INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION

Forensic science is the application of science to criminal and civil laws enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system.

Forensic Science Timelinehttp://forensicsciencecentral.co.uk/history.shtml Orfila (1814) father

of forensic toxicology

Bertillon (1879) father of criminal identification (anthropometry)

Galton (1892) first to study and classify fingerprints

Landsteiner (1901) discovered A,B,O blood types

Lattes (1915) developed a simple technique for identifying blood group of dried blood stains

1814 Mathieu Bonaventure Orfila In 1814, published the

first scientific study of the effects of poisons on animals

Father of forensic toxicology

In 1840, gave expert testimony in a French arsenic poisoning murder case (first expert witness)

1887 - Sherlock Holmes

Fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

First novel: A Study in Scarlet

Holmes was the first person to apply many of modern forensic principles to solve a crime before any police department used them

1879 - Alphonse Bertillon

Considered the Father of criminal identification

Developed the science of measurement called Anthropometry

Based on taking a specific series of body measurements as a means of personal identification

Anthropometry

There were eleven measurements:

1. Height2. Stretch: Length of body from left

shoulder to right middle finger when arm is raised

3. Bust: Length of torso from head to seat, taken when seate

4. Length of head: Crown to forehead5. Width of head: Temple to temple6. Length of right ear7. Length of left foot8. Length of left middle finger9. Length of left cubit: Elbow to tip of

middle finger10. Width of cheeks11. Length of left pinky

1892 - Francis Galton

First definitive study of fingerprints.

Developed a method for classifying fingerprints for filing purposes

Published the bookFinger Prints in 1892

• First statistical proof that fingerprints could be used as a unique identification system

1901 - Karl Landsteiner

Discovered that blood could be grouped into different categories

The blood categories are now known as the A, B, AB, and O blood types

Leone Lattes 1915

A professor of Forensic Medicine at University of Turin, Italy.

Discovered a method to test for the A,B,O blood groups on dried bloodstains.

Forensic Science Timeline Osborn (1910)

published Questioned Documents

Goddard (1925) microscopic bullet to firearm comparison

McCrone (1946) developed advanced microscopic technology

Gross (1893) published Criminal Investigation

Locard (1910) founder, director of Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France

1893 - Hans Gross

Public prosecutor and judge in Graz, Austria

Advocate for scientific method in forensics

Published first book that explained how police could utilize the fields of microscopy, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, zoology, botany, anthropometry and fingerprinting in criminal investigations

1910 - Edmond Locard

Set up the first “crime lab” in an attic in Lyons, France in 1910

Basic forensic science Locard’s Exchange Principle:

Whenever any twoobjects come in contactwith each other there is anexchange of materialbetween the two objects

1910 - Albert S. Osborn

Developed fundamental principles of document examination

Responsible for use of documents as scientific evidence

Published the first text: Questioned Documents

1925 - Calvin Goddard

Forensic Scientist Colonel in U.S. Army Medical doctor Published the first

reference on ballistics Professor of political

science at Northwestern University

1946 - Walter C. McCrone

• The first recognized world-wide expert in microscopy

• Started a research foundation devoted to microscopy in 1960

• Famous for his forensic analysis of the Shroud of Turin

U.S. Forensic Science Timeline

Los Angeles (1923) August Vollmer established the oldest forensic laboratory in the U.S.

UC Berkeley (1948) Paul Kirk, first head of the first U.S. school of Criminology

FBI (1932) J. Edgar Hoover established the first national forensic science laboratory

FBI (1981) established the Forensic Science Research and Training Center

Full-Service Crime Laboratory

BASIC SERVICES SUPPLIED:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE UNITBIOLOGY UNITFIREARMS UNITDOCUMENT EXAMINATION UNITPHOTOGRAPHY UNIT

Physical Science Unit

Applies principals and techniques of chemistry, physics and geology to the identification and comparison of crime-scene evidence

Evidence can be drugs, glass, paint, explosives and soil

Biology Unit

Biologists and biochemists identify and perform DNA profiling

DNA can be extracted from bloodstains, body fluids, hairs

Compare and identify hairs and fibers, wood, plants and other botanical materials

Firearms Unit

Examines firearms, discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells and ammunition of all types

Examine garments and other objects that might be exposed to gunshot residue and target distance

Also examine tool marks

Document Examination Unit

Studies handwriting, typewriting on questioned documents

Determines authenticity and or certifies source of document

Analyzes paper, ink, writing depressions, obliterations, erasures, and burned or charged documents

Photography Unit

Examines records and records physical evidence

Uses digital imaging, infrared, ultraviolet and X-ray photography

Make invisible information visible

Optional Crime Laboratory ServicesTHESE SERVICES ARE FOUND INCENTRALIZED LABORATORIES:

TOXICOLOGY UNITLATENT FINGERPRINT UNITPOLYGRAPH UNITVOICEPRINT ANALYSIS UNITCRIME-SCENE INVESTIGATION UNIT

Toxicology Unit

Examines body fluids and organs to determine the presence or absence of drugs or poisons

Latent Fingerprint Unit

Processes and examines evidence for latent (or non-visible) fingerprints or palm prints

Polygraph Unit

Polygraph (lie detector) technology is usually used by criminal investigators

Technicians are trained in interrogation techniques

Voiceprint Analysis

Believed that speech patterns are unique to an individual

Analysis of telephoned threats or taped messages

Uses sound spectrograph, that transforms speech into a visual graphic display called a voiceprint

Crime-scene Investigation Unit

Specially trained personnel that travel to a crime scene to collect and preserve physical evidence

Must be able to distinguish between physical evidence that is valuable and that which is not

Functions of a Forensic Scientist

Applies physical and natural science techniques to analyze the many types of physical evidence

(Only physical evidence is free of error or bias)

MUST subject all physical evidence to principals of Scientific Method

Explain the significance of the results in a court of law as an expert witness

Scientific Method

Formulate a question worthy of investigation.

Formulate a reasonable hypothesis to answer the question.

Test the hypothesis through experimentation.

Upon validation of the hypothesis, it become suitable as scientific evidence

Role of an Expert Witness

An expert witness is an individual whom the court determines possesses knowledge relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average person.

The expert witness is called on to evaluate evidence based on specialized training and experience that the court lacks the expertise to do.

The expert will then express an opinion as to the significance of the findings.

Forensic scientists also participate in training law enforcement personnel in the proper recognition, collection, and preservation of physical evidence.

Admissibility of Evidence

The Frye v. United States decision set guidelines for determining the admissibility of scientific evidence into the courtroom.

To meet the Frye standard, the evidence in question must be “generally accepted” by the scientific community.

1993 case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court asserted that the Frye standard is not an absolute requirement for the admissibility of scientific evidence.

Trial judges were said to be ultimately responsible as “gatekeepers” for the admissibility and validity of scientific evidence presented in their courts, as well as all expert testimony.

Daubert Evidential Criteria

Whether the scientific technique or theory can be tested.

Whether the technique has been subject to peer review and publication.

The techniques potential rate of error. Existence and maintenance of standards . Whether the scientific theory or method has

attracted widespread acceptance within a relevant scientific community.

Special Forensic Services

A number of special forensic science services are available to the law enforcement community to augment the services of the crime laboratory.

These services include forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic entomology, forensic psychiatry, forensic odontology, computer science, and forensic engineering.

Special Forensic Services

Forensic Psychiatry is an area in which the relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings is examined.

Forensic Odontology involves using teeth to provide information about the identification of victims when a body is left in an unrecognizable state. Also investigates bite marks.

Forensic Engineering is concerned with failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires or explosions.

Forensic Computer Science involves the examination of digital evidence.