Introduction to Criminalistics

Introduction to Criminalistics

The Foundation of Forensic Science

Barry A. J. Fisher Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Los Angeles, California

William J. Tilstone Forensic Science Solutions International

Auchterarder, Scotland, U.K.

Catherine Woytowicz Department of Chemistry

The George Washington University Washington, DC

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Cover Credits:

Crime scene at water edge: Courtesy Barry Fisher, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crime Laboratory

Fire: Stockxpert (Figure 9.1); Bullet: Courtesy Barry Fisher, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crime Laboratory; Ecstasy tablets: Courtesy DEA (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/images_ecstasy.html)

Golf ball: Courtesy of BVDA INTERNATIONAL (http://www.bvda.com/EN/sect1/en_1_6c.html); Wool: Modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ESEM_color_wool.jpg; Shoe print in snow: Stockxpert

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fisher, Barry A. J. Introduction to criminalistics: the foundation of forensic science / Barry A. J. Fisher, Catherine Woytowicz, William J. Tillstone. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-12-088591-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Forensic sciences. 2. Criminal investigation. I. Woytowicz, Catherine. II. Title. HV8073.F488 2009 363.25--dc22 2008040347

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 13: 978-0-12-088591-6

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To our families and to those whose daily use of science in the quest for justice identifies the guilty, protects the innocent, and benefits the victims.

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FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................................ ix

PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................. xi

SECTION I Introduction, Field and Laboratory

CHAPTER 1 ● Forensic Science: Scope and Perspective ............................................................................... 3

SECTION II Pattern Evidence

CHAPTER 2 ● Introduction to Pattern Evidence: Tool Marks and Impressions ................................. 17

CHAPTER 3 ● Firearms ....................................................................................... 31

CHAPTER 4 ● Fingerprints ............................................................................ 55

CHAPTER 5 ● Documents ............................................................................... 79

CHAPTER 6 ● Physical Evidence ............................................................ 99

CHAPTER 7 ● Hair and Fiber .................................................................... 129

SECTION III Chemical Evidence

CHAPTER 8 ● Drugs and Pharmaceuticals ................................ 159

CHAPTER 9 ● Arson and Explosives ................................................ 189

CHAPTER 10 ● Forensic Toxicology .................................................... 213

SECTION IV Biological Evidence

CHAPTER 11 ● Forensic Biology ............................................................ 243

CHAPTER 12 ● DNA ............................................................................................... 273

Contents

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Contents

APPENDICES

A. Personal Effects and Identification ......................................... 297

B. Digital Evidence ............................................................................................. 300

C. Crime Scene Reconstruction ............................................................... 315

Index .............................................................................................................................................. 317

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The landscape of forensic science education has changed dramatically in the past decade. We have experienced an evolution from a field directed primarily at educating Criminal Justice majors to an era of growing numbers of programs directed at science majors. The Technical Working Group on Education and Training (TWGED) was established in the United States by the National Institute of Justice to formulate recommended standards for forensic science education. As a follow-up to TWGED, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences established The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC), which now accredits bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in the United States.

The most widely used and readily available introductory textbook over the past thirty years has targeted criminal justice majors. The growing popularity of foren-sic science programs for scientists has created a demand for textbooks that intro-duce forensic science to freshman and sophomore science majors. Barry Fisher, Catherine Woytowicz, and William Tilstone have pooled their many years of experience as forensic scientists and laboratory administrators to write an out-standing entry text that targets science majors. Introduction to Criminalistics has several important features that will make it enjoyable for both students and professors. Many of the chapters have a section titled “Central Questions” that introduces the student to the current status of a particular type of evidence. Each chapter contains a concise chapter summary, a problem set, and a glossary that will help the student identify the most important points. Numerous well-chosen case studies stir interest in the topics and separate boxes address interesting and important details. The format is efficient with little unnecessary verbiage, mak-ing it much easier than in most texts to identify salient material.

It is important that teachers have textbooks that are commensurate with their teaching styles and the knowledge base of their students. Introduction to Criminalistics is a welcome addition for introducing this exciting field to pro-spective forensic scientists.

Charles “Chris” Tindall Professor, Department of Chemistry

Metropolitan State College of Denver

Foreword

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Preface

The story of the book began with a chance meeting between two of us, Barry Fisher and Catherine Woytowicz, in the hallways of the American Chemical Society. Barry was attending a meeting of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents in Washington, DC, and Catherine was serving as the ACS’s Science Policy Fellow. Over subsequent coffee meeting conversations the two former col-leagues (Catherine having worked for Barry at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crime Laboratory) reached an agreement to pursue this book. It was realized that translating the concept to reality needed more resources, and Bill Tilstone, a long-standing professional colleague and friend of Barry, was roped into the project.

So why another forensic science textbook? As teachers, case-workers, and managers in forensic science, we were united and motivated by the vision that our combined expertise could give something extra to the growing number of students with an interest in the subject.

Forensic science is a very diverse and complex subject. The book is organized pretty much along the lines of a conventional full-service crime laboratory, but there are other applications of science to legal or regulatory matters. Examples include DNA testing to explore family history, toxicology testing to ensure that the outcomes of horse races are not prejudiced by administration of drugs, analysis of air and water to ensure that manufacturing plants are disposing of toxic wastes safely, and the gathering of intelligence to identify and circumvent terrorist attacks.

The testing is likewise varied. Matching patterns, a skill we learn at a very young age, is important to many aspects of criminalistics from identifying a finger-print to crime scene reconstruction. Observation and documentation are key. At the other end of the complexity spectrum, rapid and effective transfer of Nobel Prize-winning technologies has been vital in the application of DNA to identify who left blood or semen or sweat at a crime scene.

We hope that you enjoy studying criminalistics and that this book will help make the subject clear and interesting. Good luck if you choose to make a career of it!

Barry A. J. Fisher William J. Tilstone

Catherine Woytowicz