Introduction to and History of Forensic Science

Definition Forensic Science is the application of science and technology to the criminal justice system.

Definition Forensics = applied to law or legal debate (L. forensis: market, community meeting place, or forum)

Criminalist vs Criminologist Criminalist = uses science to solve crimes. Makes observations and then states the obvious and not-so-obvious when asked to be an expert witness. Criminologist = one who studies criminal behavior, types of crime, and social, cultural and media reactions to crime

Criminalist vs Attorney Criminalists are not concerned with the outcome of a trial, but whether the interpretation of the evidence will be correct and lead the judge and jury to make the right decision. They speak for the evidence. Attorneys speak for their “side.”

History Sir Arthur Conan Doyle popularized scientific crime detection methods through Sherlock Holmes.

Contributors Ancient Egyptians – Code of Hammurabi, written in 2200 B.C. Developed a system to determine the cause of death and whether it was natural. Forensic Medicine with Dr. Cox

Contributors Chinese – Sung Ts’u (The Washing Away of Wrongs) recognized two classes of vital points: those that could be fatal on impact and those that could cause death at a later date.

Contributors Chinese – Sung Ts’u (The Washing Away of Wrongs) Sung Ts’u tells of a murder in a Chinese village in which the victim was repeatedly slashed. The local magistrate thought the wounds might have been inflicted by a sickle. Repeated questioning of witnesses and other avenues of investigation proved fruitless. Finally, the magistrate ordered all the village men to assemble, each with his own sickle. In the hot summer sun, flies were attracted to one sickle, because of the residue of blood and small tissue fragments still clinging to the blade and handle. Confronted with this evidence, the owner of the sickle confessed to the crime.

Contributors Dr. Franz Gall (1796) Used phrenology to identify criminals. A pseudoscience, it used bumps on the skull as identifiers.

Contributors Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853) Father of Forensic Toxicology Published treatise on the detection of poisons and their effects on animals.

Contributors Hans Gross (1847 – 1915) Wrote the first treatise describing the application of scientific disciplines to the field of criminal investigation.

Contributors Francis Galton (1822-1911) First definitive study of fingerprints; developed a method of classifying them Loop pattern is seen in 65% of population

Contributors Alphonse Bertillion (French) (1853-1914) Father of Criminal Identification. Developed first scientific system of personal identification, anthropometry, based on body measurements. US adopted method in NYC by 1910.

Bertillon System

Bertillon System Catalog Card

Contributors Albert Osborn (1858 – 1946) Developed the fundamental principles of document examination. Published Questioned Documents in 1910.

Contributors Dr. Karl Landsteiner discovered A, B, AB, O, blood groups in 1901. Won the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his work.

Contributors Leone Lattes (1887 – 1954) Devised a simple procedure for determining blood group of dried bloodstains.

Contributors Calvin Goddard (1891-1955) Father of Modern Ballistics Invented the comparison microscope for bullet comparisons.

Contributors Edmond Locard (1877 – 1966) Established the first police crime lab in 1910. Famous for “Locard’s Exchange Principle” – When a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.

Contributors Walter McCrone (1916-2002) World’s preeminent microscopist; responsible for educating thousands of of forensic scientists.

Contributors J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, established a national laboratory in 1932, aimed at offering forensic services to all law enforcement agencies.