Forensic Science Test #1

Forensic science

the application of science to criminal and civil laws

What is SWGIT?

Scientific Working Group on Imaging Technology —Develops guidelines for good practices when using digital imaging technologies within the criminal justice system 

Define staging

a conscious criminal action on the part of an offender to thwart (prevent) an investigation 

Who is Mathieu Orfila?

the father of forensic toxicology 

Who is Alphonse Bertillion

devised the first scientific system of personal identification in 1879

Who is Edmond Locard?

Incorporated Gross’ principles within a workable crime laboratory

What is Locard’s Exchange Principle

states that when a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs

What is technical support?

support provided by crime laboratories

What are the 7 units provided by technical support?

Photographic, Documentation, Firearms, Biology,Toxicology, Latent Fingerprint, and Polygraph

Functions of photographic unit

Applies specialized photographic techniques for recording and examining physical evidence 

Functions of toxicology unit

examine body fluids and organs for the presence of drugs and poisons 

function of latent fingerprint unit

processes and examines evidence for latent fingerprints

functions of polygraph unit

conducts polygraph or lie detector test

What are 4 classifications of a crime scene?

Type of crime, organization, physical location, and criminal behavior

Upon arrival at a crime scene the first responding police office is responsible for?

Acquiring medical assistance, and securing the crime scene

Define Locard’s principal

basis for linking physical evidence at a crime scene to victim, suspect, or witness

Define primary crime scene

the location at which the initial crime occurred

Define secondary crime scene 

the location at which events after the initial crime scene occurred 

What are the 3 primary methods for recording evidence? 

Photography, sketches, and notes 

Define chain of custody

every person who handled or examined the evidence and where it is at all times must be accounted for

Define physical evidence

encompasses any and all objects that can establish that a crime has or has not been committed or can provide a link between a crime and its victim or a crime and its perpetrator

What are 5 types of evidence at a crime scene?

Transient, pattern, conditional, transfer, and associative

Define standard/reference sample

physical evidence whose origin is known, such as blood or hair from a suspect, that can be compared to crime-scene evidence

Define comparison analysis

subjects a suspects specimen and a standard specimen to the same tests and examinations for the ultimate purpose of determining whether or not they have a common origin

What is SICAR? (SoleMate)

Shoeprint image capture and retrieval—shoeprint database

What information does the International Forensic Automotive Paint Data Query contain?

chemical and color information pertaining to original automotive paints

What information does TreadMate contain?

a database created to house tire tread patterns

Roughly, how many records does TreadMate have?

6,000

How many footwear patterns are in SoleMate?

More than 22,000

How many vehicles are stored in PDQ?

13,000

What are common types of identification?

Blood, semen, hair, or wood