INTRODUCTION TO

FORENSIC SCIENCE
 What is “Forensic” Science
• Forensic – comes from the Latin word
“Forensis” meaning used in open court, public
therefore:

• Forensic Science – the application of scientific

principles and techniques to the criminal and
civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in
a criminal justice system
 Criminalist = Forensic scientist
• CSI effect: dramatization of forensic science on
television has led to public perception that
every crime will yield evidence and produces an
unrealistic view of the criminal justice system
 Key Aspects to Forensic
Investigation
• Observation: process of observing something
or someone carefully to gain information

• Inference: a conclusion reached on the basis

of evidence and reasoning
 Analysis of Evidence
• Classification: identification of objects based on
general characteristics
– Example: shoe print in mud is classified as a running
shoe due to tread pattern

• Individualization: identification of objects

based on unique characteristics
– Example: Same muddy shoe is now matched to a
certain person due to unique wear marks created
over continued use
 Past vs. Present
• Crime investigation was simpler due to small
towns and villages and travel was limited

• Everyone knew everyone else in small rural

areas

• Fewer people could get away with crime

• Variety of crimes was limited

 1900’s-1920’s
1880’s-1920’s

1920’s-1940’s 1950’s-1970’s
 Crime in the Present
• Large populated urban areas
• Travel has increased due to convenience
• Increase in crime variety due to:
– Technology
– Education
– Access to materials
– Social media

• Being anonymous is EASY!

 1990’s-2000’s

1980’s

2000’s-present
 Modern Crime Solving
• Serves 3 purposes:
– Solves how the crime was committed

– Convicts the guilty

– Exonerates the innocent

We do not live in a perfect world.

“The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends
toward justice.”
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
 In the Beginning
• Mathieu Orfilla (1840)
– Writes 1st scientific paper on
detecting poisons
– Father of Toxicology - detection of
poisons in body fluids, tissue, or
organs.
 Most Influential People in Forensic
Science
Dr. William Bass (1971) This
man has solved many high
profile cases as well as the
education of some of the
most high-profile forensic
scientists in this country
through the University of Sir Francis Galton- (1892)
Tennessee’s  first person to develop a
Forensic Anthropology Cent system for classifying the
er ridge characteristics on the
, which he started in 1971. hands (Fingerprinting)
His specialties include
research into human
osteology, human
decomposition and the roles
they play in answering
questions about a person’s
 Albert S. Osborn- (1929)
developed the fundamental
principles applied to document
examination

Paul Jeserich- (1898) develops

forensic chemistry

Alec Jefferys (1984) discovered

Karl Landsteiner- (1901) discovers the repeating patterns in genetic material that
ABO blood groups later became known as genetic
fingerprinting
 Alphonse Bertillon (1882)
created first system of physical
measurements, photography,
and record keeping for personal
identification

August Vollmer (1907) developed

a training program to deal with
proper collection, preservation,
and handling of evidence

Mikhail Gerasimov (1925) introduced major

advancements for forensic facial
reconstruction by creating facial
Calvin Goddard (1929) created the comparison
reconstructions of famous historic figures
Microscope which made way for firearm
identification and matching
 Edmond Locard (1910)
the Sherlock Holmes of France
Developed a key concept to crime scene evaluation
and evidence analysis. He stated that in every
crime materials are transferred between criminal,
victim, and location which became known as the
(Locard Exchange Principle)

professor at the University of Lyons,

set up the first police crime laboratory
in France in 1910

Became the first full time forensic

scientist in Lyon, France
Locard’s Principle

“Every contacT
leaves a trace”
 Physical Evidence Triangle:
CRIME SCENE
Physical
Evidence
establishes
links

VICTIM CRIMINAL
 Know your role…
• Forensic scientists do NOT do the job of police
• They DO:
– Collect and preserve evidence
– Analyze evidence in lab
– Testify at trials as expert witnesses
– Train police officers
– Continue to train in their field