CHAPTER OVERVIEW - Third Edition Richard Saferstein, Ph.D. Chapter 1

i Instructor Manual for Forensic Science From Crime Scene to Crime Lab Third Edition Richard Saferstein, Ph.D. 1 / 4

1 Chapter 1 Introduction

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

• Forensic science is the application of science to criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system.• The first system of personal identification was called anthropometry. It distinguished one individual from another based on a series of bodily measurements.• Forensic science owes its origins to individuals such as Bertillon, Galton, Lattes, Goddard, Osborn, and Locard, who developed the principles and techniques needed to identify and compare physical evidence.• Locard’s exchange principle states that, when two objects come into contact with each other, a cross-transfer of materials occurs that can connect a criminal suspect to his or her victim.• The development of crime laboratories in the United States has been characterized by rapid growth accompanied by a lack of national and regional planning and coordination.• Four major reasons for the increase in the number of crime laboratories in the United States since the 1960s are as follows: (1) The requirement to advise criminal suspects of their constitutional rights and their right of immediate access to counsel has all but eliminated confessions as a routine investigative tool. (2) There has been a staggering increase in crime rates in the United States. (3) All illicit-drug seizures must be sent to a forensic laboratory for confirmatory chemical analysis before the case can be adjudicated in court. (4) DNA profiling was developed and is now often required.• The technical support provided by crime laboratories can be assigned to five basic services: the physical science unit, the biology unit, the firearms unit, the document examination unit, and the photography unit.• Some crime laboratories offer optional services such as toxicology, fingerprint analysis, polygraph administration, voiceprint analysis, and crime-scene investigation.• Special forensic science services available to the law enforcement community include forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic entomology, forensic psychiatry, forensic odontology, forensic engineering, and forensic computer and digital analysis.• A forensic scientist must be skilled in applying the principles and techniques of the physical and natural sciences to analyzing evidence that may be recovered during a criminal investigation.• The cases Frye v. United States and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. set guidelines for determining the admissibility of scientific evidence into the courtroom.• An expert witness evaluates evidence based on specialized training and experience.• Forensic scientists participate in training law enforcement personnel in the proper recognition, collection, and preservation of physical evidence.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define forensic science and list the major disciplines forensic science encompasses.• Recognize the major contributors to the development of forensic science.• Account for the rapid growth of forensic laboratories in the past forty years. 2 / 4

2 • Describe the services of a typical comprehensive crime laboratory in the criminal justice system.• List the functions of a forensic scientist as it relates to the crime laboratory • Compare and contrast the Frye and Daubert decisions relating to the admissibility of scientific evidence in the courtroom.• Explain the role and responsibilities of the expert witness.• List the specialized forensic services, aside from the crime laboratory, that are generally available to law enforcement personnel.

LECTURE OUTLINE

DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

EARLY DEVELOPMENTS

INITIAL SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES

LATE NINETEETH CENTURY PROGRESS

TWENTIETH-CENTURY BREAKTHOUGHS

MODERN SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES

CRIME LABORATORIES

HISTORY OF CRIME LABS IN THE UNITED STATES

ORGANIZATION OF A CRIME LABORATORY

THE GROWTH OF CRIME LABORATORIES

CRIME LABORATORIES IN THE UNITED STATES

CRIME LABORATORIES ABROAD

• Teaching Note: Be sure to cover the differences between a state and local forensic laboratory. Students should understand what the local analysts normally do compared to what the state analysts can do.

SERVICES OF THE CRIME LABORATORY

BASIC SERVICES PROVIDED BY FULL-SERVICE CRIME LABORATORIES

BIOLOGY UNIT

FIREARMS UNIT

DOCUMENT EXAMINATION UNIT

PHOTOGRAPHY UNIT 3 / 4

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OPTIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY FULL SERVICE CRIME LABORATORIES

TOXICOLOGY UNIT

LATENT FINGERPRINT UNIT

POLYGRAPH UNIT

VOICEPRINT ANALYSIS UNIT

CRIME-SCENE INVESTIGATION UNIT

• Teaching Note: Discuss how the crime laboratory is organized and what departments or sections are usually in the lab, including serology, trace evidence, fingerprint examiner, and so forth.

OTHER FORENSIC SCIENCE SERVICES

FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY

FORENSIC ODENTOLOGY

FORENSIC ENGINEERING

FORENSIC COMPUTER AND DIGITAL ANALYSIS

FUNCTIONS OF THE FORENSIC SCIENTIST

ANALYZING PHYISICAL EVIDENCE

DETERMINING ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE

JUDGING SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

PROVIDING EXPERT TESTIMONY

FURNISHING TRAINING IN THE PROPER RECOGNITION, COLLECTION, AND

PRESERVATION OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

EXPLORING FORENSIC SCIENCE ON THE INTERNET

GENERAL FORENSIC SCIENCE SITES

WEBSITES ON SPECIAL TOPICS

AN INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC FIREARM IDENTIFICATION

CARPENTER’S FORENSIC SCIENCE RESOURCES

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR NETOWORK

CRIMES AND CLUES

INTERACTIVE INVESTIGATOR – DETECTIVE INTERACTIF

THE CHEMICAL DETECTIVE

QUESTIONED –DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE

No major changes have been made between the 2nd and the 3rd editions for Chapter 1.

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