Forensic Science
Mr. Glatt
2013-2014

• Nearly Four hundred public crime labs in US
– More than 3 times that of 1966
• Growth due to…
– Supreme court cases in 1960’s placed more emphasis on police securing scientifically evaluated evidence
– Increased Crime Rates
– Increased Drug Abuse- All evidence from illicit seizures must be sent to crime Lab for chemical analysis

• Not enough labs to keep up with needs
• DNA Profiling (Fingerprinting)- Major Reason for increased
Demand
– Technology did not exist prior to early 1990’s
– Traces of Blood, Saliva, Hair, Epithelial Tissue (Skin), and Semen backlog crime labs
– Over 57,000 unanalyzed case samples
– Untested convicted offender samples over 500,000
– Tested samples go to CODIS (National DNA Databank)
• Combined DNA Index System
– Some states have own Database
– CA over 1 million in state database
» 3 rd Largest in world
» Starting in 2008 all people arrested and suspected of felony charges were profiled

• Federal Crime Laboratories
– FBI Crime Lab (Quanitico Virginia), largest in WORLD
– DEA, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives located within
– Will offer assistance and expertise to state and local agencies
• State and Local Crime Laboratories
– State Labs, Most States Have State Lab
• Some have statewide system with regional satellite labs
– County and Municipal Crime Labs
• Some Counties have
• Larger Cities, NY city is largest.
• Many smaller cities do not have due to cost

• Biology Unit (Staffed w/ Biologists and Biochemists)
– DNA Profiling
– Blood Evidence and Other Bodily Fluids
– Hair and Fiber Analysis
– Plant Materials Such as wood and Plants
• Firearms Unit
– Ballistics (Bullet and Firearm Analysis)
– Gun Powder Residue
– Crime Scene Reconstruction (Distance from which weapons are fired)
• Document Examination Unit
– Handwriting and Typewriter Analysis
– Ink and Paper Analysis
– Erasures/Depressions

• Photography Unit
– Examines and records physical evidence through photography
– Sometimes advance techniques used (infrared, X-Ray, digital imaging ect…)
• Toxicology
– Examines Body Fluids and Organs
– Detect Presence or absence of drugs and poisons
– Evidence may be sent to separate 3 rd party facility
– Often maintain field instruments such as Intoxilyzer
• Fingerprint/Latent Fingerprint Unit
– Fingerprint Analysis

• Polygraph Unit
– Lie Detector
– Investigator tool yet not forensic scientist tool
– Still kept in crime lab unit though
• Voiceprint Analysis Unit
– Use sound spectrograph that transforms speech in to visual display called voiceprint
– Analyze recorded voice evidence (Tape recorder/phone calls ect…)
• Crime Scene Investigation Unit
– Collect and preserve physical evidence that is later analyzed at crime lab
– Must maintain chain of custody and check evidence in to evidence room

• Forensic Psychiatry
– Used in criminal and civil proceedings
• Determine competence
• Evaluate behavioral disorders
• Forensic Odontology
– Id victims in unrecognizable state
– Bite mark analysis
• Forensic Engineering
– Failure analysis (buildings)
– Accident reconstruction
• Examine, photograph, and review of mechanical objects
• Forensic Computer and Digital Analysis
– Newest and fastest growing
– Identification, collection, preservation, and examination from computers and other digital devices