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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-1
Bellwork
• What is the difference in Forensic science
and Criminalistics?
• What are some of the different forensic
scene organizations in the world?
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-2
Definition
• In its broadest definition, forensic science is the
application of science to criminal and civil laws.
• The subject matter of this book emphasizes the
application of science to those criminal and
civil laws that are enforced by police agencies
in a criminal justice system.
• Forensic science owes its origins to individuals
such as Bertillon, Galton, Lattes, Goddard,
Osborn, and Locard, who developed the
principles and techniques needed to identify or
compare physical evidence.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-3
History
• Mathieu Orfila—the father of forensic toxicology.
• Alphonse Bertillion—devised the first scientific
system of personal identification in 1879.
• Francis Galton—conducted the first definitive
study of fingerprints and their classification.
• Leone Lattes—developed a procedure to
determine blood type from dried bloodstains.
• Calvin Goddard—used a comparison microscope
to determine if a particular gun fired a bullet.
• Albert Osborn—developed the fundamental
principles of document examination.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-4
History
• 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.
• Edmond Locard—incorporared Gross’ principles
within a workable crime laboratory.
• Locard’s Exchange Principle—states that when a
criminal comes in contact with an object or person,
a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.
• Sir Alec Jeffreys—developed the first DNA
profiling test in 1984.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-5
Bellwork
• Which uinit examines the body for drugs
and poison?
• List the three basic functions of forensic
scientist.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-6
The Crime Lab
• The development of crime laboratories in
the United States has been characterized
by rapid growth accompanied by a lack
of national and regional planning and
coordination.
• At present, approximately 350 public
crime laboratories operate at various
levels of government—federal, state,
county, and municipal.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-7
The Crime Lab
• The ever increasing number of crime
laboratories is partly the result of the
following:
– Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s
responsible for police placing greater
emphasis on scientifically evaluated
evidence.
– Crime laboratories inundated with drug
specimens due to accelerated drug abuse.
– The advent of DNA profiling.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-8
Locard’s Principle
• “It is impossible for a criminal to act,
especially considering the intensity of a
crime, without leaving traces of this
presence.”
• Every time a criminal will leave
something at a crime scene. At the same
time they will take something away. Ex:
finger prints, bodily fluids, pieces of
clothing, etc.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-9
Crime Lab
• Crime Lab
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-10
A Murder solved using
Locard’s
• A frenchvwoman was murdered. Her
boyfriend was questioned but he said he
was playing cards with his friends. His
friends backed his alibi.
• The woman had been strangled. Locard
found residue under the boyfriends nails
and later discovered it to be make-up.
• Did he do it? How?
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-11
Locard’s Principle
• Examine you article use the tape to
remove all residue.
• Use the mircroscope to note the fibers
and residue on them.
• Where might these articles of clothing
have been found?
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-12
Bell work 8/18/11
• What are the steps of the scientific
method and how might they be tied into
forensic science?
• What did the trials Frye v. United States
and Daubert v. Merrell Dow
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Help do?
• What is an expert witness?
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-13
1. Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who was convicted on the
basis of which type of forensic evidence?
A. Bite marks
C. DNA fingerprinting
B. Latent fingerprints
D. Ballistics
2. The time of death can be calculated by various means. One is rigor
mortis, Latin for 'the stiffness of death'. Another indication is livor mortis
or lividity. What does this term refer to?
A. Cloudiness in the eyes
B. Gravitational pooling of blood
C. Degree of digestion of stomach contents
D. Relaxation of muscles following to rigor mortis
3. When attempting to identify a skeleton, craniofacial morphology (the
structure and form of the skull and face) is the best indicator of race. One
group of human beings has a unique, rounded jaw bone which is called a
'rocker jaw'. This is a characteristic of which ethnic group?
A. Australian Aborigines
C. African Americans
B. Chinese
D. Hawaiians
PRENTICE HALL
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-14
1. Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who was convicted on the
basis of which type of forensic evidence?
A. Bite marks
C. DNA fingerprinting
B. Latent fingerprints
D. Ballistics
2. The time of death can be calculated by various means. One is rigor
mortis, Latin for 'the stiffness of death'. Another indication is livor mortis
or lividity. What does this term refer to?
Livor is Latin for 'a black and blue
A. Cloudiness in the eyes
spot' and refers to the discoloration
B. Gravitational pooling of blood
of the skin in the lowest part of a
C. Degree of digestion of stomach contentsbody resulting from
gravitational pooling of blood.
D. Relaxation of muscles following to rigor mortis
the
3. When attempting to identify a skeleton, craniofacial morphology (the
structure and form of the skull and face) is the best indicator of race. One
group of human beings has a unique, rounded jaw bone which is called a
'rocker jaw'. This is a characteristic of which ethnic group?
A. Australian Aborigines
C. African Americans
B. FORENSIC
Chinese
D. Hawaiians
PRENTICE HALL
SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-15
Technical Support
• The technical support provided by crime
laboratories can be assigned to five basic
services.
– 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-16
Technical Support
– Document Unit provides the skills needed for
handwriting analysis and other questioneddocument issues.
– Photographic Unit applies specialized
photographic techniques for recording and
examining physical evidence.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-17
Technical Support
• Optional Services by Full-Service 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.
– 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-18
Expert Witness
• Watch the video:
• What creditials does
someone have to
have in order to be
an expert witness?
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
• http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=6Yn5C
12jQ5Y
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-19
The 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-20
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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-21
Bellwork
• When should a person be requried to give
DNA?
• Would you willingly share a DNA sample
for a crime investigation?Why or why
not?
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-22
Skills of a Forensic Scientist
• 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-23
The 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-24
Frye Not Absolute
• However, in the 1993 case of Daubert v.
Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc., the
U.S. Supreme Court asserted that the
Frye standard is not an absolute
prerequisite to 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-25
Daubert Criteria For Admissibility
• 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-26
Special Forensic Science 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-27
Special Forensic Science 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.
FORENSIC SCIENCE
An Introduction
By Richard Saferstein
PRENTICE HALL
©2008 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1-28