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Forensic Notes

Here are (some) of my Forensic notes. If you cannot read them, or would like to read them, click keep reading and you’ll see a typed out version of my notes. Notes are taken from the Forensics class on Easy Peasy All-in-One High School which uses Brendan Sapp’s curriculum.

Forensic science is the application of science to law. Criminalistics is the application of science to criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system.

History of Forensics Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a large influence on popularizing scientific crime-detection methods through his fictional character. It was Sherlock Holmes that applied fingerprinting, firearm identification, and document examination. Holmes used these methods long before they were used by criminal investigators. Mathieu Orfila published the first scientific procedures for detection of poisons and their effects in 1814. Because of this text, Orfila is known as the father of forensic toxicology.

Then, Francis Galton undertook the first study of fingerprints in 1892. He focused primarily on classifying fingerprint patterns. Galton published Finger Prints, which contained proof that supports his method. In the early twentieth-century, a technique was developed for identifying and matching a fired bullet with a suspect gun. The determination of such information requires a comparison of the suspect bullet with one that has been test-fired. Calvin Goddard, a U.S. Army colonel, refined the technique by using the comparison microscope.

Basic Services of Crime Labs Physical Science Unit: applies principles and techniques of chemistry, physics, and geology to the identification and comparison of crime scene evidence (such as drugs, glass, paint, explosives, and soil). Biology Unit: deals with the identification and grouping of dried bloodstains and other bodily fluids, comparison of hair and fiber, and the identification and comparison of botanical materials (such as wood and plants). Firearms Unit: examines firearms, discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition of all types. Garments and other objects are also examined to detect residue and approximate distance. Photography Unit: a complete photographic laboratory is maintained by the photography unit to examine and record physical evidence.

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