Forensic Science Lesson 01: Intro to Forensic Science

Introduction to Forensic Science

Lesson Objectives

• Understand the organizations and functions of Crime labs in the US

• Describe the growth and development of forensic science throughout history

• Describe the different jobs of a forensic scientist

What is Forensic Science?

• Forensic: Relating to the application of scientific knowledge to legal questions

• Forensic Science: The study and application of science to matters of law

  • Also Called Criminalistics

• Examines the associations among people, places, things, and events involved in crimes

• Evidence: anything that tends to establish or disprove a fact

  • Can include testimony, documents, and other objects

Aspects of Forensic Science

• Forensic Science is a combination of many different types of science

  • physical science

    • Chemistry

    • Physics

    • Geology

  • biology

  • ballistics

  • photography

  • toxicology

• Because of the wide range of sciences involved, forensic science is divided in to different branches of study

Trace Evidnece

• Trace Evidence Analysis: Looks at physical evidence left behind at an event

  • Hair

  • DNA

  • Fingerprints

  • Tools/Objects

  • Fibers

  • Odontology: Examination of teeth and bite marks

Human Forensics

• Human Forensics-Focuses on the people involved in an event

  • Forensic Anthropology: Revolves around the study and reconstruction of physical remains of humans

  • Forensic Toxicology: Studies the presence of chemicals inside of a body

  • Forensic Psychology: Studies the thought processes and mental state of individuals

  • Forensic Pathology: Studies remain to determine the cause and time of death

  • Forensic Geneology: Studies DNA and compares it to other samples to identify a person

  • Polygraphy: The use of a "Lie Detector"

Environmental Forensics

• Environmental Forensics-Looks at the area an event takes place in

  • Forensic Geology: Studies rock samples in the area of an event

  • Forensic Botany: Studies plants that grow in the area of an event

    • Palynology: Study of Pollen and Spores

  • Forensic Entomology: Studies insects in the area of an event

Other Branches of Forensic Science

• Forensic Ballistics: Analysis of any firearms involved in an event

• Digital Forensics: Analysis of Computer/digital software

Multiple Choice

Mark looks at his banking app and notices several Amazon purchases he did not make. When he reports this to the police, the investigators on this case will most likely use what type of forensic science?

• Forensic Geology

• Forensic Psychology

• Digital Forensics

• Forensic Botany

Multiple Choice

Two families with the last name Smith have delivered babies in the same hospital. Unfortunately, the nurses think they may have mixed up the babies and given them to the wrong family. If they take blood samples from the mothers and compare them to the babies, which branch of forensic science are they using?

• Digital Forensics

• Forensic Entomology

• Forensic Anthropology

• Forensic Geneology

Match

Match the following evidence to the type of forensic science it relates to

• A bullet casing that belongs to an old, rare rifle is found at the scene of a robbery

• A found car has pollen in the filter from an area far from its recovery spot.

• A get-away car hit it's headlight on the way out and left broken glass behind

• A family has been diagnosed with the same poisoning symptoms after drinking from the same water source

Forensic Ballistics

Forensic Botany

Trace Evidence Analysis

Forensic Toxicology

• Forensic Ballistics

• Forensic Botany

• Trace Evidence Analysis

• Forensic Toxicology

Crime Laboratories

• Most crime labs are public and funded by taxes

  • Provide services for police prosecutors and other forms of law enforcement

  • Are maintained for an individual region

• Private labs also exist and can be accessed by both public agencies and private citizens for a fee

  • can provide more specialized testing

Federal Labs

• The Department of Justice maintains forensic labs in different departments

  • The FBI

  • DEA

  • ATF

  • DHS

  • USPS

FBI and Crime Labs

• Federal Bureau of Investigations

  • Maintains the largest crime lab in the world

  • The main focus is intelligence and is a threat-focused organization

  • Provides support for smaller agencies

  • Deal primarily with Federal Crimes

    • Thefts from Banks and Government Properties

    • Crimes of theft or fraud involving multiple states

    • Fencing: sale of stolen property

    • Obstruction of commerce by threats/violence

DEA and Crime Labs

• Drug Enforcement Agency

  • Investigate illicit drug activities inside and outside the United States

  • Operate seven labs across the country

  • Supports other agencies with analysis of illicit and hazardous materials

  • Has also become the agency for Computer Forensics and digital evidence for crimes within the United States

ATF and Crime Labs

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

  • Deals with crimes involving alcohol, weapons, explosives, tobacco, and organized crime

  • Also investigates major fires

DHS and Crime Labs

• Department of Homeland Security

  • Has two main jobs

    • Protect the President of the United States

    • Guard against counterfeiting

  • Deal with cyber security and threats from outside the country

USPS and Crime Labs

• The United States Postal Service operates its laboratory

• Investigates Mail Crime

Non Federal Crime Labs

• Smaller State or Local Crime labs tend to all have the four following departments

  • A Physical Science unit to look at trace Evidence

  • A Firearms Unit to look analyze weapons and bullets

  • A document Analysis Unit to examine handwriting, typing, computers, paper and ink

  • A biology unit to analyze any biological evidence

• Some labs may have other units depending on their size and scale

Drag and Drop

Most crime labs are ​

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and funded by ​

Placeholder

. They provide services to law enforcement.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

public

taxes

private

donations

government

lottery winnings

Multiple Choice

Which Federal Agency hosts the largest Forensic Crime Lab?

• The USPS

• The FBI

• The DHS

• The DEA

• The ATF

Multiple Select

Select all of the standard departments involved in a typical Forensic Crime Lab

• A Physical Science Unit

• A Firearms Unit

• A Document Analysis Unit

• A Biology Unit

• A DNA Analysis Unit

Multiple Choice

Which Federal Agency Deals with crimes that involve the mail?

• The USPS

• The FBI

• The DHS

• The DEA

• The ATF

Open Ended

How long do you think Humans have relied on Forensic Science to solve problems? (This question is not graded for accuracy, so take your best guess)

How has Forensic Science changed over time?

• Basic forms of Forensic science have been used throughout history

  • The first "Computer" was an abacus created in around 500 BC, that allowed for quick calculations and analysis

  • In around 200 BC Archimedes used density to determine the materials in a crown

• Some records show fingerprinting was used in the Middle East as a form of identification as early as 600

• In the Early 700s, Chinese sculptors would use fingerprints as a means to identify who the artist of a piece was

How has Forensic Science changed over time?

• 1248: China

  • The first book on forensic investigations, The Washing Away of Wrongs published by Song Chi

    • Described how to distinguish an accidental drowning from strangulation

    • Described a murder being solved based on flies present on the weapon

How has Forensic Science changed over time?

• 1300s: The Black Plague leads Pope Clement VI to require autopsies on bodies in an attempt to discover the cause of death

• 1748: The first use of physical evidence in a crime investigation

  • John Toms was convicted of murder based on paper found on him that belonged to the victim

• 1823: The first official Fingerprinting system developed

  • 1880: the method of Dusting for Fingerprints was developed

How has Forensic Science changed over time?

• 1909: First schools of Forensic Science open up

• 1913: Victor Balthazard describes the modern ballistic theory

  • Every gun has unique markings it leaves on a bullet

• 1992: The first time STR in Forensic DNA is used in analysis

• The development of Computers leads to faster and more accurate analysis

The Scientific Method

• Forensic Scientists follow the same overall scientific method as other scientists

  • Observe a problem or questioned Evidence and Collect Objective Data

  • Consider a hypothesis for the problem using inductive reasoning

  • Examine, test, and analyze to support or refute the hypothesis

  • Evaluate and Verify all evidence

• Once all these steps have been followed, the forensic scientist must come up with a theory that can stand up to legal scrutiny

Multiple Choice

Another word for forensic science would be....

• legalistics

• Evidencistics

• Criminalistics

• Mysterics

Multiple Choice

How would sculptors in ancient China mark their work so it could be identified as their own?

• They would mark it with their fingerprints

• A piece of hair would be left in the clay

• They would carve their name in the piece

• They would use a specialized paint that only they had

Open Ended

In this Lesson, we talked about different aspects of forensic science and how it has changed over time. Which Branch of Forensic Science do you feel is most important in the modern world? Are there any you feel are no longer relevant? Explain your answer in a Paragraph.