Forensic Science Final

Forensic science

Trace evidence

Any evidence that is small in size, such as hairs, fibers, paint, glass, and soil, which would require microscopic analysis in order to identify it

Bloodstains

AFIS

Automated Fingerprint Identification System: a digitally automated pattern recognition system, for the identification of fingerprints that consists of three fundamental stages: data acquisition, feature extraction, and decision-making.

IAI

IAFIS

BPA

Blood Pattern Analysis: the science of examining and interpreting blood present at a bloodshed event in order to determine what events occurred, in what order, and who possibly left the stains.

GSR

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: the nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used for the growth, development, and programmed death for cells of all organisms and some viruses; is a double-helix structure

AAFS

American Academy of Forensic Science: A multidisciplinary professional organization that provides leadership to advance science and its application to the legal system. The objectives of the Academy are to promote education, foster research, improve practice, and encourage collaboration in the forensic sciences.

CODIS

PMI

Postmortem Interval: time elapsed since a person died; estimated through various scientific observations of the biochemical changes that occur to a body after death.

AFT

Death Investigation

-types of mortis

-cause and manner

Rigor mortis: stiffening of the body postmortem. It involves the contraction of body muscles, beginning in the smaller muscle groups and progressing to the larger groups and is a result of chemical changes that occur within the body upon death.

Algor mortis: postmortem cooling of the body. Heat loss will occur until the body reaches the temperature of the surrounding environment(ambient temperature).

Liver mortis: The settling of blood following death. There is a visible color change that occurs from the pooling of blood once the heart stops pumping; also called hypostasis or postmortem lividity.

Firearms evidence

Ballistics evidence

-Different types of ballistics

-the different categories of ballistics

IBIS

Integrated Ballistic Identification System: A national imaging system developed by the FBI and ATF that digitally records images from fired bullets and cartridges cases used in crime scenes and test fires from recovered firearms for comparison with those used in unsolved crimes

NIBIN

National Integrated Ballistic Information Network: A networked computer database of fired cartridge casings and bullet images used by crime laboratories; developed to solve open cases by allowing firearms examiners to compare existing evidence with fired bullets, cartridge casings, shotgun casings, and firearms recovered in other jurisdictions.

Blood biological evidence

-different types of biological evidence

Impression

-different types of impression evidence

Transfer evidence

Edmond Locard’s Exchange Principle