Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic
Science
Chapter 1
Introduction
Criminalistics, 13e
Saferstein/Roy Copyright © 2021, 2018, 2015, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Definition of Forensic Science
• Forensic Science is the application of science to
criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police
agencies in a criminal justice system.
• Forensic Science is an umbrella term encompassing
many professionals who use their skills to help law
enforcement conduct investigations
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AAFS www.aafs.org
The American Academy of Forensic Science is the largest forensic
organization in the world
AAFS has twelve sections of Forensic Science
• Anthropology
• Criminalistics
• Digital and Multimedia Sciences
• Engineering & Applied Sciences
• General
• Jurisprudence
• Forensic Nursing Science
• Odontology
• Pathology/Biology
• Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
• Questioned Documents
• Toxicology
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A Scene from CSI, a Forensic Science
Television Show
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TV shows effect on Forensic Science
• Television shows like CSI, NCIS, and Criminal Minds
have greatly increased the public’s awareness of using
science in criminal investigations
• They have also influenced an unrealistic expectation that
they public now places on forensic science and legal
professionals
• The CSI effect
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Forensic Science Roots
• Forensic science owes its origins to individuals such as
Bertillon, Galton, Lattes, Goddard, Osborn, and Locard,
who developed the principles and techniques needed to
identify or compare physical evidence.
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History
• Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853)
– The father of forensic toxicology
– Published the first scientific treatise on the
detection of poisons and their effects on
animals which established forensic toxicology
as legitimate
• Alphonse Bertillion (1853-1914)
– Devised the first scientific system of personal
identification in 1879 (used for ~20 years)
– The father of criminal identification
– Technique quickly replaced by fingerprints
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Bertillon’s
System of Bodily
Measurements as
Used for the
Identification of
an Individual
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History
• Francis Galton (1822-1911)
– Conducted the first definitive study
of fingerprints and their
classification
– In 1892 he published Finger Prints
which contained statistical proof
supporting uniqueness
– Galton details
• Leone Lattes (1887-1954)
– Developed a procedure to
determine blood type from dried
bloodstains
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History
• Calvin Goddard (1891-1955)
– A U.S. Army Colonel
– Used a comparison microscope to determine if a
particular gun fired a bullet
• Albert Osborn (1858-1946)
– Developed the fundamental principles of document
examination.
– Responsible for the acceptance of documents as
scientific evidence by the courts
– Authored Questioned Documents which is still
considered the primary reference for examiners
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History
• Walter McCrone (1916-2002)
– Utilized microscopy and other analytical methodologies
to examine evidence
• Hans Gross (1847-1915)
– Wrote the first treatise describing the application of
scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation.
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History
• Edmond Locard (1877-1966)
– Incorporared Gross’
principles within a workable
crime laboratory
• Locard’s Exchange Principle
– Whenever two objects
come into contact with one
another, there is an
exchange of materials
between them
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The Crime Lab
• The ever-increasing number of crime laboratories is
partly the result of the following:
– Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s responsible for
police placing greater emphasis on scientifically
evaluated evidence, growing drug abuse and the
advent of DNA profiling.
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The Crime Lab
– In 1932, the FBI
organized a national
laboratory that
offered forensic
services to all LE in
the country
▪ FBI lab is the
largest in the
world and
performs
~1 million
examinations per
year
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The Crime Lab
• The development of crime laboratories in the United
States has been characterized by rapid growth
accompanied by a lack of national and regional planning
and coordination.
• At present, approximately 411 public crime laboratories
operate at various levels of government—federal, state,
county, and municipal.
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Technical Support
• The technical support provided by crime laboratories can
be assigned to five basic services.
– The Physical Science Unit incorporates the
principles of chemistry, physics, and geology to
identify and compare physical evidence.
– This may include the analysis of drugs, glass, paint,
explosives, and soil.
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Technical Support
– The Biology Unit applies the knowledge of biological
sciences in order to investigate blood samples, body
fluids, hair, and fiber samples.
▪ Perform DNA profiling
▪ Utilizes CODIS
– The Firearms Unit investigates discharged bullets,
cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition.
▪ Utilizes NIBIN
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Technical Support
– The Document Examination Unit provides the skills
needed for handwriting analysis and other
questioned-document issues.
▪ Handwriting analysis
▪ Document authenticity
▪ Ink analysis
▪ Indented writing
▪ Obliterations, erasures, burned documents
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Technical Support
– The Photography Unit applies specialized
photographic techniques for recording and examining
physical evidence. Some crime laboratories may offer
several optional services.
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Technical Support
• Optional Services by Full-Service Labs
– The Toxicology Unit examines body fluids and
organs for the presence of drugs and poisons.
– The Latent Fingerprint Unit processes and
examines evidence for latent fingerprints and
conducts comparisons of latent to known prints.
▪ Utilizes AFIS
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Technical Support
– The Polygraph Unit conducts polygraph or lie
detector tests.
– The Voiceprint Analysis Unit attempts to tie a
recorded voice to a particular suspect.
– The Crime Scene Investigation Unit dispatches
specially trained personnel to the crime scene to
collect and preserve physical evidence.
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Functions of a Forensic Scientist
• A forensic scientist must be skilled in applying the
principles and techniques of the physical and natural
sciences to analyze the many types of evidence that may
be recovered during a criminal investigation.
• The analysis of physical evidence requires that the
techniques used first be tested using the scientific
method.
• A forensic scientist may also provide expert court
testimony.
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Analyzing Physical Evidence Requires
Utilizing the Scientific Method
• The Scientific Method:
– Formulate a question worthy of investigation.
– Formulate a reasonable hypothesis to answer the
question.
– Test the hypothesis through experimentation.
– Upon validation of the hypothesis, it becomes suitable
as scientific evidence.
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Skills of a Forensic Scientist
• An expert witness is an individual whom the court
determines possesses knowledge relevant to the trial that
is not expected of the average person.
• The expert witness is called on to evaluate evidence
based on specialized training and experience that the
court lacks the expertise to do.
• The expert will then express an opinion as to the
significance of the findings.
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Evidence Admissibility: The Frye Standard
• The Frye v. United States decision set guidelines for
determining the admissibility of scientific evidence into
the courtroom.
• To meet the Frye standard, the evidence in question
must be “generally accepted” by the scientific community.
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Frye Not Absolute
• However, in the 1993 case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow
Pharmaceutical, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court asserted
that the Frye standard is not an absolute prerequisite to
the admissibility of scientific evidence.
• Trial judges were said to be ultimately responsible as
“gatekeepers” for the admissibility and validity of scientific
evidence presented in their courts, as well as all expert
testimony.
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Evidence Admissibility: The Daubert
Criteria
• Judges are “Gatekeepers”
– Validity of scientific evidence
– Expert testimony
• In Daubert, the Supreme Court offered some guidelines
as to how a judge can gauge scientific evidence
• This is typically done in a separate Daubert hearing
where the expert testifies to their science
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Evidence Admissibility: The Daubert
Criteria
– Whether the scientific technique or theory can be
(and has been) tested.
– Whether the technique or theory has been subject to
peer review and publication.
– The technique’s potential rate of error.
– Existence and maintenance of standards controlling
the technique’s operation.
– Whether the scientific theory or method has attracted
widespread acceptance within a relevant scientific
community.
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Special Forensic Science Services
• A number of special forensic science services are
available to the law enforcement community to augment
the services of the crime laboratory.
• These services include
– forensic psychiatry
– forensic odontology
– computer science
– forensic engineering
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Special Forensic Science Services
• Forensic Psychiatry is an area in which the relationship
between human behavior and legal proceedings is
examined.
• Forensic Odontology involves using teeth to provide
information about the identification of victims when a
body is left in an unrecognizable state; also investigates
bite marks.
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Special Forensic Science Services
• Forensic Engineering is concerned with failure analysis,
accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires
or explosions.
• Forensic Computer and Digital Analysis involves the
identification, collection, preservation, and examination of
digital evidence.
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Questions?
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