Transcript File - Ms. Collins 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.
Important Events
• 44BC – Antistius performs first autopsy on Ceasar
• A Collection of Criminal Cases released
• 700s AD - Chinese used fingerprints to establish identity of
documents and clay sculptures
• 1149 - King Richard of England created the job of the coroner
to investigate questionable death
• 1248 - Chinese book Hsi Duan Yu (The Washing Away of
Wrongs) appears in 1248. The book distinguished drowning
(water in the lungs) and strangulation (pressure marks on the
throat and damaged cartilage in the neck) from death by
natural causes. A murder in China is solved when flies were
attracted to invisible blood residue on a sword of a man in the
community
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.
Developments in Forensic Science
• 1670- Anton van Leeuwenhoek of Holland constructs the first
high powered microscope
• 1776- Paul Revere identified the body of General Joseph
Warren based on the false teeth he had made for him
• 1784- John Toms convicted of murder on basis of torn edge of
wad of paper in pistol matching a piece of paper in his pocket
• 1859- Gustav Kirchoff and Robert Bunsen developed the
science of spectroscopy
• 1864- Crime scene photography developed
Developments in Forensic Science
• 1879- Bertillion system
• 1887- First Sherlock Holmes story
• 1893 - Hans Gross – published book called criminal
investigation, first forensic science textbook that is wide
spread
• 1896- Edward Henry developed the first classification system
for fingerprint identification (still used in some cases)
• 1900- Karl Landsteiner identified human blood groups
• 1904- Locard principle
• 1922- Francis Aston developed the mass spectrometer
• 1950 – American Academy of Forensic Sciences Founded
PEOPLE OF HISTORICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sci-fi author in late 1800’s
• Popularized scientific crime-detection
methods through his fictional character
‘Sherlock Holmes’.
Mathieu Orfila
(1787-1853)
• “Father of Toxicology”
• Published his book in 1813
• Wrote about the detection of poisons
& their effects on animals because at
the time poisoning was a preferred
method of murder.
Alphonse Bertillon
(1853-1914)
• “Father of Anthropometry” - 1879
• Developed a system to distinguish one
individual person from another based on
certain body measurements.
Anthropometry
• Disproven when two
convicts with identical
measurements and
names are found in
Leavenworth Prison.
Instead they had to be
Identified through
fingerprints.
West Case
Francis Galton
(1822-1911)
• “Father of Fingerprinting”
• Nephew of Charles Darwin
• Developed fingerprinting as a way to
uniquely identify individuals.
Leone Lattes
(1887-1954)
• Italian Scientist
• 1915 devised a procedure by which dried
bloodstains could be grouped as A, B, AB or O
• His procedure is still used today by some
forensic scientists
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.
Albert Osborn
(1858-1946)
• “Father of Document Examination” - 1910
• His work led to the acceptance of
Questioned Documents as scientific
evidence by the courts.
J. Edgar Hoover
• “Father of the FBI” - Director of Federal Bureau of
Investigation during the 1930’s
• Hoover's leadership spanned 48 yrs & 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.
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 worldwide 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 cross-transfer of
evidence occurs.
Locard Principle in Action
• You have 2 children and a cat. You run out to take
care of some errands that include stopping at a
furniture store, the laundry, and the house of a
friend who has one child and a dog. From a forensic
standpoint, this sequence of events can provide a
gold mine of information.
Discuss the following questions with your neighbor.
What “traces” of you are left behind at each stop?
What evidence of each stop do you take with you?
Applications of Forensic Science Today
• Identification of Criminals or Victims
• Solving Mysteries
– Past crimes (unsolved or wrongfully
convicted)
– Cause, Location, Time of Death
– Paternity cases
• Cyber crimes
• Corporate Crimes
• Voice Analysis
Applications of Forensic Science Today
• 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