forencic science - introduction part i b

An Introduction to Forensic Science I

An Introduction to
Forensic Science

Forensic Science ISouth Pointe High School

Course Topics & Perspective

Forensic science is the application of scientific knowledge to questions of civil and criminal law.

This course is a lab-based, hands-on course that will explore what forensic scientists do. You will learn modern forensic methods and use scientific methods to solve legal problems.


Course focus is on the collection and analysis of crime scene evidence (such as serology, toxicology, entomology, odontology and trace evidence), and the

Exploration of lab analysis techniques, (such as chromatography, DNA analysis, fingerprinting, and hair and footprint analysis).


Forensic scientists are also required to testify in court about their analysis of evidence.

To make a convincing case, you need to be able to clearly and concisely explain your results and their significance in lab reports.

Finally, mock crime scenes will be investigated and real case studies analyzed.

Interdisciplinary Relationships

Forensics is a diverse field, and rarely are forensic scientists generalists people who specialize in all aspects of forensic science. Forget what you see on CSI.

Forensic scientists dont wear pumps to a crime scene, they rarely interview suspects or make arrests, and they are not experts in all areas of forensic investigations. Rather, forensic experts usually specialize in one or two branches of forensic investigation.


A botanist may be an expert in forensic botany. An entomologist may be an expert in forensic entomology. Chemists may specialize in forensic toxicology or arson and bomb analysis. People with expertise in physics may focus on firearms and ballistics or blood spatter analysis.


It would be impossible to survey all areas of forensic science in a semester long high school course.

Rather, we will explore a range of fields, topics and methodologies to give you a sense of the diverse fields of study in forensics.


Nevertheless, forensic science is an applied scientific discipline, and your success in this course will require you to apply your basic understanding of physics, chemistry, biology and even math to explore the range of topics surveyed.

Forensic Science Defined:

Forensic Science (or Criminalistics)is the use of science & technology to enforce civil & criminal laws.

It is somewhat hard to pin down exactly what a forensic scientists does because it includes so many other areas of science.

Why do we look to science for assistance in our legal system?

IncreasingCrimeRates

New or ChangedLaws

New Crimes

NewWeapons(*see next slide)

Response toPublicConcerns

Response to Law Enforcement Concerns

MPj04286700000[1]New Weapons?

swissminigunhandactMCj04348650000[1]MaskedTerrorist4mail_posterApplying Science to Law

Applying science to the Criminal Justice System depends on a scientists ability to supplyaccurate&objectiveinformation that reflects the events that have occurred at a crime.

Civil vs. Criminal Law

CIVIL LAWCRIMINAL LAW

filed by aprivateparty.

a corporation

an individual

Penalty: a guilty defendantpaysthe plaintiff for losses caused by their actions.

no incarceration

filed by thegovernment

Penalty: a guilty defendant is punished by

incarceration(in jail/prison)

finepaid to the govt

execution(death penalty)

Crimes are divided into 2 classes:

misdemeanors- < 1 year incarceration

felonies- 1+ year sentence

History & Development of Forensic Science

senateWhen in Rome

Forensic comes from theLatinword forensis meaning forum.

During the time of theRomans, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before the public.

Both the person accused of the crime & the accuser would give speeches based on their side of the story.

The individual with the best argument would determine the outcome of the case.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Mystery author in late 1800s

Popularized scientific crime-detection methods through his fictional character Sherlock Holmes.

MathieuOrfila
(1787-1853)

Father ofToxicology

Wrote about the detection of poisons & their effects on animals.

Alphonse Bertillon
(1853-1914)

Father ofAnthropometry

Developed a system to distinguish one individual person from another based on certain body measurements.

facial differences2body measurementsAnthropometry

Francis Galton
(1822-1911)

Father ofFingerprinting

Developed fingerprinting as a way to uniquely identify individuals.

image004Leone Lattes
(1887-1954)

Father ofBloodstainIdentification

He developed a procedure for determining the blood type (A, B, AB, or O) of a dried blood stain.

Calvin Goddard
(1891-1955)

Father ofBallistics

Developed the technique to examine bullets, using a comparison microscope, to determine whether or not a particular gun fired the bullets.

Goddardcomparison-wikibullets%20010Albert Osborn
(1858-1946)

Father ofDocumentExamination

His work led to the acceptance of documents as scientific evidence by the courts.

inksID-12fraud_forgeryWalterMcCrone
(1916-2002)

Father ofMicroscopicForensics

He developed & applied his microscope techniques to examine evidence in countless court cases.

Hans Gross
(1847-1915)

Father of Forensic Publications

Wrote the book on applying all the different science disciplines to the field of criminal investigation.

Edmond Locard
(1877-1966)

Father of the Crime Lab

In 1910, he started the1stcrime lab in an attic of a police station in Paris, France.

With few tools, he quickly became known world-wide to forensic scientists & criminal investigators & eventually founded theInstitute ofCriminalisticsin France.

His most important contribution was the LocardsExchangePrinciple

Locards ExchangePrinciple

Every Contact Leaves a Trace.

He believed that every criminal can be connected to a crime by particles carried from the crime scene.

When a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.

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.- Professor Edmond Locard

J. Edgar Hoover

Father of theFBI - Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation during the 1930s

Hoover's leadership spanned 48 yrs & 8 presidential administrations. His reign covered Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean War, the Cold War, & the Vietnam War.

He organized anationallaboratory to offer forensic services toalllaw enforcement agencies in the U.S.

VERY CONTROVERSIAL

He exceeded & abused his authority with unjustified investigations & illegal wiretaps based on political beliefs rather than suspected criminal activity

FBI directors are now limited to 10-year terms

Applications of Forensic Science

Identificationof Criminals or Victims

Solving Mysteries

Past crimes (unsolved or wrongfully convicted)

Cause, Location, Time of Death

Paternity cases

Cybercrimes

Corporate Crimes (Enron)

Voice Analysis

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SUSPECTS WHOSE DNA MAY MATCH EVIDENCE LEFT AT CRIME SCENESEXONERATE PERSONS WRONGLY ACCUSED OF CRIMESIDENTIFY CRIME & CATSTROPHE VICITIMSESTABLISH PATERNITY AND OTHER FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Applications of Forensic Science

Application ofDNAas evidence

Prevention vs. Reaction

Catastrophes& Wars

ID remains of victims (either civilian or soldiers)

ex. Holocaust or Katrina

Military & International Forensics

Terrorism

The search for WMDs

stockpiled or stored weapons from past wars

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SUSPECTS WHOSE DNA MAY MATCH EVIDENCE LEFT AT CRIME SCENESEXONERATE PERSONS WRONGLY ACCUSED OF CRIMESIDENTIFY CRIME & CATSTROPHE VICITIMSESTABLISH PATERNITY AND OTHER FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

When the Army unearthed more than a 1,000 mortar rounds from a WW2 training site, they enlisted a Forensic Science Lab to determine which were live munitions & which were dummies.

MunitionsThe Trial of the Century

O.J. Simpsonwasa NFL football legend.

He is now famous for having been tried for themurderof ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson & her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994.

He wasacquittedin criminal court after a lengthy, highly publicized trial.

What went wrong?

1ston the scene, police found evidence ofblood& entered the Simpson home without a search warrant, an action permissible b/c the situation was anemergency.

HOWEVER, the policecollecteda pair of blood-stained gloves during their search.

Collection of evidence without proper warrants became the key argument used by Simpsons legal team & ultimately led to his acquittal.

What was learned?

If forensic evidence is to be admissible in court, the highest professionalstandardsmust be used at the crime scene!

He was found liable for their deaths in civil court, but has yet to pay the $33.5 million judgment.

Calif law..pensions cannot be used to pay out a judgementFlorida law assets cannot be seized to pay out a judgement

The Wonderful Weirdness of Forensic Science:
The Body Farm

Primary Goal: To understand the processes & timetable ofpostmortem decay, primarily to improve determining the "timesincedeath" in murder cases.

The Body Farm is a simulation of various crime scenes using realhumanbodies.

Started in 1970s by Dr Bill Bass to study ForensicAnthropology(the study of human decomposition after death).

Patricia Cornwell's fifth novel, which immortalized the Anthropology Research Facility on the map as "the Body Farm."

The Body Farm

Used by Law Enforcement, Medical Examiners, Entomologists, Cadaver Dogs, Anthropologists & FBI for Crime SceneTraining.

The BF uses unclaimed cadavers & volunteers (who donate their body to science after death)

Only 2 Facilities in the U.S.

Univ. of Tennessee (original)

Western Carolina University

Texas State University local residents are worried about smell/odor as well as attraction of animals such as vultures etc

nfa_02body_farm,02683bigbody4bizarre_hp_pic_294body_farm_0522A Virtual Tour ofthe Body Farm

Doorway to death, the main gate of the Anthropology Research Facilitythe Body Farmconsists of a wooden privacy fence inside a chain-link fence topped with razor wire.

1aBFSecurity is a high priority. Fences, padlocks, video surveillance cameras, & police patrols safeguard the worlds only human-decomposition research facility.

One research study examined the effects of the elevated temperaturesand limited insect accessto which a body in a car would be subjected.

409Corpse 1-81 was an elderly white male; he became part of a pioneering study of insect activity in human corpses.

6_004Close-up of a recent research subject. After only a few weeks in the Tennessee summer, the skull is completely bare & many vertebrae are exposed. The rib cage & pelvis are covered with dried, leathery skin, but the soft tissues beneath are gone, consumed by insects & bacteria.

401Close-up of a human femur & hip bone, containing an artificial hip implant. Such orthopedic devices can help identify an unknown crime victim.

405An aerial view of the Body Farm. Large wooden tripods are used for hoisting & weighing bodies as part of a research study of weight loss during decomposition.

4001CA jaw from a research subject held by the founder of the Body Farm, Dr Bill Bass.

5407Key Question: Time Since Death?

How does the decomposition rate compare in:

sunshinevsshade?

In cool weathervshot weather?

In a shallow gravevson the ground?

In water?

Inside a car?

What effect do other variables havehumidity,insectactivity, clothing, body weight, & so on?

Why is TSD so important?

1stquestion at most murder scenes: "Howlonghas this person been dead?

TSD:Time Since Death

It's crucial to knowwhenthe crime was committed.

it can helpnarrowthe search for a suspect or

it can help rule out potential suspects who had alibis at the time the victim was killed.

Now, if the body's fresh--no more than a day or two old--a medical examiner can generally pin down the time since death to within a matter of hours. But if the body's badly decayed--for instance, if it was dumped in the woods and lay there for weeks or months before being found by hunters--determining time since death requires detailed knowledge of the stages of decomposition, the role of temperature and humidity, the extent of insect activity in the corpse, and so on. Those are the kinds of variables we've spent decades researching at the Body Farm

Click to edit Master title style

Click to edit Master text styles

Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

Click to edit Master text stylesSecond level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Click to edit Master subtitle style


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

forencic science - introduction part i b

Documents