Course 422: Forensic
Science
Curriculum
The History of Forensic
Science
Origins of
crime detection
Historical
criminal cases
Alphonse
Bertillon (1879) - (father of criminal identification) first scientific system
of personal identification
Locards
Exchange Principle(1910) the exchange of materials between two objects that
occurs whenever two objects come into contact with one another, First Crime
Laboratory
Frictional
characterization of crime detection and use of logic in solving crimes
Forensics as a Science
Define
Forensic Science
Define
Criminalistics
Scope of
Forensic Science studies here: the application of science to those criminal and
civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in the criminal justice system.
Sciences to be
applied will be limited to aspects of biology, geology, geography, chemistry and
physics that are useful for the determining the evidential value of crime scene
and related evidence.
Students will
understand Functions of a Forensic Scientist
Students will
learn to identify the principles, techniques and skills of the natural and
physical sciences required to analyze the many types of evidence that may be
recovered during a criminal investigation
Students will
apply the guidelines as put forth by the Frye standard in the determination of
the validity of a forensic evidence or technique in the judicial system
Students will
learn about the limitations of forensic evidence by determining if the
scientific technique or theory can be and has been tested; has been the subject
of peer review and publication.
Recognition,
collection and preservation of physical evidence
Students will
learn to make observations, use their senses and enhance visual clues use
oblique lighting to recognize physical evidence
Students will
learn to question and collect statements and testimony from witnesses of a crime
Students will
learn to identify, compare and classify common types of physical evidence such
as; blood, hair, fibers, glass, impressions, soils and minerals, tool marks and
fingerprints.
Principles of
Reconstruction
Students will
learn to identify the methods used to reconstruct a crime scene
Students will
search and map a crime scene using linear distance measurements, scale, relative
direction and rectangular coordinate measurement methods
Students will
learn to describe a crime scene and related evidence in a report using accuracy,
brevity, and clarity
Blood Evidence
Students will
learn presumptive methods to identify blood evidence using the chemical
processes
Students will
learn to identify latent blood stains using the spectral properties of blood.
Students will
be able to classify blood stains and spatter patterns
Students will
be able to draw inferences on evidential blood movement in terms of directions,
dropping distance and angle of impact.
Physical Evidence: Glass
Students will be able
to describe the nature of glass evidence and the significance at a crime scene
Students will compare
the physical properties of glass evidence
Students will
describe glass comparison standards used to identify unknown or questioned glass
evidence
Trace Physical Evidence:
Hair
Students will
be able to describe the nature of hair evidence
Students will
describe the significant macroscopic features of hair: parts, color and texture
Students will
describe the morphology of hair: cuticle, cortex and medulla
Students will
characterize human versus animal hair
Trace Physical Evidence:
Fibers
Students will
be able to describe the nature and occurrence of fiber evidence
Student will
be able to classify fibers as natural or man made (synthetic)
Students will
describe the significant macroscopic features and chemical properties of fibers:
flammability, weave, color and texture
Students will
describe the significant microscopic features of fibers
Trace Physical Evidence:
Soil
Students will be able
to describe the nature and occurrence of soil evidence
Students will
describe techniques to determine color and texture of questioned and known soil
particles
Students will
describe the forensic characteristics of soil evidence
Students will be able
to describe how to use Geospatial technologies to determine the significance of
soil evidence to link a suspect to a crime scene.
Impression Evidence:
Tires
Students will
describe the nature of tire tread impressions
Students will
demonstrate techniques for collection, photographing and identification of tire
tread impressions
Impression Evidence:
Footwear
Students will
describe the nature of footwear impressions
Students will
demonstrate techniques for examination, collection, casting, lifting,
photographing and identification of footwear impressions
Students will
use observation and measurement to compare impression patterns of questioned
prints to known patterns
Impression Evidence:
Dental and Lip Patterns
Students will
describe the nature of dental and lip pattern impressions
Students use
bite mark analysis to establish the identity of a homicide victim or to
associate a suspect with a crime scene
Students will
demonstrate techniques for examination, documentation, lifting and
identification of dental and lip impressions
Students will
use observation and measurement to compare impression patterns of questioned lip
patterns to known patterns
Fingerprinting
Students will
describe the history of fingerprinting as a form of identification
Students will
be able to classify fingerprint patterns as arches, loops or whorls
Students will
further be able to classify ridge patterns
Students will
use observation to detect latent fingerprints on various surfaces
Students will
be able to describe how to develop and preserve latent fingerprints
Forensic Entomology
Students will
be able to explain the significance of entomological evidence to fixing the time
of death of a victim (PMI)
Students will
describe how to collect and preserve insects at a crime scene
Students will
describe the life cycle of fly species
Students will
interrupt insect diversity at the scene to represent time of death, ambient
temperatures and weather conditions
Document Examination:
Students will
be able to list the 12 basic characteristics for making handwriting comparisons
Students will
be able to describe methods for the collection of writing samples for comparison
and to account for the natural variations in writing style
Students will
describe steps in examination of a questioned document or forgery
Criminal Profiling
Students will
be able to describe historical cases that developed criminal profiling methods
Students will
be able to list the profiling steps developed by the Scotland Yard and Federal
Bureau of Investigation
Students will
apply criminal profiling techniques to infamous crimes, criminals and crimes in
the news
Resources: