History & Development of Forensic Science

1. History & Development of Forensic Science

2. History and Development of Forensic Science • The word “forensic” is derived from the Latin word, forensis, meaning forum, a public place where, in Roman times, senators and others debated and held judicial proceedings. • Both the person accused of the crime & the accuser would give speeches based on their side of the story. • The individual with the best argument would determine the outcome of the case.

3. Forensic Science (Criminalistics) • Forensic science is the application of science to the criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system. Saferstein, Richard. Forensic Science An Introduction. Second edition.

4. Civil vs. Criminal Law

5. Some sciences involved in forensics are…… • Chemistry • Biology • Physics • Geology • Botany • Anthropology • Physiology …….Just to name a few!

6. Contributions to the Field of Forensic Science

7. Mathieu Orfila(1787-1853) • “Father of Toxicology” • Wrote about the detection of poisons & their effects on animals.

8. Alphonse Bertillon(1853-1914) • “Father of Anthropometry” • Developed a system to distinguish one individual person from another based on certain body measurements.

9. ANTHROPOMETRY

10. Francis Galton(1822-1911) • “Father of Fingerprinting” • Provided statistical proof supporting fingerprinting as a way to uniquely identify individuals.

11. Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943) • “Father of Blood Typing” • He discovered that blood can be grouped into different categories. • Blood types (A, B, AB, or O) can narrow the list of possible suspects.

12. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle • Sci-fi author in late 1800’s—created legendary detective, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ • Applied many of the principles of modern forensic science long before their value was recognized and accepted by real-life criminal investigators.

13. Albert Osborn(1858-1946) • “Father of Document Examination” • His work led to the acceptance of documents as scientific evidence by the courts.

14. Calvin Goddard(1891-1955) • “Father of Ballistics” • Developed the technique to examine bullets, using a comparison microscope, to determine whether or not a particular gun fired the bullets.

15. Edmond Locard(1877-1966) • “Father of the Crime Lab” • In 1910, he started the 1st crime lab in an attic of a police station. • With few tools, he quickly became known world-wide to forensic scientists & criminal investigators & eventually founded the Institute of Criminalistics in France. • His most important contribution was “Locard’sExchangePrinciple”

16. Locard’s Exchange Principle • When two objects come into contact with each other, a cross-transfer of materials occurs. “Every Contact Leaves a Trace.” • He believed that every criminal can be connected to a crime by particles carried from the crime scene.

17. Alec Jeffreys(1950- ) • “Father of DNA Fingerprinting” • Developed a technique that allows investigators to match biological samples left at a crime scene to a suspect.