tca 2

Trace evidence

Small, often microscopic, objects that are readily transferred between people, places, and objects

Locard's Exchange Principle

A physical transfer of evidence that occurs whenever two people come in contact with each other or with an object

Follicular tag

Translucent tissue surrounding hair's shaft near root

Cuticle

The outside of hair - scales of hardened, flattened, keratinized tissue that are unique to animal species

Cortex

In-between the outside (cuticle) and center (medulla) of the hair - orderly array of cortical cells that allows for comparison of hair samples

Medulla

The center of the hair - rows of dark-colored cells organized in a pattern specific to the animal species

Questioned Document

any signature, hand or type writing, or other written marks that may be in dispute or uncertain (ex: ransom note)

Document Analysis

examination & comparison of questioned documents w/ known materials

Forgery

to intentionally deceive by making, altering, or falsifying a signature or other aspect of a document

Fraudulence

when material gain accompanies forgery

Counterfeiting

is when documents or other items are copied for the purpose of deception

Label the parts of hair (a, b, c) in the image below

Outside (Cuticle), Middle (Cortex), Inside (Medulla)

What type of evidence is hair evidence?

class evidence

Name the two parts of hair that can be used to identify the species that a hair sample belongs to.

cuticle and medulla

How do you obtain the follicular tag?

Hair must be forcibly removed from the head

Explain the significance of the follicular tag

The follicular tag contains DNA and therefore can be used to identify a person.

State the type of evidence for the follicular tag.

Individual evidence (follicular tag only, not hair in general)

Describe 3 examples of how cross-transfer or hair and/or fiber evidence could occur at a crime scene.

The perpetrator's hair could be found on the victim, The perpetrator's pet's hair could be found on the victim, Fibers from the perpetrator's car mats could be found on the victim

What type of evidence is handwriting?

Individual evidence

Can two people have the same handwriting? Why or why not?

No! Natural Variations can be caused by: the way you hold your pencil, the pressure you apply to the paper, your motor skills, your writing instrument, mood, age, how hurried you are, etc.

What security features do the U.S. Treasury use today that makes it very difficult to photocopy money? Which feature provides the most security?

Paper (most secure feature), special borders, ink, symbol behind the president's head, blue stripe in 100-dollar bill

Provide 3 examples of counterfeiting.

Copying money, copying checks, copying a will (all examples must be copying something for financial gain)

Describe how iodine pens are used to determine if a dollar bill is counterfeit. Is there any time where these can fail? How?

The iodine in the pen reacts with the special ink used to print U.S. currency. The color will change if the bill is counterfeit. These can fail if the counterfeiter bleached the paper.

Describe steps that banks have taken to prevent check forgery today.

(1) Print checks on chemically sensitive paper (2) Use a large font size that requires more ink and makes alterations more difficult (3) Use high-resolution borders on the checks that are difficult to copy (4) Embed fibers in checks that glow under different types of lights (5) Use chemical-wash detection systems that change color when a check is altered

Describe the various crimes committed by Frank Abagnale, Jr.

Impersonated a substitute teacher, pilot, doctor, and lawyer. Committed fraud through counterfeiting millions of dollars in checks