synonymously with forensic science.
The word was coined to capture the various aspects of applying scientific and technological methods to the investigation and resolution of legal matters. In some forensic science laboratories, forensic scientists may be called criminalists.
Criminalistics is generally thought of as the branch of forensic science that involves the collection and analysis of physical evidence generated by criminal activity.
It includes areas such as drugs, firearms and toolmarks, fingerprints, blood and body fluids, footwear, and trace evidence. It might include fire and explosive residues, glass, soils, hairs, fibers, paints, plastics and other polymers, wood, metals, and chemicals. These items are generally analyzed by forensic science or forensic science laboratories.
Forensic Pathology 4 Back in the days when the Quincy television show was popular, many people thought of forensic pathology and forensic science as the same thing—this misperception persists today. Forensic pathology is conducted by a medical examiner, who is a physician, specially trained in clinical and anatomic pathology, whose function is to determine the cause and manner of death in cases where the death occurred under suspicious or unknown circumstances.
This often involves a teamwork approach with the autopsy or post-mortem examination of the body as the central function. Other team members may include toxicologists, anthropologists, entomologists, and radiologists. Medical examiners are often called to death scenes to make some preliminary observations including an estimate of the time since death.
Introduction Forensic Anthropology Forensic anthropology is a branch of physical anthropology, the study of humans and their ancestors. Forensic anthropology deals with identifying people who cannot be identified through soft tissue features, such as fingerprints or photographs.
Typically, forensic anthropologists analyze skeletal remains to determine if they are human and, if so, the age, sex, height, and other characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, of the deceased. If the characteristics of the remains compare favorably with those of the missing person in question, then further methods such as x-rays are employed to positively identify individualize the remains.
Forensic anthropologists figure prominently in the reconstruction and identification of victims in mass fatalities, such as bombings and airplane crashes. Working closely with pathologists, dentists, and others, forensic anthropologists aid in the identification of people who otherwise might never be identified. Forensic Odonotology Sometimes called forensic dentistry, forensic odontology has a large number of applications to the forensic sciences.
They include identification of human remains in mass disasters enamel is the hardest material produced by the body and intact teeth are often found , post-mortem x-rays of the teeth can be compared to ante-mortem x-rays, and the comparison of bitemarks. One of the most famous of all serial killers in the United States, Theodore Bundy, was brought to justice in part on evidence of bitemarks.
He bit his last victim after her death. This was important evidence that the jury used to convict him of the murder. As a consequence of this conviction, Bundy was executed Rule, Forensic engineering played a large role in the balcony collapse in the lobby of a large hotel in Kansas City where many people were injured and some died. Forensic engineers investigated the site and determined that the concrete supports used in construction of the balcony were made of substandard materials.
This led to criminal charges against the contractor. Forensic engineers are also heavily involved in reconstruction of traffic accidents. They can determine path, direction, speed, the person who was driving, and the type of collision from what may seem to the layperson as scant evidence.
Toxicology Toxicology involves the chemical analysis of body fluids and tissues to determine if a drug or poison is present. Toxicologists are then able to determine how much and what effect, if any, the substance might have had on the person. Forensic toxicologists often work hand in hand with forensic pathologists. More than half of the cases that forensic toxicologists receive involve drunk driving cases and the determination of the level of alcohol in blood or breath.
Behavioral Sciences The forensic application of the behavioral sciences, psychiatry, psychology, and their related disciplines, ranges from the study of human behavior, including the investigation to the courtroom. Such profiling has provided useful information about the person who the police should look for as they investigate serial crimes.
People generally act in predictable, reproducible ways when they commit crimes and the discovery of these behavioral patterns can provide clues to the personality of the offender. Behavioral scientists may also be called upon to help in interviewing or interrogating suspects in crimes or to develop profiles of likely airplane hijackers and possible terrorists.
Questioned Documents Questioned document examination is a complicated and broad area of study; a trainee may study with an experienced examiner for several years before being qualified. This field has many facets including the comparison of handwritten or typewritten documents to determine their source or authenticity. In addition, questioned document examiners may be called upon to detect erasures or other obliterations, forgeries, altered documents, charred documents, and counterfeit currencies.
Questioned document examiners analyze papers and inks to determine their source and age. Other Specialties Many kinds of scientists may be called upon to play a role in a forensic investigation. This does not mean, however, that this is their full-time job: Their area of expertise may need to be called upon only rarely or only in particular cases. Public domain image at www. Forensic feather identification is important to not only determine the cause of a crash but also to potentially help rule out other types of causes, such as mechanical issues or terrorist activities.
If that does not work, the snarge is sent to the DNA laboratory for genetic analysis. A working knowledge of avian anatomy is still crucial in the age of forensic DNA work. In one case, deer DNA was identified on a plane that had a strike at 1, feet—clearly not possible. Analysis of a tiny piece of feather identified the bird as a black vulture, which apparently had flesh from a deer carcass in its stomach. The Laboratory, which started analyzing bird remains from airplane crashes in , does work for military crashes as well as commercial airlines.
Wald, M. During the next thousand years there were many advances in science, but only forensic medicine was practiced to any great extent. In an early case, a Mr. Lefarge died under mysterious circumstances and his wife fell under suspicion. He further showed that the source of the arsenic could only have been poisoning, and his wife was subsequently convicted of the crime Wilson and Wilson, The 18th and 19th centuries saw considerable advances in the science of personal identification.
Enter Alphonse Bertillon, a French criminologist, who developed a method of recording physical features of a person in such a way that the record would be unique to that person, referred to as anthropometry or Bertillonage, after its creator. He developed a set of precise measuring instruments to be used with his method. The Bertillonage system became very popular throughout Europe and the United States. It became widely used in U.
In William West was admitted to the prison to serve a sentence. When he was measured using the Bertillon system, it was found that a man with the name William West with virtually the same set of measurements was already at the prison!
This sounded the death knell for Bertillonage and opened the door for the study of fingerprints. Juan Vucetich, a Croatian who lived in Argentina and worked for the La Plata police force, conceived of a method of fingerprint classification in that provided for 1,, primary classifications of fingerprints. As history and culture would have it, his work was largely unheard of in Europe until much later.
Sir William Herschel, a British officer in India, and Henry Faulds, a Scottish medical doctor, both studied fingerprints as a scientific endeavor to see whether they could be used reliably for identification. In , Sir Edward Henry devised a fingerprint classification system still used today to categorize sets of fingerprints and store them for easy retrieval Thorwald, Modern blood and body fluid typing got its start around when Karl Landsteiner showed that human blood came in different types, and his work led to the ABO blood typing system.
This work, in turn, led to the discovery of other blood antigen systems such as Rh, MnSs, and the Lewis systems. White blood cell antigen systems were also discovered. From these discoveries came the forensic typing of blood to help distinguish one individual from another Nuland, In the early part of the 20th century, Goddard popularized the comparison microscope, which is two standard microscopes joined by an optical bridge.
This revolutionized the comparison of bullets, cartridges, toolmarks, hairs, and fibers. Microscopy is the mainstay of forensic science laboratories and includes newer methods, such as the scanning electron microscope.
Several professional forensic organizations help forensic scientists keep current and membership can convey many benefits, not the least of which is meeting other forensic scientists and developing contacts. Many of these organizations have journals associated with them. On the Web: Professional Forensic Organizations Some professional forensic organizations have regional groups affiliated with them; check the websites for contact information.
Their organization varies by jurisdiction, agency, and history. The variation becomes more pronounced when laboratories in the United States are compared with those in other countries.
The examinations and services that a forensic science laboratory offers will also vary, depending on budget, personnel, equipment, and crime statistics. This section will focus on laboratories in the United States and answer two questions: First, how is the laboratory administered and second, what services does the laboratory provide? These number something over today. There are also an undetermined number of private forensic science laboratories, and some estimates put this number at 50 to Today a significant number of the private laboratories are devoted to DNA analysis in either criminal cases or in the civil area, chiefly in paternity testing.
Private laboratories serve a necessary function in our criminal justice system in that they are able to provide forensic science services directly to persons accused of crimes. Most public laboratories can provide forensic science services only to police or other law enforcement departments and will not analyze evidence requested by an accused person except under a court order.
Some public laboratories, however, will accept evidence from private citizens, and the fee is subsidized by the jurisdiction where the laboratory operates. Public Forensic Science Laboratories Public forensic science laboratories are administered and financed by a unit of government which varies with the jurisdiction.
Different states have different models, and the federal government has its own collection of laboratories. Laboratories administered by the federal government, typical state systems, and local laboratories will be discussed separately.
In and in , the Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted censuses on public forensic science laboratories to provide a basis for better understanding the industry Durose, The laboratories, in turn, can now self-evaluate their performance against their peers and allocate their resources to the best result.
While this is certainly the most famous forensic science laboratory in the United States, if not the world, it is far from being the only one in the federal government.
There are a surprising number and types of laboratories administered by several departments of the U. It has one laboratory, in Quantico, Virginia, near its training academy. The FBI laboratory supports investigative efforts of the FBI and will, upon request, analyze certain types of evidence for state and local law enforcement agencies and forensic science laboratories.
The Drug Enforcement Administration DEA is responsible for investigating major illicit drug enterprises and to help interdict shipments of drugs from other countries. In support of this function, the DEA maintains a network 12 Introduction of seven drug laboratories throughout the United States.
The DEA laboratories not only support the efforts of the DEA investigators but also work with local law enforcement in joint operations. There is also a fire research laboratory in conjunction with the Washington, DC, laboratory. Although the primary responsibilities of the ATF are embodied in its name—the regulation of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms—the laboratories have particular expertise in fire scene analysis and explosives.
It also has the capability of questioned document and fingerprint analyses as well as trace evidence. This laboratory has two major functions. The first is in the area of counterfeiting and fraud; counterfeit currency, fraudulent credit cards, and related documents are handled in this laboratory.
The second major component of the Secret Service laboratory supports its function of executive protection. This laboratory engages in research and development of countermeasures and protection of the president and other officials. This laboratory specializes in the various disciplines of questioned document analysis including inks and papers.
A good deal of its work includes authentication of signatures on tax returns, fraudulent documentation relating to taxation, and other forms of fraud in the name of avoiding federal taxation.
Fish and Wildlife Service operates a forensic science laboratory in Ashland, Oregon. Among other duties, these agents apprehend poachers and people who kill or injure animals on the endangered species list.
Thus, the laboratory does many examinations involving animals and has particular expertise in the identification of hooves, hairs, feathers, bone, and other animal tissues. The laboratory also provides consulting services for other countries in their efforts to track people who traffic in animal parts such as bear gall in certain parts of Asia bear gallbladders are thought to improve 13 Criminal Justice and Forensic Science sexual potency and elephant ivory.
The U. Postal Service Although the Postal Service is not strictly a federal agency, nor is it managed by one, it is considered to be a quasi-federal agency.
This effort mainly involves questioned document analysis although the laboratory also has fingerprint and trace evidence capabilities. Historically, there has been no nationwide effort to standardize laboratory organization or function, so each state has developed a system that meets its particular needs.
These forensic science laboratories have arisen from two sources. The most prevalent is law enforcement: The majority of forensic science laboratories are administered by a unit of a state or local police or other law enforcement agency. The other source of forensic science laboratories is health departments or other scientific agencies.
The Michigan State Police laboratory had expertise in firearms, questioned documents, and fingerprints, whereas the health department laboratory had expertise in drugs, toxicology, and trace evidence, such as hairs and fibers. The state police in Michigan now operate a network of seven regional laboratories. In all states there is a statewide laboratory or laboratory system that is operated by the state police, state department of justice, or as an independent state laboratory system, such as in Virginia.
In California, for example, the state department of justice operates an extensive network of state-financed laboratories, whereas West Virginia has a single laboratory that serves the whole state. Besides the statewide laboratory system, most states also have one or more laboratories operated by a local governmental unit.
For example, in Maryland some counties have laboratories under the jurisdiction of the county police department separate from the state system. In Michigan, the Detroit City Police Department has its own forensic science laboratory, but the rest of Wayne County surrounding Detroit is serviced by the state police laboratories.
This patchwork of political, geographical, and historical 14 Introduction jurisdictions can be confusing but is usually maintained because of real societal needs, such as population levels, crime rates, and geography.
Forensic Science Laboratory Services Forensic science laboratories offer different levels of service. In a statewide system, for example, at least one laboratory will offer a full range of forensic science services typically at the headquarters laboratory while the regional laboratories may offer only limited services say, fingerprints and drugs and then send the other evidence to the headquarters laboratory.
This section discusses the capabilities of a typical full-service forensic laboratory. Standard Laboratory Services Evidence Intake All forensic science laboratories have a system for receiving evidence.
The laboratory may have one employee assigned to manage this unit full time and may employ several additional people, depending on the volume of evidence and casework. The evidence intake unit will have a secured area for storing evidence, the size of which depends again on the volume of work: It may be a room or a warehouse. A police officer or investigator will bring evidence to the laboratory and fill out a form that describes the evidence and the types of Table 1.
A unique laboratory number will be assigned to the case, and each item of evidence will be labeled with this number, along with other identifying information, such as the item number. This continues the chain of custody of the evidence, which is the documentation of the location of evidence from the time it is obtained to the time it is presented in court. The chain of custody begins at the crime scene when the evidence is collected. The job of the evidence intake unit is like that of inventory control for a business.
Modern intake systems use computerized systems that generate barcodes that are placed on each item of evidence or its container. The barcode is scanned by each unit of the laboratory that takes possession of that item so the evidence can be easily traced by computer as it makes its way through the laboratory. Paperwork accompanies the evidence, either in hard copy or electronically, as each analyst signs or accepts possession of the evidence.
Analytical Sections Once the evidence has been received by the laboratory, it will be assigned to one or more forensic units for analysis; each unit, in turn, assigns a scientist to take charge of the evidence and its analysis.
Many times, more than one scientist will be asked to analyze an item of evidence, and then arrangements must be made to get the evidence to each scientist in a logical order. For example, a gun may have to be test fired, but also may contain fingerprints and suspected blood.
The examinations must be performed in an order that will not disrupt or destroy any of the evidence on the gun. In some laboratories, one forensic scientist may be certified to examine several of these evidence types; in larger laboratories that have the luxury of specialization, a scientist may examine only one or two. Other Laboratory Services Some laboratories offer services in addition to those listed in the preceding section, depending on the need for such services and the availability of qualified scientists.
Laboratories that have an occasional need for these 16 Introduction services may submit the evidence to the FBI laboratory, a private laboratory, or a local specialist. Specialists areas include polygraph so-called lie detectors , voiceprint and speaker identification, bloodstain pattern analysis, entomology, odontology, and anthropology.
Administrative Issues with Forensic Science Laboratories Forensic science laboratories are faced with ever increasing demands and workloads. Courts have come to expect more and higher quality expert testimony and speedier turnaround times from forensic laboratories. More scrutiny also has been placed on the forensic science systems around the world by the public, the media, and government officials.
This has caused a number of administrative issues to assume greater importance; two of the major ones are accountability and access. Accountability Virtually every hospital and clinic in the United States has to be accredited by a responsible agency. Environmental and pharmaceutical companies, among others, also have accreditation procedures.
Considering the impact that forensic science can have on trials, this situation is disturbing. Arguably, the major reason for this state of affairs is that forensic science laboratories historically have arisen within police agencies whose focus is not science. Movements in the United States and worldwide to accredit forensic science laboratories have had some success: Some states, such as New York, make it mandatory for forensic laboratories to be accredited, but many seek accreditation voluntarily.
The accreditation process is rigorous and involves a self-study process, an extensive checklist of requirements, and an on-site evaluation by trained members of the accrediting board. It should be stressed that ASCLD accreditation does not directly address the competence of the individual forensic scientists who work at the laboratory.
It does mean that the laboratory meets certain minimum criteria for the physical plant facilities, heating-cooling, etc.
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