Download Intro. To Forensic Science Notes

Forensic Science is the application of science to the law.
Criminology
 the study of crime and its prevention, as well as
the exploration of criminals and their treatment
 the study of the criminal justice system and
development of new theories for dealing with
crime and its causes
 Typical course topics in a criminology program
include deviance, juvenile delinquency,
punishment, criminological theory and social
research
Possible Criminology Careers:
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Criminalistics
 A.K.A. Forensic Science
 the application of scientific principles to provide
evidence in criminal cases
 collecting crime scene evidence, proving the causes
of accidents and testing crime scene evidence in
labs
 General course topics include crime scene
investigation, drug analysis, genetics, physics and
organic chemistry
Possible Criminalistics Careers:
Drug enforcement agent
Litigation manager
Probation officer
Victim services specialist
CIA agent
Criminologist
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AKS 9
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Crime lab analyst
Crime scene examiner
Forensic scientist
Medical examiner
Forensic Science Hall of Fame
1. Roman Quintilian: Living in the times of Ancient Rome, he was an attorney who was defending a blind man
accused of murdering his mother. During the trial, Quintilian used a bloody palm print found at the scene to acquit
his client, and therefore became one of the first forensic scientists in history.
2. Chinese book Hsi Duan Yu is published: The author of this work made a significant contribution to forensic
science when he or she showed how insects can be used to solve a murder. The title of the work translates to “the
washing away of wrongs” and is still read by many forensic scientists today. Written in the 13th century in China,
the country also takes credit for being one of the first to utilize fingerprints.
3. Mathieu Orfila: In 19th century France, he would compose works that would be the foundations for toxicology, an
important part of forensic science. His first book “Traité des Poisons,” or “Treatise on Poisons,” propelled the
worlds of medicine, chemistry, physiology, and even the legal arena. Like many of his successors, he would often
testify during trials and even introduced new methods to detect arsenic.
4. John Evangelist Purkinje: He was a professor at the University of Breslau in Czechoslovakia and the first to publish
a detailed thesis on the usage of fingerprints in forensic science. Purkinje is also credited with identifying nine
specific fingerprint patterns that are still taught today. The Biometrics Task Force has much more on the history of
fingerprints and other notable scientists who contributed to the field.
5. Joseph Bell: Those who haven’t heard of him may have heard of his student Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the famous
author of the Sherlock Holmes books, and Dr. Bell was the inspiration for the character. A professor of clinical
surgery at Edinburgh University, he was able to diagnose patients and guess their professions at first sight.
6. John Larson: Although not admissible in the United States court system, the polygraph machine has been an
invaluable tool to forensic scientists since the early 20th century. In 1921, John Larson, a University of California
medical student, improved upon an existing polygraph machine to create what is similar to what we use today. Larson
invented the machine that uses several different body responses simultaneously when a witness is being questioned
to measure truthfulness.
7. Bernard Spilsbury: He is Britain’s first forensic scientist, who studied the science for 50 years. Sir Spilsbury was known
to chronicle every death from the mundane to the extraordinary including asphyxiation, poisoning, accident, and
murder. Before his own mysterious death in 1947, he jotted down all the deaths on thousands of index cards, and his
holdings were recently made available to the public in the Wellcome Library in London.
8. Alec Jeffreys: It may be difficult to believe now, but the use of DNA in forensic science is a fairly new practice. It was
discovered in 1984 when Jeffreys, who was attempting to find the matching DNA in families, realized that DNA was
individual specific and could be used to identify people, not just families. After publishing a paper, his techniques were
first implemented in 1986 to prove, you guessed it, paternity. It would also later be used to help convict and overturn
convictions when reliable DNA evidence was introduced.
9. Bill Bass: Ever heard of The Body Farm? Also known as the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility,
it has been the subject of both fictional and true forensic stories. Dr. Bill Bass is its founder and has written or cowritten over 200 publications on the topic. His research has allowed law enforcement officials to better understand
the stages of death.
Body Farm Video
Warning: Pictures of dead
bodies
10. Jan C. Garavaglia: Better known as Dr. G., she actually does have her own television show where the cutting edge in
forensic science is shared. She is also the chief medical examiner for the District Nine Office in Florida and even
testified in the Casey Anthony case. Check out her official site to learn more about how autopsies work, get videos,
and even podcasts by Dr. G herself.
Other notable contributors to Forensic Science:
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Alphonse Bertillon: anthropometry (personal identification
through body measurements)
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Francis Galton: developed 1st fingerprint identification system
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Leone Lattes: determined methods of using blood type as a
means of identification
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Calvin Goddard: firearms examination
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Albert Osborn: document examination
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Edmund Locard: Developed the 1st police lab and the Locard
Exchange Principle; “Father” of criminalistics
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J. Edgar Hoover: director of the FBI: Organized the 1st FBI Crime
Lab in 1932
Edmond Locard
Crime Lab Services
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Physical Science Unit: drugs, glass, paint, explosives, etc.
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Biology Unit: blood and other bodily fluids
1. FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Firearms Unit: ballistics, comparisons
2. DEA: Drug Enforcement
Administration
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Document Examination Unit: handwriting, typewriting,
questioned documents (ransom notes, etc.)
3. ATF: Bureau of alcohol, tobacco,
firearms and explosives
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Photography Unit: examine and recover physical evidence
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Toxicology Unit: presence/absence of drugs and/or poisons
4. US Postal Inspection Service
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Latent Fingerprint Unit: fingerprint patterns & comparisons
Most states (and some counties/cities)
also have their own, smaller crime labs.
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Pathology Unit- investigation of sudden unnatural,
unexplained or violent deaths
The 4 Major Crime Labs
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Examining evidence may use one or more of the
following common lab techniques:
 Chromatography- a technique for separating
mixtures into their components in order to
analyze, identify or purify the mixture or its
components
 Spectroscopy- the dispersion of an object's light
into its component colors (i.e. energies). By
performing this dissection and analysis of an
object's light, astronomers can infer the physical
properties of that object (such as temperature,
mass, luminosity and composition).
 Spectrophotometry- a method to measure how
much a chemical substance absorbs light by
measuring the intensity of light as a beam of light
passes through sample solution. The basic
principle is that each compound absorbs or
transmits light over a certain range of wavelength.
 Microscopy- using microscopes to view objects
and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the
naked eye
Microscopy
Chromatography
Spectroscopy
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Spectrophotometry
Frye vs. United States
Duties of the Forensic Scientist
1. Analyze physical data
2. Determining admissibility of evidence
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Case: Frye vs. U.S.- In order to be
admitted as evidence at trial, the procedure,
technique or principles must be “generally
accepted” by the scientific community
3. Providing expert testimony
 “Expert”- education & experience
Summary:
Frye was accused of 2nd degree murder. At his trial,
his lawyers tried to present expert testimony of a
systolic blood pressure deception test, but this test
had not gained scientific recognition from
psychological and physiological authorities so the test
was ruled inadmissible in court.
Frye was convicted and sent to prison. This case has
set the standard for determining admissibility of
evidence in court cases.
 Offers an opinion based on training & evidence
4. Trained in the proper recognition, collection and
preservation of physical evidence and train others
as needed
– The FBI has the largest research and
training center where they develop new,
reliable scientific methods and train
crime lab personnel in the latest
techniques and methods
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