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Forensic Science: Introduction and History

Forensic science is the application of science to criminal and civil laws. It involves gathering and examining information scientifically about past events, especially in criminal cases. The key is clear thinking when analyzing complex crime scenes. Historically, ancient societies lacked standardized forensic practices, relying on witness testimony. However, some ancient sources describe techniques like distinguishing drowning from strangulation, foreshadowing modern forensic science. Major developments included fingerprint analysis in the 1800s, blood typing in the early 1900s, and comparing bullets to specific guns. Locard's exchange principle notes that contact between two objects results in an exchange of materials as evidence.

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Usman Ghani
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185 views

Forensic Science: Introduction and History

Forensic science is the application of science to criminal and civil laws. It involves gathering and examining information scientifically about past events, especially in criminal cases. The key is clear thinking when analyzing complex crime scenes. Historically, ancient societies lacked standardized forensic practices, relying on witness testimony. However, some ancient sources describe techniques like distinguishing drowning from strangulation, foreshadowing modern forensic science. Major developments included fingerprint analysis in the 1800s, blood typing in the early 1900s, and comparing bullets to specific guns. Locard's exchange principle notes that contact between two objects results in an exchange of materials as evidence.

Uploaded by

Usman Ghani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FORENSIC

SCIENCE
Introduction and History
Introduction
What is meant by “Forensic Science”?

Forensic science is the scientific method of gathering and examining


information about the past. This is especially important in law
enforcement where forensics is done in relation to criminal or civil law,
but forensics are also carried out in other fields, such as astronomy,
archaeology, biology and geology to investigate ancient times.

• The science that is applied to the law and criminal proceedings.


• It applies the knowledge and technology of science for the definition
and enforcement of criminal and civil law.
• Often referred to as criminalistics
Philosophy of Forensics
The key to criminalistics is the ability to think clearly when
faced with the daunting confusion of the average crime scene

One must rely on experience, intuition, and abductive


reasoning (testing a likely scenario against the facts)
Why is it significant?

The ancient world lacked standardized forensic practices, which


aided criminals in escaping punishment. Criminal investigations
and trials relied on forced confessions and witness testimony.
However ancient sources do contain several accounts of techniques
that foreshadow concepts in forensic science that were developed
centuries later.
Other Forensic Science Services 
History & Development of Forensic Science

● Forensic” comes from the Latin word “forensis” meaning "of or before the forum.".

● In Roman times, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public
individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give
speeches based on their sides of the story. The individual with the best argument and delivery
would determine the outcome of the case.

● Who is the Father of Forensic Science? 


• The Chinese book Hsi Duan Yu (The Washing Away of Wrongs), which appeared in
1248, provided the first association of medicine and law.
• The book offered useful advice such as distinguishing drowning (water in the lungs)
and strangulation (pressure marks on the throat and damaged cartilage in the neck)
from death by natural causes.

Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853)


• One of the first celebrated cases in forensic science involved the 'father of toxicology',
Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853), who worked in Paris and testified in an arsenic poisoning
criminal trial in 1840.
• Orfila and others had developed a chemical test to detect arsenic, the poison of choice
for the period because the symptoms, violent stomach pains and vomiting, were
similar to cholera (a common disease of the times) and often went undetected
Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914)
• Alphonse Bertillon's (1853-1914) personal identification system using a series of body and facial
measurements for individualization.
• First ID system (so to speak)! Anthropometry.
• was the first to apply the anthropological technique of anthropometry to law enforcement,
thereby creating an identification system based on physical measurements. Before that time,
criminals could only be identified by name or photograph.

Francis Galton (1822 – 1911)


• Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification.
• calculated that the chance of a "false positive" (two different individuals having the same
fingerprints) was about 1 in 64 billion.

Leone Lattes (1887 – 1954)


• Devised a simple procedure for determining the blood type (A,B,O,AB) of a dried bloodstain in
1915.
Karl Landsteiner discovered blood groups in 1901.
Calvin Goddard (1891 – 1955)
• Used a comparison microscope to determine if a bullet was fired from
a specific gun.
• Published study of “tool marks” on bullets.
• Father of Ballistics.
• He noticed a flaw in the bullet that killed the victim, and was able to
trace this back to the mold that was used in the manufacturing
process.
Albert S. Osborn (1858 – 1946)
Developed fundamental principles of document examination.
1910 – Treatise Questioned Documents.
Was responsible for the acceptance of documents as scientific evidence
by the courts.
Locard’s Exchange Principle: Whenever two
objects – animate or inanimate, microscopic or
macroscopic, in whichever physical state – come in
contact with each other, there would be an
exchange of materials. These materials are known
as the Physical Evidence.
The Basic Crime Laboratory
70% 58% 26% 47%

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