Criminalistics Test 1

Forensic science

The application of science to criminal and civil laws enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system.

Criminalistics

Focuses on the services of the crime lab, where physical and natural science techniques are applied to analyze crime-scene evidence.

Eleven sections of forensic science

criminalistics, digital and multimedia services, engineering sciences, general, jurisprudence, odontology (study of teeth), pathology/biology, physical anthropology (study of bones), psychiatry/behavioral sciences, questions documents (ransom notes etc), toxicology.

What is the CSI effect?

the dramatization of TV’s portrayal of forensic science gives unrealistic expectations and jury perceptions.

what did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle do?

He invented serology, fingerprinting, questioning of documents, and firearm identification.

Who is the father of toxicology

Mathieu Orfila

Who developed the first system called anthropometry for personal identification in 1879

Alphonse Bertillion

Who created the methodology for classifying fingerprints (arch, loop, whorl), first book in 1892

Francis Galton

Who developed blood group/type analysis? (A, AB, B, O)

Leone Lattes

Who used comparison microscopes for bullet analysis?

Calvin Goddard

Who established principals of document examination (first book in 1910)

Albert Osborn

Who introduced Locard’s Exchange Principle and established a workable crime lab

Edmond Locard

When was the oldest crime lab established?

1923 by LAPD. August Vollmer (from Berkley CA)

When was the FBI lab founded?

1932 by J. Edgar Hoover, now the world’s largest lab

How many public labs overate at various levels of our government?

~400

what is serology?

study of blood and bodily fluids.

Federal Labs

FBI, DEA (Drug enforcement administration), ATF (alcohol, tobacco, firearms), and USPS

what is the physical science unit

Analyzes drugs, glass, paint, explosives, and soil. Traces physical evidence

What does the Biology unit do?

Identifies and profiles DNA, comparisons of hair and fibers and of botanical materials.

What does the firearms unit do?

examines discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and residues.

What does the document examination unit?

Analyzes handwriting — analysis of paper and ink and altered documents.

What does the photography unit do?

uses digital imaging, infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray photography for evidence.

what does the CSI unit do?

Collects and preserves physical evidence

What are the specialized fields in forensic sciences?

Forensic psychiatry (forensic interviewer), forensic odontology, forensic engineers (study structures), digital analysis, forensic meteorology (weather), forensic zoology, and forensic botany.

What is a Landmark Case

A case that is studied because it has historical and legal significance. Examines your rights and liberty.

What is the case of Frye VS US

the case that allowed for lie detector tests to not be allowed in court.