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Forensic Science
• What is forensic science?
• History of Crime Labs.
• Why is there recent growth in crime Labs in
the past 35 years?
• What units make up a crime lab?
• What are the roles of each unit?
• What are optional services provided by some
crime labs?
• What are some special forensic services?
What is forensic science?
• Forensic science is the application of science to
criminal and civil laws.
• The word forensic comes from the Latin forensis,
meaning "of or before the forum."
History of Crime Labs
• 1923 - The oldest forensic Lab in the U.S is
that of L.A. Police Dept.
• 1932 - FBI organized a national lab that
offered forensic services to all law
enforcement agencies to the country
• FBI is now the world’s largest forensic lab
• 1981 – FBI opens a Forensic Science and
Research/Training Center
• Most local law enforcements jurisdictions
operate their own independent crime labs
Why is there recent growth in crime Labs in the
past 35 years?
• Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s placed
greater emphasis on obtaining physical
evidence
- Criminal suspects are advised of their
constitutional rights
- Confessions did not hold as much
significance
• Increases in crime rates over past 40 years
• All drugs must be sent to a lab for analysis
• DNA profiling
What units make up a crime lab?
Physical Science Unit
Biology Unit
Firearms Unit
Document Unit
Photographic Unit
What are the roles of each unit?
• Physical Science Unit incorporates the
principles of chemistry, physics, and geology
to identify and compare physical evidence.
• Biology Unit applies the knowledge of
biological sciences in order to investigate
blood samples, body fluids, hair, and fiber
samples.
• Firearms Unit investigates discharged bullets,
cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and
ammunition, GSR and comparison of marks
made by tools
What are the roles of each unit?
• Document Unit provides the skills needed
for handwriting analysis and other
questioned-document issues.
• Photographic Unit applies specialized
photographic techniques for recording and
examining physical evidence.
What are optional services provided by some crime labs?
• Toxicology Unit
examines body fluids
and organs for the
presence of drugs and
poisons.
• Latent Fingerprint Unit
processes and
examines evidence for
latent fingerprints.
What are optional services provided by some
crime labs?
• Polygraph Unit
conducts polygraph
or lie detector tests.
• Voiceprint Analysis Unit
attempts to tie a recorded
voice to a particular suspect.
• Evidence-Collection Unit
dispatches specially trained
personnel to the crime
scene to collect and
preserve physical evidence.
What are some special forensic services?
• Forensic Pathology - investigation of sudden,
unexplained , or violent deaths
• Forensic Anthropology - Primarily concerned with ID
and examination of human skeletal remains (Bones
can reveal age, sex, race, height and physical injury)
• Forensic Entomology - The study of insects
• Forensic Psychiatry - Area that examines human
behavior and legal proceedings
What are some special forensic services?
• Forensic Odontology - Area that examines bite
marks and dental ID of corpses
• Computer Science - Area that involves ID, collecting,
preserving, and examining info. From computers and
other technology
• Forensic Engineering - Area concerned with failure
analysis, accident reconstruction, and cause and
origins of fires or explosions
Role of a Forensic Scientist
• As opposed to what is on television, the role
of a forensic scientist is not to run around
searching for the “bad guy.”
• Role is to analyze physical evidence.
• Forensic scientist’s can have a college degree
in biology, chemistry, or physics. Additionally,
with experience in lab work or an
apprenticeship.
• Or forensic scientist’s graduate from 4 year
universities with degrees in forensic science.
What are the skills of a forensic scientist?
• Evidence brought to a crime lab Forensic Scientist
analyzes it and gives conclusions to the investigator.
• Identification, comparison, probability, reliability of
the results.
• Must also testify in court (expert witness)
• Can also be called to testify years later so forensic
scientists must keep good notes.
• “ Expert” – person with special knowledge,
skill, experience, training and or education
that goes beyond the experience of ordinary
members of the public.
• Can give opinion.
• Also Forensic scientist can often be asked
to train police officers in a specific area.
- Drug hiding capabilities.