Forensic Science 9 - Forensic Science 9/2/15 Criminalistics...

Forensic Science 9/2/15
 Criminalistics book
 Lucy stone hall a353
 What is Forensic Science?
o Biology/pathology
o Toxicology
o Anthropology/ odontology/ entomology
o Firearms, toolmarks
o Gun shot residue, Arson, Explosives
o Fingerprints, Footprints
o Questioned documents
 Why is forensic science needed
o Prove or disprove a connection between people, objects, places
o Situations are not always what they seem
o Cannot rely on eyewitness testimony or memory
 Wrongly tried
o Eyewitness 71%
o False Testimony Witness 17%
o False Confession 12%
Roles of a forensic Scientist
 Recognition of physical evidence
 Collection and preserve
 Documentation
 Interpretation of results
 Reportion results
 Providing expert witness testimony
 Remember to remain unbiased
 Class vs individual characteristics
o You are identifying a class of evidence. The narrowing of suspects
o Point to one person for individual characteristics
 Locaard exchange principle: “ objects or surfaces that come into contact will
exchange trace evidence”
o Paint scrape on a hit and run vehicle
o Homicide victims blood on suspects clothing
o Semen of a rape victim

History and Development of Forensic Science
- Forensics comes from latin word forensic meaning forum
- Mathieu orfila-Father of toxicology
- Alphonse Bertillon ( 1853-1914)
- Father of Anthropometry
o Developed a system to distinguish one individual person from another
based on certain body measurements
- Anthropometry
o First method of criminal identification thought to be reliable; based on
a criteria of body measurements
- After 1883 the system was adopted throughout Europe
- System was abandoned because fingerprinting identification was simpler,
more reliable
- Francis Galton
o 1822-1911
o Father of fingerprinting
o Developed fingerprinting as a way to uniquely identify individuals
- Leone Lattes
o 1887-1954
o Father of bloodstain Identification
o He developed a procedure for determining the blood type ( A,B, AB, O)
of a dried blood stain
- Calvin Goddard
o 1891-1955
o Father of Ballistics
o Developed the technique to examine bullets, using a comparison
microscope, to determine whether or not a particular gun fired the
bullets
- Walter McCrone
o 1916-2002
o Father of microscopic forensics
o He developed and applied his microscope techniques to examine
evidence in countless court cases.
- Edmond Locard
o 1877-1966
o Father of the crime lab
o In 1910, he started the 1 st crime lab in an attic of a police station
o Institute of criminalistics in France
- Legal Requirements
o Search and seizure
 Is the search legal
 Was the evidence seized legally
o Documentation
 As the item was found
 No going back to fill in the gaps
 Crime scene
 Noted measurements

 Photographs
 sketches
o Identification
 Prevent cpnfusion
 Each piece of evidence must be unique
 Case number
 Date/time
 Item number
 inititals
o Chain of custody
 Essential to introduce evidence in court
 Who has possession
 Secure environment
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