Download Chapter One: Observation Skills

Chapter One: Observation Skills
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Observation Skills
By the end of
this chapter you will be able to:
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Define observation and describe what
changes occur in the brain
Describe examples of factors influencing
eyewitness accounts of events
Compare the reliability of eyewitness
testimony with what actually happened
Relate observation skills to their use in
forensic science
Define forensic science
Practice and improve your observation skills
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Vocabulary
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Analytical skills
deductive reasoning
eyewitness
fact
forensic
logical
observation
opinion
Perception
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
What is Forensic Science?
Forensic science is the
application of a broad
spectrum of sciences to
answer questions of
interest to a legal system.
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Forensic Science applies
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Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Geology
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to civil and criminal law
Places physical evidence into a professional
discipline.
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
What Forensic Scientist Do
The forensic examiner must be able to
1.find—identify the evidence
2.document—record the evidence
3.interpret—accurately determine the
significance of the evidence
One of the key skills in doing this well is
observation.
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
What is an Observation?
Observation: what a person perceives using
his or her senses.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How is information processed in
the Brain?
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How do our brains influence our
perception?
In order to make sense of what we perceive, our
brains often enrich with detail what we see, taste,
hear, smell, or feel
● After an event, we can believe things were part
of the background even though they were not
● Example: If we were reading a sentence and a
word was missing, we will often not notice the
omission but instead predict the word that should
be there and read the sentence as though it is
complete.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Our Brains Plays Tricks on us!
It is difficult to believe, but our brains plays tricks on
us. Our perception is limited, and the way we may view
our surroundings may not accurately reflect what is
really there.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How Well Do You Observe?
Point out some of the details in this photo.
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Our Brains Plays Tricks on Us!
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Observation By Witnesses
Key component of any crime investigation.
● Not surprisingly, the perceptions of witnesses
can be faulty, even though a witness may be
utterly convinced of what he or she saw.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Factors that affect observation
Skills:
Observations are affected by:
● Emotional states
● Whether they were alone or with a group of
people
● Number of people/or animals in the area
● What type of activity is going on around you
● How much activity is occurring around
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Eyewitness Accounts
Eyewitness accounts of crime-scene events
often vary, due to:
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level of interest
stress
concentration
amount and kind of distractions present
prejudices
personal beliefs
motives
any lapse in time since the event
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Eyewitness Testimony
When evaluating eyewitness testimony, the investigator must
discriminate between fact and opinion.
● Often what we think we see and what really happened may
differ.
● The act of someone fleeing from the site of a shooting might
imply guilt but could also be an innocent bystander running away in
fear of being shot.
● Witnesses have to be carefully examined to describe what they
saw (eyewitness evidence), not what they thought happened
(opinion).
● On completion of witness examination, the examiner tries to
piece together the events (facts) preceding the crime in a logical
pattern.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
The Innocence Project
Created at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School
of Law at Yeshiva University in New York in
1992
● Its purpose was to reexamine postconviction cases using DNA evidence to
provide proof of guilt or innocence.
● Faulty eyewitness identifications accounted
for up to 87% of the wrongful convictions.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How to be a Good Observer
1. Observe systematically
● Start at one part of a crime scene and run
your eyes slowly over every space
● Look carefully at details of each piece of
evidence
● Do not assume you will remember everything
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How to be a Good Observer
2. Turn off filters
● Consciously pay attention to all details
● Do not pay attention to just what you think
is important
● All details are potentially important
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How to be a Good Observer
3. Collect Information first, interpret data
later
● Look for patterns and make connections
● More information yields better interpretations
● Prejudices exist everywhere—
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eyewitness accounts
your own thinking processes
Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
How to be a Good Observer
4. Documentation, Documentation, Documentation
Write down and photograph as much information as
possible
● Be aware that memory is faulty
● Remember that our brains tend to fill in gaps in our
perceptions
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Forensics Scientists.....
Are trained in good observation practices.
● Find clues in ordinary details
● Work backwards from the evidence to what
led up to the crime and use deductive
reasoning to verify the actual facts of a case.
● Know that solving a crime depends on
observing all of the evidence left at the crime
scene. Analytical skills of this type require
patience and practice.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
Activity 1.1 :Learning to See
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Objectives:
Describe some of the problems in making good
observations.
o Improve your observation skills.
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Procedure:
Study photograph for 15 seconds.
Answer as many of the questions you can in three
minutes.
o Discuss the answers to the questions with your
classmates.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . .
The environment and our natural sensory
filters affect our ability to observe
● Eyewitness reports can be correct, faulty, or a
little of both
● Acquiring good observation skills takes
practice and training
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary
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Forensic scientists:
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Find and Document Evidence
Evaluate and Interpret
Provide expert testimony to courts
Observation Skills Link:
http://www.calculatorslive.com/Observation-SkillsTest.aspx
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1
HOMEWORK #1
Why are observations skills important to
forensic science?
● Name three ways you can improve you
observation skills.
● Describe two ways that your brain may alter
sensory information.
● Describe a situation where two different
people might perceive a crime scene in
different ways.
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Forensic Science: Fundamentals & Investigations, Chapter 1