How Do We Make a Good Forensic Scientist?

Forensic Science Research

Pattern Recognition, Theory, Hypothesis, Observation, Confirmation.

Applied Casework

Establishes the kind of evidence is being found at crime scenes.

Relies on the familiarity with the general rules & relationships between evidence and meaning.

Research

• Establishes general rules & relationships for practitioners to use

• Identifies aspects of evidence that can generate information & meaning

• Relies on knowledge of evidence found in different kinds of crime scenes

FEPAC

Forensic. Science. Education. Programs. Accreditation. Commission

Contrite Fallibilism

Awareness that there we can never prove something 100% and there may be alternative explanations.

3 Psychological & Cognitive Biases

False Patterns- apophenia

Priming effects

Unconscious attitudes

Crime Scene Investigation

Deal with the preliminary identification, collection, preservation of evidence

Serology

Body fluid Identification

Pathology

Trauma to the body (nonfatal)

DNA Analysis

Identification based on genetics

Pathology

The Body & damage to it

Anthropology

Skeletal identification

Odontology

Definition and bite marks

Entomology

Insects on bodies

Toxicology

Drugs in the body

Examples of Trace Evidence

Paint, Glass, Hairs, Fibers

Forensic Engineering

Structures, materials, or processes that fail

Behavioral Science

Competence & sanity, Violence likelihood, Profiling

The Crime Lab funded by what?

Federal, State, County, Municipal

Steps of CSI

1. First Response

2. Initial Assessment & Searching

3. Collection & Processing

4. Final Assessment

Preliminary Assessment: Build Context

• Speak with first responders

• Evaluate safety needs responders

• Evaluate boundaries

• Choose Paths through scene

Formal Walkthrough: Initial Reconstruction

1. What crime, if any has been committed?

2. What are the possible points of entry?

3. Is anything damaged or out of place? Could there have been a struggle?

4. What are the signs activity?

5. What are date and time indicators?

Walkthrough Outcomes

What is the most effective way to process the scene?

Prioritized, Divided between agents, testing methods, search methods, Specialists, Scene boundaries?

Types of Documentation

Logs, Notes, Photography, Sketches, Video

Types of Logs

Entry/Exit, Evidence Recovery, Photography

Crime Scene Notes

• WHEN you were there

• What you DID

• What you OBSERVED

• WHO you worked with

• Written at the scene.

Search Methods

Zone, Line Search, Grid, Wheel/Ray, Spiral, Link