Forensic Science Definition and Scope What is forensic

Forensic Science Definition and Scope

What is forensic science? l The application of science to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system. – – i. e. any application of science to law enforcement Includes geology, chemistry, physics, biology, etc.

l Criminalistics – any of the services provided by a crime lab – For all intents and purposes, the term is interchangeable with forensic science

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle l l l Author of the Sherlock Holmes series Popularized forensic investigation through his novels Used up-and-coming detective methods in his stories, including fingerprinting, serology, firearm identification, and questioned documents

Major contributors to the field l Mathieu Orfila (1787 -1853) – father of toxicology – the science of dealing with poisons and their effects. l Alphonse Bertillon (1853 -1914) – developed science of anthropometry – the taking of a series of body measurements for means of personal identification (later replaced by more reliable fingerprinting)

l Francis Galton (1822 -1911) – first thorough study of fingerprints and how to classify them; offered statistical proof of their uniqueness l Leone Lattes (1887 -1954) – developed procedure for determining the ABO blood type of dried blood stains

l Calvin Goddard (1891 -1955) – popularized the use of comparison microscopes for matching bullets with weapons l Albert S. Osborn (1858 -1946) – authored Questioned Documents, a reference book for document examiners

l Hans Gross (1847 -1915) – wrote Criminal Investigation and Criminology, books detailing how the sciences are incorporated into crime scene investigation

l Edmond Locard (1877 -1966) – created the first rudimentary crime lab in Lyons, France. – – Locard’s Exchange Principle – when a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross -transfer of evidence occurs Every criminal can be connected to his/her crime scene by something as small as dust particles carried to or from the scene

– – First to request that suspects’ clothing be examined in the lab His success led to the establishment of police labs in Vienna, Berlin, Sweden, Finland, and Holland

FBI l l Under director J. Edgar Hoover, national lab forensic services established in 1932 FBI lab is now the world’s largest, with 1 million examinations each year