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Introduction to Forensic Science
What is Forensic Science?Taken from Chapter 1 Introduction to
Forensic Science by Gaensslen, Harris and Lee
What is Forensic Science?O A broad definition: “science in the service of
the law”O Forensic means having to do with the lawO Forensics is NOT the same!
O Means debating, not science
O A narrower definition involves criminalisticsO Scientific examination of evidence for legal
purposes
Science in the Service of the Law
O Forensic science is science usually applied to criminal cases
O Forensic science can also involve civil and administrative matters:O Product failure liability, disputed paternity,
and so onO Most “expert witnesses” actually work on
civil matters, not criminal cases
Value of Forensic ScienceO Most public forensic science labs are funded by
local, state or federal governmentO The scientists must provide government with
reasons for funding their programsO Corpus delicti – “elements of a crime”O Support disprove statementsO Identify substancesO Identify personsO Provide investigative leadsO Establish linkages or exclusions
History of Forensic ScienceO Some date the specialty back to China AD
1250O Most historians think it began in the
Western world between 1800 and 1850O Advancement of chemistry as a scienceO New technology like the microscopeO More advanced medical programs
History of Forensic ScienceO Mathiu Orfila (1787-
1853)O Best known medico
legalist (looking at death cases)
O PhysicianO “father of forensic
toxicology”
History of Forensic ScienceO Alphonse Bertillon
(1853-1914)O First scientific
system of personal identification
O Series of body measurements
O Used until fingerprints evolved in early 1900’s
History of Forensic ScienceO Francis Galton
(1833-1911)O First to study
fingerprints and apply them to identification
O Still the most used method for identification today