Forensic science
is the application of science to matters of criminal and civil law.
Forensic Latin forensis of a forum, place of assembly
During the time of Romans, a criminal charge meant presenting a case before the public.
Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give their speeches based on
their side of the story.
The individual with the best argumentation would determine the outcome of the case.
An applied science; multidisciplinary and multidimensional in nature.
The nature of science no absolute authoritative solutions; all it offers is objective
information on what occurred at a crime scene.
Forensic Science is based on Locards Principle of Exchange.
o Whenever two objects animate or inanimate, microscopic or macroscopic, in
whichever physical state come in contact with each other, there would be an
exchange of materials. These materials are known as the Physical Evidence.
o Forensic science essentially deals with the laboratory examination of different types of
physical evidence, encountered at the scene of crime.
o Physical evidence preferred over human witness.
EXAMPLES OF EVIDENCES:
Imprints Body/corpse
Broken glass Toolmarks/firearms
Hairs Bullets/casings
Fibers DNA
Paint chips Blood
Documents Semen
Fingerprints Drugs, chemicals
Other prints (shoe, tire, etc.) Soil
HISTORY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE
St. Thomas, the Doubter
Patron Saint of forensic Science
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sci-fi author in the late 1800s
Popularized scientific crime-detection methods through his fictional character Sherlock
Holmes
Hsi Duan Yu (The Washing Away of Wrongs)
A Chinese book which appeared in 1248, provided the first association of medicine and law.
The book offered useful advice such as distinguishing drowning (water in the lungs) and
strangulation (pressure marks on the throat and damaged cartilage in the neck) from death
by natural causes.
Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853)
One of the first celebrated cases in forensic science involved the 'father of toxicology',
Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853), who worked in Paris and testified in an arsenic poisoning criminal
trial in 1840.
Orfila and others had developed a chemical test to detect arsenic, the poison of choice for the
period because the symptoms, violent stomach pains and vomiting, were similar to cholera (a
common disease of the times) and often went undetected.
Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914)
Developed a personal identification system using a series of body and facial
measurements for individualization.
Father of Anthropometry
Francis Galton (1822 1911)
Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification.
Father of Fingerprinting
Leone Lattes (1887 1954)
Devised a simple procedure for determining the blood type (A,B,O,AB) of a dried bloodstain in
1915.
Father of Bloodtain Identificxation
Calvin Goddard (1891 1955)
Used a comparison microscope to determine if a bullet was fired from a specific gun.
Published study of tool marks on bullets.
Father of Ballistics.
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.
Father of Document Examination
Walter McCrone
Utilized microscopy and other analytical methodologies to examine evidence.
Hans Gross
Wrote the first treatise describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal
investigation.
J. Edgar Hoover
Father of FBI
Director of FBI during the 1930s
Organized a national laboratory to offer forensic services to all law enforcement agencies in
the US
Edmond Locard
Father or Crime Laboratory
1910, started the 1st crime lab in an attic of police station
CRIME SCENE VOCABULARY
Crime Scene
Any physical location in which a crime has occurred or is suspected of having occurred
1. Primary Crime scene
The original location of crime or accident
2. Secondary Crime Scene
An alternate location where additional evidence may be found
Suspect
Person thought to be caapable of committing a crime
Accomplice
person associated with someone suspected of committing a crime
Alibi
Statement of where a suspect was at the tie of a crime
TYPES OF EVIDENCES:
Testimonial evidence
includes oral or written statements given to police as well as court testimony by people who
witnessed an event
Physical evidence
refers to any material items that would be present at the crime scene, on the victims or found
in a suspects possession
Trace evidence
refers to physical evidence that is found in small but measurable amount such as strands of
hair, fibers or skin cells
What will the evidence collected at the scene do for an investigation?
May prove that a crime has been committed
Establish key elements of a crime
Link a suspect with a crime scene or a victim
Establish the identity of victim or suspect
Corroborate verbal witness testimony
Exonerate the innocent
Gives detectives leads to work within the case
Crime Scene Personnel:
Police officers
Typically the first to arrive at a crime scene
Responsible for securing the scene so no evidence will be lost and destroyed and detaining
the persons of interest in the crime
CSI Unit
Documents the crime scene and collects any physical evidence
The district attorney
Helps determine if any search warrants are required to proceed and obtain those warrants
from a judge
The Medical examiner
May or may not be present to determine the preliminary cause of death
Specialists(Forensic entomologist, anthrophologist or psychologist)
may be called in if the evidence requires expert analysis
Detectives
Interviews witness and consult with the CSI unit, They investigate the crime by following leads
provided by witnesses and physical evidence
CRIME SCENE PROTOCOL
Step 1 Interview
Interview the police officer at the scene or the victim to determine what allegedly happened,
what crime took place and was the crime committed. This will give the investigator a place to
start
Step 2 Examine
Identify possible evidence, point of entry and point f exit and outline the general lay out of the
crime scene
Step 3 Document
Create a pictoril record of the scene as well as the rough sketch to demonstrate the layout of
the crime scene and to identify the exact position of the deceased victim or other evidence at
the crime scene
Step 4 Process
The crime scene technician will process the crime scene for evidence, both physical and
testimonial. It is the crime scene technicians responsibility to identify, evaluate and collect
physical evidence from the crime scene fo further analysis by a crime laboratory.
SKILLS OF A FORENSIC SCIENTIST:
A forensic scientist must be skilled in applying the principles and techniques of the
physical and natural sciences to the analysis of the many types of evidence that may
be recovered during a criminal investigation.
A forensic scientist may also provide expert court testimony.
An expert witness is an individual whom the court determines possesses knowledge
relevant to the trial that is not expected of the average person. Lay man testimony is
on facts.
Must be able to convey the scientific information clearly without bias.
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.
Frye Standard
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.
General Division of A Forensic Laboratory
Case Receipt Unit
- Taking over of case exhibits and handing over reports.
- The sealed parcels are accepted after examining seals, the condition of the packet and
the forwarding letter.
- Sample in the parcel sent to appropriate divisions for analyses.
- After lab examinations, the leftover portions of the samples are forwarded to this unit to
be returned to the police.
Biology Unit
Deals with biological materials like blood, semen, saliva, hair etc.
Also undertakes examination of skeletal remains to find out species of origin, race, sex, age,
stature of the bio materials.
Identifies dried bloodstains and body fluids
Compares hairs and fibers
Identifies and compares botanical materials such as wood and plants
Serology Division
Created as a result of the ever increasing load of serological examinations.
Responsible to find out the species of origin, blood group substances, enzyme, serum protein
etc in the biological materials such as blood, semen, saliva, epithelial cells, tissues, bones,
hairs, teeth cavity scrapings etc.
DNA profiling done here.
Chemistry Division
Carries out chemical analysis; both qualitative and quantitative .
adulterated petroleum, fertilisers, medicines, burnt remains etc.
Toxicology Division
Undertakes chemical analysis of all materials related to suspected poisoning; stomach wash,
vomit, injection site etc.
Physics Division
Analyses building materials like adulterated cement samples, cement-sand proportions,
strength of building materials etc.
Analysis of glass, sand, soil, paint, dirt etc.
Tool and cut mark identification, restorations of obliterated marks/writings/numbers etc.
Prohibition and Excise Division
Analyses samples of spurious and illicit liquors, alcoholic beverages, blood alcohol level etc.
Narcotics Division
Samples of all narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are sent to this division for
analysis.
Also analyses precursor chemicals used for manufacturing drugs and psychotropic
substances.
Document Examination Unit
Provides the skills needed for handwriting analysis and questioned document issues.
Also analyses paper and ink, indentations, obliterations, erasures, and burned or charred
documents.
Ballistics/Firearms Division
Identification of firearms
Live/fired ammunitions
Distance of fire
Correlation between the ammunition and the firearm
Gunpowder residue analysis
Explosive Division
Analysis of chemical nature of material used in an explosion.
Photography Unit
Examines and records physical evidence at the crime scene and at suspects' locations
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
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
Special Sections:
Forensic Pathology
Involves the investigation of unnatural, unexplained or violent death.
The forensic pathologist may conduct an autopsy.
After a human body expires, there are several stages of decomposition.
Rigor Mortis shortening of muscle tissue; stiffening of body parts.
Occurs within the first 24 hours, and disappears within 36 hours.
Livor Mortis results in settling of blood in areas of body closest to ground. Begins
immediately on death, and continues upto
12 hours.
Algor Mortis results in the loss of heat by a body.
Beginning about an hour after death, the body loses heat by 1 to 1.5 degrees F. per
hour until the body reaches the environmental temperature.
A medical examiner when presented with the body, will take its core temperature.
Normal body temp = 98.6 degree F.
If the deceased body temp = 85 degree F, then time since death between 9 and 14
hours.
Forensic Pathology contd.
Potassium levels in the occular fluid also help determine the time of death. Cells within the
eyes release K at a certain rate, and samples are taken for analysis.
Also, during autopsy, the amount of food in the stomach can also give an idea of the time of
death.
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.
A forensic anthropologist may also help to recreate the face to aid in identification.
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
The specific insects present in the body and the stage of development of fly larvae
give an idea of how long the body has been left exposed.
Environmental influences, such as geographical location, climate and weather
conditions must be taken into account.
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.
Forensic Odontology
Involves using teeth to identify victims when the body is left in an unrecognisable
state.
Tooth enamel resists decomposition, and outlasts even skeletal remains.
The characteristics of teeth are specific to each individual.
A forensic odontologist also investigates bite marks.
Physical Evidence consists of objects or things (obtained from a scene of crime).
Non physical evidence is verbal testimony about a crime, or it may be someones actions
during a crime.
Example: Someone seen running away from a bank robbery holding a bag of money:
the bag of money - physical evidence
the action of running away non physical evidence.
Real Evidence
That which is generated by criminal activity.
Found at the crime scene or elsewhere and pertains to the crime.
Eg: fingerprints left at the scene or those obtained from a suspect; drugs, bullets, blood etc.
Demonstrative Evidence
This is created to help explain or clarify real evidence.
Generated after the crime by a criminal investigator or forensic scientist.
Eg:
(i) A 3D model of a crime scene made from photographs and measurements.
(ii) A chart or graphs from an analytical instrument that shows some property of a substance.
