Forensic science

"Forensics" redirects here. For other uses, see Forensics (disambiguation).

Forensic science is the scientific method of gathering and examining information about the past. This is especially important in law enforcement where forensics is done in relation to criminal or civil law, but forensics are also carried out in other fields, such as astronomy, archaeology, biology and geology to investigate ancient times.

In the United States there are over 12,000 Forensic Science technicians, as of 2010.

The word forensic comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum." In Roman times, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their sides of the story. The individual with the best argument and delivery would determine the outcome of the case. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word forensic – as a form of legal evidence and as a category of public presentation. In modern use, the term "forensics" in the place of "forensic science" can be considered correct as the term "forensic" is effectively a synonym for "legal" or "related to courts". However, the term is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many dictionaries include the meaning that equates the word "forensics" with "forensic science".

History

Antiquity and the Middle Age

Archimedes may have used his principle of buoyancy to determine whether the golden crown was less dense than solid gold.

Main article: Forensics in antiquity

The ancient world lacked standardized forensic practices, which aided criminals in escaping punishment. Criminal investigations and trials relied on forced confessions and witness testimony. However ancient sources contain several accounts of techniques that foreshadow the concepts of forensic science that is developed centuries later, such as the "Eureka" legend told of Archimedes (287–212 BC). The account about Archimedes tells of how he invented a method for determining the volume of an object with an irregular shape. According to Vitruvius, a votive crown for a temple had been made for King Hiero II, who had supplied the pure gold to be used, and Archimedes was asked to determine whether some silver had been substituted by the dishonest goldsmith. Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not melt it down into a regularly shaped body in order to calculate its density.

The first written account of using medicine and entomology to solve (separate) criminal cases is attributed to the book of Xi Yuan Lu (translated as Washing Away of Wrongs), written in Song Dynasty China by Song Ci (宋慈, 1186–1249) in 1248. In one of the accounts, the case of a person murdered with a sickle was solved by a death investigator who instructed everyone to bring his sickle to one location. (He realized it was a sickle by testing various blades on an animal carcass and comparing the wound.) Flies, attracted by the smell of blood, eventually gathered on a single sickle. In light of this, the murderer confessed. The book also offered advice on how to distinguish between a drowning (water in the lungs) and strangulation (broken neck cartilage), along with other evidence from examining corpses on determining if a death was caused by murder, suicide or an accident.

Methods from around the world involved saliva and examination of the mouth and tongue to determine innocence or guilt. In ancient Chinese cultures, sometimes suspects were made to fill their mouths with dried rice and spit it back out. In ancient middle-eastern cultures the accused were made to lick hot metal rods briefly. Both of these tests had some validity since a guilty person would produce less saliva and thus have a drier mouth. The accused were considered guilty if rice was sticking to their mouth in abundance or if their tongues were severely burned due to lack of shielding from saliva.

Modern history

In the 16th-century Europe medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on cause and manner of death. Ambroise Paré, a French army surgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathology by studying changes that occurred in the structure of the body as the result of disease. In the late 18th century, writings on these topics began to appear. These included A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health by the French physician Fodéré and The Complete System of Police Medicine by the German medical expert Johann Peter Franck.

In 1773 a Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele devised a way of detecting arsenous oxide, simple arsenic, in corpses, although only in large quantities. This investigation was expanded, in 1806, by German chemist Valentin Ross, who learned to detect the poison in the walls of a victim's stomach, and by English chemist James Marsh, who used chemical processes to confirm arsenic as the cause of death in an 1836 murder trial.

Two early examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrate the increasing use of logic and procedure in criminal investigations. In 1784, in Lancaster, John Toms was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad (crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle) found in his head wound matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms' pocket. In Warwick in 1816, a farm labourer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. There were also scattered grains of wheat and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool. Police started using fingerprints for evidence when Juan Vucetich solved a murder case in Argentina by cutting off a piece of door with a bloody fingerprint on it. Later in the 20th century several British pathologists, Bernard Spilsbury, Francis Camps, Sydney Smith and Keith Simpson pioneered new forensic science methods in Britain. In 1909, Archibald Reiss founded the Institut de police scientifique of the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the first school of forensic science in the world.

Forensic science has been fostered by a number of national forensic science learned bodies including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1948), publishers of the Journal of Forensic Sciences; the Canadian Society of Forensic Science (founded 1953), publishers of the Journal of the Canadian Society of Forensic Science; the British Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1960), publishers of Medicine, science and the law, and the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences (founded 1967), publishers of the Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences.

Subdivisions

Agents of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division investigate a crime scene

Police forensic investigation in Ashton-under-Lyne, England, using a tent to protect the crime scene

• Art forensics concerns the art authentication cases to help research the work's authenticity. Art authentication methods are used to detect and identify forgery, faking and copying of art works, e.g. paintings.
• Computational forensics concerns the development of algorithms and software to assist forensic examination.
• Criminalistics is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of biological evidence, trace evidence, impression evidence (such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, and tire tracks), controlled substances, ballistics, firearm and toolmark examination, and other evidence in criminal investigations. In typical circumstances evidence is processed in a Crime lab.
• Digital forensics is the application of proven scientific methods and techniques in order to recover data from electronic / digital media. Digital Forensic specialists work in the field as well as in the lab.
• Forensic accounting is the study and interpretation of accounting evidence
• Forensic aerial photography is the study and interpretation of aerial photographic evidence
• Forensic anthropology is the application of physical anthropology in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of skeletonized human remains.
• Forensic archaeology is the application of a combination of archaeological techniques and forensic science, typically in law enforcement.
• Forensic astronomy uses methods from astronomy to determine past celestial constellations for forensic purposes.
• Forensic botany is the study of plant life in order to gain information regarding possible crimes.
• Forensic chemistry is the study of detection and identification of illicit drugs, accelerants used in arson cases, explosive and gunshot residue.
• Forensic dactyloscopy is the study of fingerprints.
• Forensic document examination or questioned document examination answers questions about a disputed document using a variety of scientific processes and methods. Many examinations involve a comparison of the questioned document, or components of the document, with a set of known standards. The most common type of examination involves handwriting, whereby the examiner tries to address concerns about potential authorship.
• Forensic DNA analysis takes advantage of the uniqueness of an individual's DNA to answer forensic questions such as paternity/maternity testing and placing a suspect at a crime scene, e.g. in a rape investigation.
• Forensic engineering is the scientific examination and analysis of structures and products relating to their failure or cause of damage.
• Forensic entomology deals with the examination of insects in, on and around human remains to assist in determination of time or location of death. It is also possible to determine if the body was moved after death using entomology.
• Forensic geology deals with trace evidence in the form of soils, minerals and petroleum.
• Forensic geophysics is the application of geophysical techniques such as radar for detecting objects hidden underground or underwater.
• Forensic intelligence process starts with the collection of data and ends with the integration of results within into the analysis of crimes under investigation
• Forensic Interviews are conducted using the science of professionally using expertise to conduct a variety of investigative interviews with victims, witnesses, suspects or other sources to determine the facts regarding suspicions, allegations or specific incidents in either public or private sector settings.
• Forensic limnology is the analysis of evidence collected from crime scenes in or around fresh-water sources. Examination of biological organisms, in particular diatoms, can be useful in connecting suspects with victims.
• Forensic linguistics deals with issues in the legal system that requires linguistic expertise.
• Forensic meteorology is a site-specific analysis of past weather conditions for a point of loss.
• Forensic odontology is the study of the uniqueness of dentition, better known as the study of teeth.
• Forensic optometry is the study of glasses and other eye wear relating to crime scenes and criminal investigations
• Forensic pathology is a field in which the principles of medicine and pathology are applied to determine a cause of death or injury in the context of a legal inquiry.
• Forensic podiatry is an application of the study of feet footprint or footwear and their traces to analyze scene of crime and to establish personal identity in forensic examinations.
• Forensic psychiatry is a specialized branch of psychiatry as applied to and based on scientific criminology.
• Forensic psychology is the study of the mind of an individual, using forensic methods. Usually it determines the circumstances behind a criminal's behavior.
• Forensic seismology is the study of techniques to distinguish the seismic signals generated by underground nuclear explosions from those generated by earthquakes.
• Forensic serology is the study of the body fluids.
• Forensic toxicology is the study of the effect of drugs and poisons on/in the human body.
• Forensic video analysis is the scientific examination, comparison and evaluation of video in legal matters.
• Mobile device forensics is the scientific examination and evaluation of evidence found in mobile phones, e.g. Call History and Deleted SMS, and includes SIM Card Forensics
• Trace evidence analysis is the analysis and comparison of trace evidence including glass, paint, fibres and hair.
• Wildlife Forensic Science applies a range of scientific disciplines to legal cases involving non-human biological evidence, to solve crimes such as poaching, animal abuse, and trade in endangered species.

Blood Spatter Analysis is the scientific examination of blood spatter patterns found at a crime scene to reconstruct the events of the crime.

• Forensic Investigation also known as forensic audit is the examination of documents and the interviewing of people to extract evidence.

Education and research

The School of Criminal Justice of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) is the world oldest school of forensic science and is one of the only European institution to offer a complete education in forensic sciences.

Academic centre of education and research in forensic sciences:

• Europe
  • School of Criminal Justice (École des sciences criminelles) of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland)
  • School of Forensic and Investigative Sciences of the University of Central Lancashire (United Kingdom)
  • Centre for the Forensic Sciences of the University College London (United Kingdom)
• North America
  • Forensic science program at the Pennsylvania State University (United States)

Notable forensic scientists

Self-portrait of Alphonse Bertillon, inventor of anthropometry.

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Questionable techniques

Some forensic techniques, believed to be scientifically sound at the time they were used, have turned out later to have much less scientific merit or none. Some such techniques include:

• Comparative bullet-lead analysis was used by the FBI for over four decades, starting with the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963. The theory was that each batch of ammunition possessed a chemical makeup so distinct that a bullet could be traced back to a particular batch or even a specific box. Internal studies and an outside study by the National Academy of Sciences found that the technique was unreliable, and the FBI abandoned the test in 2005.
• Forensic dentistry has come under fire: in at least two cases bite-mark evidence has been used to convict people of murder who were later freed by DNA evidence. A 1999 study by a member of the American Board of Forensic Odontology found a 63 percent rate of false identifications and is commonly referenced within online news stories and conspiracy websites. The study was based on an informal workshop during an ABFO meeting, which many members did not consider a valid scientific setting.
• Scientists have also shown, in recent years, that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, thus "undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases".

Litigation science

Litigation science describes analysis or data developed or produced expressly for use in a trial versus those produced in the course of independent research. This distinction was made by the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when evaluating the admissibility of experts.

This uses demonstrative evidence, which is evidence created in preparation of trial by attorneys or paralegals.

Examples in popular culture

Joseph Bell

The Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges claims that the police novel genre is inaugurated with Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". But it is first Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in works produced from 1887 to 1915, who used forensic science as one of his investigating methods. Conan Doyle credited the inspiration for Holmes on his teacher at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh, the gifted surgeon and forensic detective Joseph Bell. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple books and television series glorify too a similar prototype.

Decades later the comic strip Dick Tracy also featured a detective using a considerable number of forensic methods, although sometimes the methods were more fanciful than actually possible.

Barry Allen (alter ego of The Flash) is a forensic scientist for the Central City police department.

Defence attorney Perry Mason occasionally used forensic techniques, both in the novels and television series.

One of the earliest television series to focus on the scientific analysis of evidence was Quincy, M.E. (1976–83, and based loosely on an even earlier Canadian series titled Wojeck), with the title character, a medical examiner working in Los Angeles solving crimes through careful study. The opening theme of each episode featured a clip of the title character, played by Jack Klugman, beginning a lecture to a group of police officers with "Gentlemen, you are about to enter the most fascinating sphere of police work, the world of forensic medicine." Later series with similar premises include Dexter, The Mentalist, CSI, Hawaii Five-0, Cold Case, Bones, Law & Order, Body of Proof, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Silent Witness, Case Closed, Midsomer Murders and Waking the Dead, depict glamorized versions of the activities of 21st-century forensic scientists. Some claim these TV shows have changed individuals' expectations of forensic science, an influence termed the "CSI effect".

Non-fiction TV shows such as Forensic Files, The New Detectives, American Justice, and Dayle Hinman's Body of Evidence have also popularized forensic science.

The Ace Attorney series features forensic science, mainly in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and the DS-only case in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

Controversies

Questions about forensic science, fingerprint evidence and the assumption behind these disciplines have been brought to light in some publications, including in the New York Post. The article stated that "No one has proved even the basic assumption: That everyone's fingerprint is unique." The article also stated that "Now such assumptions are being questioned - and with it may come a radical change in how forensic science is used by police departments and prosecutors." Law professor Jessica Gabel said on NOVA that forensic science, "lacks the rigors, the standards, the quality controls and procedures that we find, usually, in science."

On 25 June 2009 the Supreme Court issued a 5-to-4 decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts stating that crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them give testimony and subject themselves to cross-examination. The Supreme Court cited the National Academies report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States in their decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia referred to the National Research Council report in his assertion that "Forensic evidence is not uniquely immune from the risk of manipulation."

In 2009, scientists indicated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence therefore suggesting it is possible to falsely accuse or acquit a person or persons using forged evidence.

Although forensic science has greatly enhanced investigators ability to solve crimes, they have limitations and must be scrutinized in and out of the courtroom to avoid wrongful convictions, which have happened.

See also

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Bibliography

• Bartos, Leah, "No Forensic Background? No Problem", ProPublica, April 17, 2012.
• Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.
• Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection by Joe Nickell and John F. Fischer. University Press of Kentucky, 1999. ISBN 0-8131-2091-8.
• Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers by Michael Baden, M.D, former New York City Medical Examiner, and Marion Roach. Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-86758-3.
• Forensic Magazine - Forensicmag.com.
• Forensic Materials Engineering: Case Studies by Peter Rhys Lewis, Colin Gagg, Ken Reynolds. CRC Press, 2004.
• Forensic Science Communications, an open access journal of the FBI.
• Forensic sciences international - An international journal dedicated to the applications of medicine and science in the administration of justice - ISSN: 0379-0738 - Elsevier
• Guide to Information Sources in the Forensic Sciences by Cynthia Holt. Libraries Unlimited, 2006. ISBN 1-59158-221-0.
• Haag, Michael G. and Haag, Lucien C. (2011). Shooting Incident Reconstruction: Second Edition. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-382241-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• International Journal of Digital Crime and Forensics (IJDCF)
• Marrone, L. (2011) La scena del crimine. Storia e tecniche dell'investigazione scientifica. Roma, Kappa Edizioni. ISBN 978-88-6514-070-3.
• Marrone, L. (2011) Introduzione alle Scienze forensi. Roma, Kappa Edizioni. ISBN 978-88-6514-077-2.
• Owen, D. (2000) Hidden Evidence; The Story of Forensic Science and how it Helped to Solve 40 of the World's Toughest Crimes Quintet Publishing, London. ISBN 1-86155-278-5.
• Quinche, Nicolas, Crime, Science et Identité. Anthologie des textes fondateurs de la criminalistique européenne (1860–1930). Genève: Slatkine, 2006, 368p.
• Quinche, Nicolas, « Les victimes, les mobiles et le modus operandi du criminaliste suisse R.-A. Reiss. Enquête sur les stratégies discursives d’un expert du crime (1906–1922)" in Revue Suisse d’Histoire, 58, no 4, décembre 2008, pp. 426–444.
• Quinche, Nicolas, « L’ascension du criminaliste Rodolphe Archibald Reiss », in Le théâtre du crime : Rodolphe A. Reiss (1875–1929). Lausanne : Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, 2009, pp. 231–250.
• Quinche, Nicolas, « Sur les traces du crime : la naissance de la police scientifique et technique en Europe », in Revue internationale de criminologie et de police technique et scientifique, vol. LXII, no 2, juin 2009, pp. 8–10.
• Quinche, Nicolas, and Margot, Pierre, « Coulier, Paul-Jean (1824–1890) : A precursor in the history of fingermark detection and their potential use for identifying their source (1863) », in Journal of forensic identification (Californie), 60 (2), March–April 2010, pp. 129–134.
• Quinche, Nicolas, "Sur les traces du crime : de la naissance du regard indicial à l’institutionnalisation de la police scientifique et technique en Suisse et en France. L’essor de l’Institut de police scientifique de l’Université de Lausanne". Genève : Slatkine, 2011, 686p., (Coll. Travaux des Universités suisses), (Thèse de doctorat de l’Université de Lausanne).
• Leila Schneps and Coralie Colmez, Math on trial. How numbers get used and abused in the courtroom, Basic Books, 2013. ISBN 978-0-465-03292-1.
• Science Against Crime by Stuart Kind and Michael Overman. Doubleday, 1972. ISBN 0-385-09249-0.
• Stanton G (2003). "Underwater Crime Scene Investigations (UCSI), a New Paradigm". In: SF Norton (ed). Diving for Science... 2003. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (22nd annual Scientific Diving Symposium). Retrieved 2008-06-18.
• Structure Magazine no. 40, "RepliSet: High Resolution Impressions of the Teeth of Human Ancestors" by Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, The Ohio State University and John C. Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Biomaterials and Biomechanics School of Dentistry, Oregon Health and Science University.
• The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology.
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science by Allan Jamieson and Andre Moenssens (eds). John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-0-470-01826-2.
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science The online version of the Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science by Allan Jamieson and Andre Moenssens (eds)
• "The Real CSI, PBS Frontline documentary, April 17, 2012.

External links

• Forensic Science at Curlie
• List of Forensic Labs in the US