Forensic Pharmacognosy PHR 446

1. Forensic PharmacognosyPHR 446 Lecture Notes By Prof. Dr. Aly Mostafa Metwally Spring 2012

2. Forensic PharmacognosyPHR 446 Required Texts: Lecture Notes Prepared by the Lecturers. Strongly Recommended Reading: Encyclopedia of Chromatography, Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, 2002.

3. Suggested Reading: An Introduction to General Crime Scene Investigation, CSI, American Institute of Forensic Education, CA 92262,2009. Additional Resources: 1. Simultaneous assay of cocaine, heroin and metabolites……., Wen-Ling Wang, et al, J. Chrom.B, 660, 279-290, 1994. 2. http://www 3sc.maricopa.edu/ajs/crime_scene_ technician.htm 3.http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/188292a.pdf

4. Course objectives Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to 1. Define and understand the crime scene examination process and scene preservation. 2. Acquire enough knowledge about poisonous plants and their natural products that constitute health hazards, or intended for criminal uses to produce abortion, loss of mental control, hallucination, heart arrest, etc. 3. Define and understand drug dependence, narcotic analgesics, psychoenergetics, hallucinogens, etc.

5. Course objectives (cont.) 4. understand and can deal with other types of evidence such as animal and human hairs,textile fibers, toxic fungi and mycotoxins. 5. understand and apply the technologies used for identification of illicit drugs and trace evidence. Examples of these technologies include GC, GC-MS, HPLC, capillary electrophoresis, etc.

6. Forensic PharmacognosyPHR 446 A Concise Introduction Forensic science is the application of broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. A forensic scientist is the expert who would apply his/her knowledge to assist juries, judges and attorneys in criminal and civil cases.

7. What do forensic scientists do? Forensic scientists perform chemical and physical tests on evidence properly collected from a scene of a crime, or illicit drug submitted by police officers to resolve legal issues. They should be capable of : Using recent technologies to analyze receiv- ed evidence;

8. Preparing reports describing their methodologies and findings; and Providing professional testimony in court. Test methods include: Microscopical examination. Colour reactions. Spectral analyses. Chromatographic techniques. DNA profiling.

9. Securing the Crime Scene First priority is medical assistance to individuals and arresting the perpetrator. Ropes or barricades and guards will prevent unauthorized access to the area. Every person who enters the crime scene has the potential to destroy physical evidence. The lead investigator evaluates the scene & determines the boundaries. He does an initial walk through & develop a strategy. All items must be documented & photographed.

10. Recording the Crime Scene 3 methods of crime-scene recording: Photography, Sketches, and Notes. Ideally all 3 should be used.

11. Photography The crime scene should be unaltered, unless injured people are involved, objects must not be moved until they have been photographed from all necessary angles. If things are removed, added, or positions changed, the photographs may not be admissible evidence. Photograph completely the area where crime took place and adjacent areas from various different angles.

12. Photography (cont.) If crime scene includes a body: Take photos to show body’s location & position relative to the whole crime scene Take close-up photos of injuries & weapons lying near the body After the body is removed, photograph the surface underneath. When size is significant, use a ruler or other measuring scale. Videotaping a scene is also becoming popular.

13. Sketches Once photos are taken, sketch the scene. A rough sketch is a sketch, drawn at the crime scene, usually drawn to scale, shows the location of all objects having a bearing on the case. All measurements are made with a tape measure Show all items of physical evidence Assign each item a number or letter and list it in the legend Show a compass heading designating north

14. Notes Note- taking must be a constant activity throughout the processing of the crime scene. The notes may be the only source of information to refresh memory. Tape-recording notes at a scene can be advantageous – detailed notes can be taped much faster than they can be written.

15. Physical Evidence Physical evidence is any object that can establish that a crime has been committed or can link a crime and/or a victim with a suspect. Forensic science begins at the crime scene. The investigator must recognize physical evidence, and properly collect and preserve it for laboratory examination. The evidence must be kept in its original condition as much as possible.

16. Importance of evidence to the investigation May disclose that there is a crime. May identify the key elements of a crime. Can link a suspect(s) with a crime. Can help the detectives to follow up. May prove that a suspect is innocent.

17. Dealing with Physical Evidence The search for physical evidence must be thorough and systematic, even when suspects are immediately seized. Once found, physical evidence must be collected & stored in a way that preserves its integrity for forensic comparison & analysis. A forensic scientist is not usually needed at the scene unless the evidence is complex or it is a major crime.

18. Collection of Physical Evidence Each different item or similar items collected at different locations must be placed in separate containers. Packaging evidence separately prevents damage through contact and prevents cross-contamination.

19. Collection of Physical Evidence (cont) All items should be carefully packaged and marked upon their retrieval at crime sites. Normally, the collector’s initials and date of collection are inscribed directly on the article. The evidence container must also be marked with collector’s initials, location of evidence, and date of collection.

20. Standard/Reference Samples The examination of evidence often requires comparison with a known standard/reference sample. A standard/reference sample is physical evidence whose origin is known, such as blood or hair from a suspect, that can be compared to crime scene evidence. Such materials may be obtained from the victim, a suspect, or other known sources. The presence of standard/reference samples greatly facilitates the work of the forensic scientist.

21. Submitting Evidence to the Lab Evidence is submitted to the lab either by personal delivery or by mail shipment. Most laboratories require that “an evidence- submission form” accompanies every sub- mitted evidence. Enables the lab analyst to make an intelligent & complete examination of the evidence. Provide a brief description of the case history so the examiner can analyze in a logical sequence. A list of all items submitted must be included.