CSM3202 RESENTATION ONE
INTRODUCTION
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
Forensics
• The word forensics comes from the Latin word ‘forensis’ which means
‘of or before the forum’. In the Roman age a criminal charge meant
presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum.
Both the accused person and the accuser would give speeches based
on their sides of the story. The individual with the best argument and
delivery would determine the outcome of the case. This origin is the
source of the to modern uses of the word forensic;
1. As a source of legal evidence (i.e. scientifically generated evidence)
2. As a category of public presentation (forensic processes, expert
presentations in courts etc.)
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
Forensic Science
• Forensic Science is any science used for the purposes of the law, and
therefore provides impartial scientific evidence for use in the courts
of law e.g. in a criminal investigation and trial. Forensic science
resolve legal issues by applying scientific principles to them. For
example forensic scientists may perform comprehensive chemical and
physical analyses on evidence submitted by law enforcement
agencies. Their work is often instrumental in apprehending and
convicting criminals.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
Forensic Investigation: Meaning
• It is a fact finding and truth-seeking exercise that applies science in its
dual formats, as a method and the various bodies of knowledge
(disciplines), intended for determining issues in civil and criminal
litigation processes.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
Forensic Criminology
1. Forensic Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals for the purpose of
addressing investigative and legal questions. According to Van der Hoven (2006)
“Forensic Criminology refers to the actions of a criminologist in collecting analyzing
and presenting evidence in the interest of objective proceedings in the judicial
process.” It is an applied subcategory of general criminology where the abstract and
the theoretical meet the practical and the concrete. It involves the proficient, critical,
and objective examination of criminal cases and related evidence, featuring the
scientific method and subsequent evidentiary interpretations. While there are a
number of forensic criminologists in private practice, this field also encompasses many
forensic subdisciplines.
2. Forensic criminology can also be defined as the study of investigations of specific
crimes and criminal behaviour with the intention of collecting physical evidence in
regard to particular criminal activities according to the standards required for court
purposes. It involves the recognition, collection, preservation and presentation of
physical evidence according to the standards required to link a suspect to the crime
committed. Forensic criminology provides a bridge between the theoretical
criminological knowledge and practical examination of cases for the purpose of
prosecution of offenders, it represents the aspects of criminology that are of
immediate interests to the courts.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
Criminalistics
• Criminalistics in that profession and scientific discipline directed to the
recognition, identification, individualization and evaluation of physical
evidence by the application of the natural sciences in matters of law and
science. Identification in criminalistics is aligned with the logic of ‘Set
Theory’. The theory states that all objects can be divided and subdivided
into various sets on the basis of their properties.
• Identification in relation to physical evidence and its analysis is defined
as the determination of some set to which an object or substance
belongs or the determination as to whether an object or substance
belongs to a given set. Fingerprints, tool marks, blood, hair, glass, paint
and other types of evidence can be so classified.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
• In addition, criminalistics is concerned with identity or origin, given a
bloodstain found and collected at a crime scene the general question for
the criminalist is to determine from whom it originated, given a spent
bullet recovered from a human body the general question is to decide if a
particular firearm discharged the bullet.
• In reaching a decision about identification criminalistics endeavours to
individualize the identification by specifying how individual or unique the
item of evidence examined is within the set of its origins.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
The Scientific Method
• Science is a systematic and logical approach to discovering how things in the universe
work it is derived from the Latin word “scientia,” which translates to knowledge. Unlike
the arts, science aims for measurable results through testing and analysis. Science is
based on fact, not opinion or preferences. The process of science is designed to
challenge ideas through research and experimentation. It is not meant to prove theories
but rule out alternative explanations until a likely conclusion is reached (Zimmermann &
Britt)
• The scientific method therefore is the systematic empirical study and generation of
knowledge in any subject that is based on evidence, fact and sound logical reasoning. It is
the particular approach to knowledge building and problem solving employed by
scientists of every kind.
• The first step in the scientific method is observation. An observation is made regarding
some, event, fact, or object. This observation then leads to a specific question regarding
the event, fact, or object, such as where or when an object originated or how an object
came to possess certain traits.
• The second step in the scientific method is attempting to answer the question that has
been asked by forming hypothesis, or an educated estimate, regarding the possible
answer. Often there is more than one possible answer. These answers must be
investigated and developed considering all possible alternatives.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
• The third step in the scientific method is experimentation. Of the steps in
the scientific method, this is the one that separates scientific inquiry from
other forms of investigation. Scientists must design experiments intended
not to ‘prove’ their hypothesis, but to ‘disprove’ them.
• Any research study or laboratory experiment designed to prove a
hypothesis or theory suffers from ‘confirmation bias’, and is net by
definition scientific. If a person calls themselves a scientist yet fails to
follow these basic steps then something else and not science is being
practiced.
• The absolute cornerstone of the scientific method is falsification as
described by Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994), the Austrian-British scientific
philosopher.
• If a hypothesis remains standing after a succession of tests or experiments
fail to disprove it the it may become a scientific theory. As such it may
stated or presented with a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.
Scientific theories that withstand the test of time and independent study
eventually become ‘scientific Principles’.
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
The Points of Comparison Method
• At one time around 1900, there was a system called the anthropometric system that
had been invented by a Frenchman, Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914), consisting of
numerous, minute body measurements, such as finger and forearm lengths. This
system was in competition with fingerprinting (technically called dactylography),
discovered by Henry Faulds and popularized by Francis Galton.
• Bertillon based his system on the use of 11 points of comparison, calculating his odds
of being wrong on any given match being 4 million to 1. These types of calculations
form the basis of a number of forensic sciences relying upon the Points of
Comparison method, such as odontology, firearms examination, and questioned
document examination.
• Due to population growth since Bertillon’s time, the contemporary method is based
on at least 12 points of comparison and an odds ratio of about 6 million to 1. An odds
ratio or percent chance of being wrong also characterizes the quantitative
information provided by modern analytical techniques such as spectrography,
chromatography, and DNA typing (in the case of DNA, the odds ratio is an amazing 30
billion to 1)
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
Brief History of Forensic Science
• Forensic science can be traced back to the 8th century when China used
fingerprints to identify documents and clay sculptures. The first written
record of forensic science can be traced back to ancient China in a book
written in 1248 titled “Xi Yuan Ji Lu” (translated as Collected Cases of
Injustice Rectified) by Song Ci. This book describes the investigation of a
person murdered with a sickle (a cutting tool). All suspects were told to bring
their sickles to a central location, where it was noticed that flies were
attracted to one particular sickle, presumably by the smell of blood; this led
to a confession by the owner of that sickle.
• Archimedes (287BC–212 BC), a Greek mathematician, is often credited as the
“father” of forensics due to reportedly being asked to determine the purity
of a gold crown without melting or destroying it. While taking a bath, he
noticed that his body always displaced a certain amount of water.
Archimedes recognized that a supposed pure gold crown must not only
weigh the same as an authenticated one, but also displace the same amount
of water as an equal weight of pure gold.
CSM3202 FORENSIC SCIENCE AND TECHNICS
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore
• Fingerprints were recognized in the prehistoric era and became an identifier in
criminal cases in the late 19th century. The earliest documented cases of
forensic ballistics, toxicology, pathology, and biology also occurred in the 19th
century. Today, DNA evidence has established a new standard—one can only
wonder what the future will hold. In 1913, the polygraph examination (lie
detector test), which measures physiological responses (blood pressure,
perspiration, pulse, and so on) to verbal statements, was created; it’s routinely
used by law enforcement officials though test results are not admissible in
many courts.
• Now, a new lie detection technology has been created called Brain
Fingerprinting. It reportedly measures the presence of indicators of memory in
a person’s brain, and it has already been used in court cases. In the United
States, the first systematic use of fingerprints to identify criminals was
developed and implemented by the New York State Prison System. In 1986,
DNA profiling was used in U.S. Criminal Court. In 1998, the FBI DNA database
(NIDIS) was initiated to help link interstate crimes. In 1999, the FBI
implemented the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
(IAFIS) that provided paperless submission, storage and search capabilities
directly to the FBI national database.
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Lecturer; Samuel. N. Njore