Forensic Science & Criminology Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, concepts, techniques, standards, and institutions from the lecture notes on forensic science, criminology, and criminalistics.

Forensic Science

The application of scientific principles to provide evidence in criminal cases and to support the law.

Criminology

The study of crime and its prevention, the exploration of criminals and their treatment, and the study of the criminal justice system with theories for dealing with crime.

Criminalistics

AKA Forensic Science; the application of scientific principles to provide evidence in criminal cases, including crime scene work and lab testing.

Quintilian

Ancient Roman attorney who used a bloody palm print at a murder trial to acquit his client, considered one of the first forensic scientists.

Hsi Duan Yu

13th-century Chinese work showing how insects can help solve murders; also linked to early fingerprint use; translates to ‘the washing away of wrongs.’

Mathieu Orfila

19th-century French founder of toxicology; author of Traité des Poisons; advanced poisoning detection and testing methods; testified in trials.

John Evangelist Purkinje

First to publish a detailed thesis on the use of fingerprints in forensic science and credited with identifying nine fingerprint patterns.

Joseph Bell

Professor whose clinical skills inspired Sherlock Holmes; noted for diagnosing patients and guessing their professions.

John Larson

Developer of the polygraph; in 1921 improved the device to measure multiple bodily responses for truthfulness.

Bernard Spilsbury

Britain’s first forensic scientist; documented deaths extensively and his notes were later published.

Alec Jeffreys

Discovered DNA fingerprinting in 1984; methods first used in 1986 for paternity and later to convict or overturn convictions.

Bill Bass

Founder of The Body Farm (UT Knoxville) and author of numerous works on decomposition and death stages.

Jan C. Garavaglia (Dr. G.)

Chief medical examiner in Florida; has a TV show and testified in high-profile cases; expert in autopsies.

Alphonse Bertillon

Developed anthropometry (body measurements) for identification.

Francis Galton

Developed the first fingerprint identification system.

Leone Lattes

Developed methods using blood type as a means of identification.

Calvin Goddard

Pioneered firearms examination in forensic science.

Albert Osborn

Specialized in document examination.

Edmund Locard

Developed the first police laboratory and the Locard Exchange Principle; often called the father of criminalistics.

J. Edgar Hoover

Director of the FBI; organized the first FBI Crime Lab in 1932.

Frye Standard

Admissibility standard stating that a technique must be generally accepted by the scientific community.

Daubert Standard

Replaced Frye in 1993; asks whether a method is scientifically valid and applicable, considering factors like testability, peer review, error rate, standards, and general acceptance.

Chromatography

Technique for separating mixtures into components to analyze, identify, or purify them.

Spectroscopy

Dispersion of an object's light into its component colors to infer properties such as temperature, mass, luminosity, and composition.

Spectrophotometry

Measuring how much light a chemical substance absorbs as light passes through a solution, based on wavelength.

Microscopy

Using microscopes to view objects or details not visible to the naked eye.

FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. federal agency responsible for domestic intelligence and federal law enforcement.

ATF

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; federal agency handling investigations related to firearms, explosives, arson, and illegal trafficking of alcohol/tobacco.

DEA

Drug Enforcement Administration; lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act.

USPIS

U.S. Postal Inspection Service; law enforcement division of the U.S. Postal Service dealing with mail-related crimes.

Expert Testimony

Testimony given by a qualified expert based on education, training, and evidence.

Polygraph

Lie detector instrument that measures physiological responses to assess truthfulness; popularized by John Larson’s work in the early 20th century.

Fingerprints

Unique ridge patterns used for individual identification; Purkinje identified nine common fingerprint patterns.

Blood Typing (Lattes Method)

Using blood type as a means of identification; developed methods by Leone Lattes.

Locard Exchange Principle

Concept that contact between two surfaces results in an exchange of materials, forming the basis for trace evidence in investigations.

Body Farm

The University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility founded by Bill Bass; a research facility studying decomposition for forensic context.

4 Major Crime Labs

FBI, ATF, DEA, and USPIS—the four primary federal crime laboratories in the United States.