Chapter 1
Introduction
to Forensic Science
“In school, every period ends with a bell. Every
sentence ends with a period. Every crime ends
with a sentence.”
—Stephen Wright, comedian
Introduction
Objectives:
 Define forensic science
 Understand the growth and
development of forensic
science through history
 Describe the steps used in
the scientific method
 Account for rapid growth of
forensic labs in the past 40
years
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Warm-Up Question
What is forensic science?
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Forensic Science
 Forensic science is the application of science to
criminal and civil laws.
 The word forensic is derived from the Latin “forensis”
meaning forum, a public place where, in Roman
times, senators and others debated and held judicial
proceedings.
 We will cover the application of science to those
criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police
agencies in a criminal justice system.
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Why study Forensic Science?
 You will use science to study physical
evidence, such as fingerprints and blood
 Learn how to investigate and analyze
crime scenes
 Understand how forensic science is used
in the service of the law
Video - what is forensic science?
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Ted Bundy, Serial Killer
 Responsible for 40
murders between 1964 and
1978
 His victims were typically young women
and murdered with a blunt instrument or
strangulation
 He was charged with murder based on
matching bite marks on victim’s body
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Forensic science encompasses many
different sciences
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Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Geology
Computer Technology
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Professions that practice Forensic
Science
Criminalistics
Toxicology
Odontology
Pathology/Biology
Physical Anthropology
Digital and Multimedia Sciences
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Project
History of the Development of Forensic Science
Due Date: Tuesday October 14
You will choose a topic or scientist that somehow contributed to the development of
forensic science. Email me your topic. This is a first come first serve basis.
Create a small poster that describes your event or person.
You are to research the topic and provide the following information to the class.
It should include:
•A detailed summary of the event or person describing their significance in the
development of forensic science.
•All work should be written/typed in a font large enough to read
•Heading or Title at the top of the poster
•The date when the event took place under the heading.
•At least one picture, photo or drawing.
• Please reference your source(s) on the back.
•Your name and block on the back.
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History and Development of
Forensic Science
 Earliest record of applying forensics to solve a
criminal case comes from third century China
 A woman in China was suspected of murdering
her husband and burning his body.
 A coroner experimented with pigs and
determined the wife had lied about her husband’s
death
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Forensic Science Timeline
 Orfila (1814) father
of forensic
toxicology
 Bertillon (1879)
father of criminal
identification
(anthropometry)
 Galton (1892) first to
study and classify
fingerprints
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 Landsteiner (1901)
discovered A,B,O
blood types
 Lattes (1915)
developed a simple
technique for
identifying blood
group of dried blood
stains
1814 Mathieu Bonaventure Orfila
 In 1814, published the
first scientific study of
the effects of poisons
on animals
 Father of forensic
toxicology
 In 1840, gave expert
testimony in a French
arsenic poisoning
murder case
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1879 - Alphonse Bertillon
 Considered the Father
of criminal identification
 Developed the science
of measurement called
Anthropometry
 Based on taking a
specific series of body
measurements as a
means of personal
identification
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Anthropometry
There were eleven measurements:
1.
2.
Height
Stretch: Length of body from
left shoulder to right middle
finger when arm is raised
3. Bust: Length of torso from
head to seat, taken when
seate
4. Length of head: Crown to
forehead
5. Width of head: Temple to
temple
6. Length of right ear
7. Length of left foot
8. Length of left middle finger
9. Length of left cubit: Elbow to
tip of middle finger
10. Width of cheeks
11. Length of left pinky
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History and Development of Forensic Science
 Hans Gross—wrote the first treatise describing the
application of scientific principles to the field of
criminal investigation.
 Edmond Locard—incorporated 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.
 Locard help solve a case involving
counterfeit coins
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Locard Principle in Action
You have 2 children and a cat. You run out to
take care of some errands that include stopping
at a furniture store, the laundry, and the house of
a friend who has one child and a dog. From a
forensic standpoint, this sequence of events can
provide a gold mine of information.
What “traces” of you are left behind at each
stop?
What evidence of each stop do you take with
you?
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Crime Laboratories
A facility specifically dedicated to
forensic analysis of criminal evidence.
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Crime Lab History
 First police crime lab in the world
was established in France in 1910
by Edmond Locard
 First police crime lab in the U.S.
opened in 1923 in Los Angeles
 The first FBI crime lab opened in
1932, under the directorship of J.
Edgar Hoover
Video 1 Boulder Crime Lab
Video 2 Utah Crime Lab
Video 3 Boston Bombing
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The Crime Lab
 The development of crime laboratories in
the United States has been characterized
by rapid growth
 At present, approximately 400 public crime
laboratories operate at various levels of
government—federal, state, county, and
municipal.
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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 increase of DNA profiling.
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Major Crime Laboratories
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FBI
DEA
ATF
U.S. Postal Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.veoh.com/watch/v189007707349fgsp?h1=Modern+Marvels+-+FBI+Crime+Lab
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Crime Lab—Basic Services
 Physical Science Unit
 Chemistry
 Physics
 Geology
 Biology Unit
 Firearms Unit
 Document Examination
Unit
 Photography Unit
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Physical Science Unit
 Applies principals
and techniques of
chemistry, physics
and geology to the
identification and
comparison of
crime-scene
evidence
 Evidence can be
drugs, glass, paint,
explosives and soil
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Biology Unit
 Biologists and
biochemists identify
and perform DNA
profiling
 DNA can be extracted
from bloodstains,
body fluids, hairs
 Compare and identify
hairs and fibers,
wood, plants and
other botanical
materials
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Firearms Unit
 Examine garments and
other objects that might
be exposed to gunshot
residue and target
distance
 Examines firearms,
discharged bullets,
cartridge cases,
shotgun shells and
ammunition of all types
 Also examine tool
marks
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Document Examination Unit
 Studies handwriting,
typewriting on
questioned documents
 Determines authenticity
and or certifies source
of document
 Analyzes paper, ink,
writing depressions,
obliterations, erasures,
and burned or charged
documents
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Photography Unit
 Examines and
records physical
evidence
 Uses digital
imaging, infrared,
ultraviolet and X-ray
photography
 Make invisible
information visible
Demo
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Optional Crime Laboratory Services
THESE SERVICES ARE FOUND IN
CENTRALIZED LABORATORIES:
 TOXICOLOGY UNIT
 LATENT FINGERPRINT UNIT
 POLYGRAPH UNIT
 VOICEPRINT ANALYSIS UNIT
 CRIME-SCENE INVESTIGATION UNIT
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Toxicology Unit
 Examines body
fluids and organs to
determine the
presence or
absence of drugs or
poisons
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Latent Fingerprint Unit
 Processes and
examines evidence
for latent (or nonvisible) fingerprints
or palm prints
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Polygraph Unit
 Polygraph (lie
detector) technology
is usually used by
criminal
investigators
 Technicians are
trained in
interrogation
techniques
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Voiceprint Analysis
 Believed that speech
patterns are unique to
an individual
 Analysis of telephoned
threats or taped
messages
 Uses sound
spectrograph, that
transforms speech into a
visual graphic display
called a voiceprint
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Crime-scene Investigation Unit
 Specially trained
personnel that travel
to a crime scene to
collect and preserve
physical evidence
 Must be able to
distinguish between
physical evidence
that is valuable and
that which is not
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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, forensic
computer and digital analysis, and forensic
engineering.
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Special Forensic Science Services
 Forensic Pathology involves the
investigation of unnatural, unexplained, or
violent deaths.
 Forensic
pathologists in their role as
medical examiners or coroners are
charged with determining cause of death.
 The
forensic pathologist may conduct an
autopsy which is the medical dissection
and examination of a body in order to
determine the cause of death.
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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.
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Special Forensic Science Services
Forensic Anthropology deals
with the identification and
examination of human skeletal
remains.
 Forensic Engineering is concerned with failure
analysis, accident reconstruction, and causes and
origins of fires or explosions.
 Forensic Entomologist – studies insects and their
relation to a criminal investigation
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Functions of a Forensic Scientist
 Applies physical and natural science
techniques to analyze the many types of
physical evidence
(Only physical evidence is free of error or bias)
 Subjects all physical evidence to principals of
Scientific Method
 Explain the significance of the results in a court
of law as an expert witness
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The Expert Witness
The expert witness presents
scientific evidence in court.
He/She will:
Establish credibility through
credentials, background
experience.
Evaluate evidence.
Expresses an opinion about the
evidence.
The judge may accept or reject
the opinion’s significance.
Video
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Introduction to Forensic Science
and the Law
Federal Rules of Evidence
 In order for scientific evidence
to be admitted in a court of law,
it must be:
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Probative: actually proves
something
Material: addresses an issue
that is relevant to the
particular crime
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Admissibility of Evidence
The Frye Standard
From the 1923 case Frye v. United
States
 Scientific evidence is allowed into the courtroom
if it is generally accepted by the relevant
scientific community.
The Frye standard does not offer any guidance
on reliability.
The evidence is presented in the trial and the
jury decides if it can be used.
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Admissibility of Evidence
The Daubert Ruling
From the 1993 case Daubert v. Dow
The judge decides if the evidence can be entered
into the trial. Admissibility is determined by:
Whether the theory or technique can be tested
Whether the science has been offered for peer
review
Whether the rate of error is acceptable
Whether the method at issue enjoys widespread
acceptance
Whether the theory or technique follows standards
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The Scientific Method
Scientific method – A process that uses strict guidelines to
ensure careful and systematic collection, organization, and
analysis of information
Formulate a question worthy of investigation.
Formulate a reasonable hypothesis to answer the question.
Test the hypothesis through experimentation.
Analyze data and validate of the hypothesis, it becomes
suitable as scientific evidence.
Formulate a conclusion
*After evidence is validated, it becomes suitable as scientific
evidence to be allowed for admission in a court of law
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Exploring Forensic Science on
the Internet
www.forensicpage.com
www.forensic.to/forensic.html
www.officer.com
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