Bell Ringer 9/11

• Fold your timeline and place it into the “IN” folder

• Remember: Quiz and foldable due tomorrow!

• Take out your notebook – notes today!

How observant are you? Honors Forensic ScienceT. Trimpe 2006 http://sciencespot.net/

Which is the correct penny?NOTE: You cannot look at a real penny!

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Overview• Definition of Forensic Science

Scope

• History and Development of Forensics

• Organization of a Crime Laboratory

• Functions of the Forensic Scientist Analysis of Physical Evidence Provision of Expert Testimony Furnishing Training

• Scientific Admissibility

Definition and Scope of Forensic Science

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

History

• Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914)First scientific system of personal

identificationDeveloped the science of

anthropometry, a systematic procedure of taking a series of body measurements as a means of distinguishing one individual from another

Bertillon Measurements

Why isn’t anthropometry used today?What has it been replaced by?

History, Con’t

• Edmond Locard (1877 -1966)Locard’s Exchange Principle –the

exchange of materials between two objects that occurs whenever two objects come in contact with one another. A cross-transfer of evidence occurs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQRiKvg6Ez8

History of crime labs in the US

• Oldest crime lab is that of the LAPD, created in 1923

• In 1932 the Federal Bureau of Investigation organized a national lab that offered forensic services to all law enforcement agencies

• FBI is now the world’s largest crime lab

Organization of Crime Labs• General Organization

No nationally organized system—crime labs mirror the fragmented law enforcement structure that that exists on national, state, and local levels

• National Level4 major federal crime labs, FBI, DEA,

ATF,U.S. Postal Inspection Service

Organization, Con’t

• FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation– Department of JusticeLargest crime lab in the worldBroad investigative powers

• DEA - Drug Enforcement AgencyDepartment of JusticeResponsible for the analysis of drugs seized in

violation of laws regulating the production, sale, and transportation of drugs

Organization, Con’tATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)

– Department of JusticeResponsible for the analysis of alcoholic

beverages, weapons, and explosives in conjunction with the Gun Control Act and Organized Crime Control

U.S. Postal Inspection Service– Falls under the jurisdiction of the United States

Postal Service– Responsible for crimes dealing with the USPS

Organization, Con’t

• State LevelMost state governments maintain a

lab to service state and local law enforcement

Some larger cities maintain their own crime lab, usually under the direction of local police dept.

Organization Con’t

• Local LevelLocal labs provide services to

county and municipal agencies.Generally, they operate

independently of state labs and are financed by local government.

The growth of crime labs• Supreme Court decisions in the

1960s compelled police to place greater emphasis on securing scientifically evaluated evidence

• Increase in crime rates – especially drug-related crimes which usually require samples to be tested

• Advent of DNA profiling

Services of the Crime LabGo to p. 21 in textbook