Transcript Where did forensic science start?

Forensic Science 101
The intro.
A few questions…
• What do you know about forensic
science?
• What have your opinions been based
on?
• Does it even interest you? Why or
why not?
Maybe these?
Why do we look to science for
assistance in our legal system?
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Increasing Crime Rates
New or Changed Laws
New Crimes
New Weapons
Response to Public Concerns
Response to Law Enforcement
Concerns
Applying Science to Law
• Applying science to the Criminal
Justice System depends on a
scientist’s ability to supply accurate
& objective information that reflects
the events that have occurred at a
crime.
What is forensic science?
• Previously “legal
medicine” was the
term used for the
application of medical
knowledge to the
investigation of a
crime.
• Now we call it
“forensic science”
– Forensic refers to the
use of material in a
court of law
Forensic Science defined:
• Forensic Science (or Criminalistics) is
the use of science & technology to
enforce civil & criminal laws.
• It is vague & hard to define because
it includes so many other areas of
science.
Civil vs. Criminal Law
CIVIL LAW
CRIMINAL LAW
 filed by a private party.
o a corporation
o an individual person
 filed by the government
 Penalty: a guilty defendant is
punished by
 Penalty: a guilty defendant
o incarceration (in jail/prison)
pays the plaintiff for losses
o fine paid to the gov’t
caused by their actions.
o execution (death penalty)
o no incarceration
 Crimes are divided into 2 classes:
o misdemeanors - less than 1
year incarceration
o felonies - sentence of 1+ year
History of Forensic Science
History & Development of
Forensic Science
When in Rome…
• “Forensic” comes from the Latin word
“forensis” meaning forum.
• During the time of the Romans, a
criminal charge meant presenting the
case before the public.
• Both the person accused of the crime
& the accuser would give speeches
based on their side of the story.
• The individual with the best
argumentation would determine the
outcome of the case.
WHERE DID FORENSIC
SCIENCE START?
Where did forensic science
start?
• The Chinese book Hsi Duan Yu (The
Washing Away of Wrongs), which
appeared in 1248, provided the
first association of medicine and law.
– The book offered useful advice, such as
distinguishing drowning (water in the
lungs) and strangulation (pressure
marks on the throat and damaged
cartilage in the neck) from death by
natural causes.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Science-fiction
author in late
1800’s
• Popularized
scientific crimedetection methods
through his
fictional character
‘Sherlock Holmes’.
Where did forensic science
start?
• The first appearance of
experts in the courtroom
was documented around
the end of the 18th
century.
• The emergence of modern
chemistry around that
period led to discoveries
which were applicable to
crime investigation and
detection.
Mathieu Orfila
(1787-1853)
• One of the first celebrated cases in
forensic science involved the, "Father
of Toxicology,” Mathieu Orfila, who
worked in Paris and testified in an
arsenic poisoning criminal trial in
1840.
• Orfila and others had developed a
chemical test to detect arsenic, the
poison of choice for the period because
the symptoms, violent stomach pains
and vomiting, were similar to cholera
(a common disease of the times) and
often went undetected.
Alphonse Bertillon
(1853-1914)
• “Father of Anthropometry”
• Developed a system to distinguish
one individual person from another
based a series of body and facial
measurements, developed in 1882.
Anthropometry
Francis Galton
(1822-1911)
• “Father of Fingerprinting”
• Developed fingerprinting as a
way to uniquely identify
individuals.
• Published Fingerprints in 1892,
was another pioneering
contribution to the emerging
field of forensic science.
Leone Lattes
(1887-1954)
• “Father of Bloodstain Identification”
• He developed a procedure for
determining the blood type (A,
or O) of a dried blood stain.
B, AB,
Calvin Goddard
(1891-1955)
• “Father of
Ballistics”
• Developed the
technique to
examine bullets,
using a comparison
microscope, to
determine whether
or not a particular
gun fired the
bullets.
National Integrated Ballistic
Information Network (NIBIN)
• The NIBIN Program automates
ballistics evaluations and provides
actionable investigative leads in a
timely manner.
• NIBIN is the only interstate automated
ballistic imaging network in operation
in the United States and is available to
most major population centers in the
United States.
National Integrated Ballistic
Information Network (NIBIN)
• To use NIBIN, firearms examiners or
technicians enter cartridge casing evidence into
the Integrated Ballistic Identification System.
(IBIS).
• These images are correlated against the
database. Law enforcement can search against
evidence from their jurisdiction, neighboring
ones, and others across the country.
• This program is one investigative tool accessed
by law enforcement that allows each of us to
share information and cooperation easily
making all of us more effective in closing cases.
Integrated Ballistics
Identification System (IBIS)
• The Integrated Ballistics Identification
System (IBIS) was created to expedite the
highly labor-intensive and time-consuming
task of matching ballistics information in
police investigations.
• In addition to matching evidence from an
ongoing or current investigation, IBIS can
be used to link ballistic information to prior
investigations and to guns used in crimes—
that is, firearms that have been used in the
commission of multiple crimes but that
may not have been recovered in the
investigation.
Albert Osborn
(1858-1946)
• “Father of Document Examination”
• His work led to the acceptance of
documents as scientific evidence by
the courts.
A bit of news…
• http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/accus
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Walter McCrone
(1916-2002)
• “Father of Microscopic Forensics”
• He developed & applied his
microscope techniques to examine
evidence in countless court cases.
Hans Gross
(1847-1915)
• “Father of Forensic Publications”
• Wrote the book on applying all the
different science disciplines to the
field of criminal investigation.
Edmond Locard
(1877-1966)
• “Father of the Crime Lab”
• In 1910, he started the 1st crime lab in
an attic of a police station.
• With few tools, he quickly became known
world-wide to forensic scientists &
criminal investigators & eventually
founded the Institute of Criminalistics in
France.
• His most important contribution was the
“Locard’s Exchange Principle”
Locard’s Exchange Principle
• “Every Contact Leaves a Trace.”
• He believed that every criminal can
be connected to a crime by particles
carried from the crime scene.
• When a criminal comes in contact
with an object or person, a crosstransfer of evidence occurs.
Alexandre Lacassagne
(1844 – 1921)
• The founder of modern forensic
science.
• Lacassagne made many
contributions including the first to
recognize the significance of the
striations etched on a bullet
extracted from a murder victim
and their link to the gun from
which it was fired, thus beginning
the science of ballistics.
Founder of Forensic Science!
• He also was the first to
study the relationship
between an attack on a
victim and the shape and
configuration of bloodstains,
and was first to recognize
the need for adequate
means of identifying
criminals through a police
filing system.
J. Edgar Hoover
• “Father of the FBI” - Director of Federal Bureau of
Investigation during the 1930’s
• Hoover's leadership spanned 48 years and 8
presidential administrations. His reign covered
Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean
War, the Cold War, & the Vietnam War.
• He organized a national laboratory to offer forensic
services to all law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
• VERY CONTROVERSIAL
– He exceeded & abused his authority with unjustified
investigations & illegal wiretaps based on political beliefs
rather than suspected criminal activity
– FBI directors are now limited to 10-year terms
CRIME LABS!
• First forensic laboratory was set
up in France in 1910. (Locard)
• First crime laboratory in the U.S.
was established in 1930 by the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department.
• The Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) lab was
established in 1932 and in 1937
Paul Kirk (1902-1970) set up
the first academic criminalistics
program in the U.S. at the
University of California.
Current Practice of Forensic Science in
U.S. Laboratories
• Labs test:
– Drug Analysis
– Trace Evidence analysis
Fiber and hair comparison and analysis
Paint comparison and analysis
Glass comparison and analysis
Fire debris and explosives analysis
Gun shot residue analysis Tape comparison
Soil and building materials comparison and
analysis
• Lamp and filament examinations
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Current Practice of Forensic Science in
U.S. Laboratories
• Biology services
– Biological fluid identification and species origin
– DNA analysis
– Bloodstain pattern interpretation
• Firearms and toolmark identification
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Firearm operability
Projectile comparison
Gun powder pattern interpretation
Footwear and tire impression comparison
Current Practice of Forensic Science in
U.S. Laboratories
• Toxicology
– Breath and blood alcohol analysis
– Urine analysis
– Drugs in biological fluids and tissues
• Fingerprint and latent
identification and comparisons
• Specialized analysis
– Computer and data recovery
– Voiceprint analysis
Applications of Forensic Science
• Identification of Criminals or Victims
• Solving Mysteries
– Past crimes (unsolved or wrongfully
convicted)
– Cause, Location, Time of Death
– Paternity cases
• Cyber crimes
• Corporate Crimes (Enron)
• Voice Analysis
Applications of Forensic Science
• Application of DNA as evidence
• Prevention vs. Reaction
• Catastrophes & Wars
• ID remains of victims (either civilian
or soldiers)
• ex. Holocaust or Katrina
• Military & International Forensics
– Terrorism
– The search for WMD’s
– stockpiled or stored weapons from past
wars
Munitions
• When the Army unearthed more
than a 1,000 mortar rounds from a
WW2 training site, they enlisted a
Forensic Science Lab to determine
which were live munitions & which
were dummies.
The Trial of the Century
• O.J. Simpson was a NFL football
legend.
• He is now famous for having been tried
for the murder of ex-wife Nicole
Brown Simpson & her friend Ronald
Goldman in 1994.
• He was acquitted in criminal court
after a lengthy, highly publicized trial.
What went wrong?
• 1st on the scene, police found evidence of
blood & entered the Simpson home
without a search warrant, an action
permissible b/c the situation was an
emergency.
• HOWEVER, the police collected a pair of
blood-stained gloves during their search.
• Collection of evidence without proper
warrants became the key argument used
by Simpson’s legal team & ultimately led
to his acquital.
What was learned?
• If forensic evidence is to be
admissible in court, the highest
professional standards must be used
at the crime scene!
• He was found liable for their deaths
in civil court, but has yet to pay the
$33.5 million judgment.
THE BODY FARM
• PRIMARY GOAL: To understand the
processes & timetable of postmortem
decay, primarily to improve determining
the "time since death" in murder cases.
• The Body Farm is a simulation of various
crime scenes using real human bodies.
• Started in 1970-80’s to study Forensic
Anthropology (the study of human
decomposition after death).
THE BODY FARM
• Used by Law Enforcement, Medical
Examiners, Entomologists, Cadaver Dogs,
Anthropologists & FBI for Crime Scene
Training.
• The BF uses unclaimed cadavers & volunteers
(who donate their body to science after
death)
• Only 2 Facilities in the U.S.
– Univ. of Tennessee (original)
– Western Carolina University
– Texas State University - local residents opposed it
• Doorway to death, the main gate of the
Anthropology Research Facility—the “Body
Farm”—consists of a wooden privacy fence
inside a chain-link fence that’s topped with
razor wire.
• Security is a high priority. Fences,
padlocks, video surveillance cameras, &
police patrols safeguard the world’s only
human-decomposition research facility.
• One research study examined the
effects of the elevated temperatures—
and limited insect access—to which a
body in a car would be subjected.
• Corpse 1-81 was an elderly white
male; he became part of a pioneering
study of insect activity in human
corpses.
• Closeup of a recent research subject. After only a
few weeks in the Tennessee summer, the skull is
completely bare & many vertebrae are exposed. The
rib cage & pelvis are covered with dried, leathery
skin, but the soft tissues beneath are gone,
consumed by insects & bacteria.
• Close-up of a human femur & hip
bone, containing an artificial hip
implant. Such orthopedic devices can
help identify an unknown crime victim.
• An aerial view of the Body Farm, taken
from Patricia Cornwell’s helicopter. The
large wooden tripods are used for hoisting &
weighing bodies as part of a research study
of weight loss during decomposition.
• A jaw from a research subject held by
the founder of the Body Farm.
Types of Research
How does the decomposition rate
compare in:
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sunshine vs shade?
In cool weather vs hot weather?
In a shallow grave vs on the ground?
In water?
Inside a car?
What effect do other variables have—
humidity, insect activity, clothing, body
weight, and so on?
Why is TSD so important?
• First question at most murder scenes:
"How long has this person been dead?“
• It's crucial to know when the crime
was committed.
– it can help narrow the search for a suspect
or
– it can help rule out potential suspects who
had alibis at the time the victim was killed.
What is the future of forensic science?
• Many possibilities!
• Currently, scientists are working on
making faster, more efficient
methods for their lab tests.
• Who knows where the future of
forensic science lies – maybe you’ll
be part of the answer!