​ SUB-FIELDS OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

Criminalistics is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination

and comparison of biological evidence, trace evidence, impression evidence (such as
fingerprints, footwear impressions, and tire tracks), controlled substances, ballistics (firearm
examination), and other evidence in criminal investigations. Typically, evidence is processed in a
crime lab.

Digital forensics is the application of proven scientific methods and techniques in order to
recover data from electronic digital media. DF specialist work in the field as well as in the lab.

Forensic psychology is the intersection between Psychology and the legal system. It is a division
of applied psychology concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of
psychological evidence for judicial purposes.

The practice of forensic psychology involves understanding applicable law in the relevant
jurisdictions in order to be able to make legal evaluations and interact appropriately with judges,
attorneys and other legal professionals. An important aspect of forensic psychology is the ability
to testify in court, reformulating psychological findings into the legal language of the courtroom
to provide information to legal personnel in a way that can be understood. Further, in order to be
a credible witness, for example in the United States, the forensic psychologist must understand
the philosophy, rules and standards of the American judicial system, as well as display
competency in psychological practice. Primary is an understanding of the adversarial model
under which the system functions. There are also rules about hearsay evidence and importantly
the exclusionary rule. Lack of a firm grasp of these procedures will result in the forensic
psychologist losing credibility in the courtroom.

Forensic Biology

Forensic biology is the application of biology to law enforcement. It includes the sub disciplines
of Forensic anthropology, Forensic botany, Forensic entomology, Forensic odontology and
various DNA or protein based techniques.

Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology concerns the identification and recovery of remains. In extreme cases
where conventional techniques are unable to determine the identity of the remains
Anthropologists are sometimes able to deduce certain characteristics based on the skeletal
remains. Race, sex, age and stature can often be determined by both measuring the remains and
looking for structural clues in the bones.

Forensic botany Forensic botanists look at the plant life in order to gain information regarding
possible crimes. Leaves, seeds and pollen found either on a body or at the scene of a crime can
offer valuable information regarding the timescales of a crime and also if the body has been
moved between two or more different locations.

Forensic Odontology

Odontologists or dentists can be used in order to aid in an identification of degraded remains.

Remains that have been buried for a long period or which have undergone fire damage often
contain few clues to the identity of the individual. The hardest substance in the human body
often endures and such odontologists can in some circumstances compare recovered remains to
dental records.

DNA Based Techniques

DNA based evidence is perhaps one of the strongest linking tools that law enforcement
investigators have at their disposal. DNA evidence can definitively link a suspect to either a
crime scene or victim. Nuclear DNA evidence has been recovered from blood, semen, saliva,
skin cells and hair. Furthermore, Mitochondrial DNA can be recovered from both bone and teeth
dating back thousands of years. Laboratory analysis of DNA evidence generally involves
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of any sample recovered followed by
quanitification via Capillary electrophoresis in order to obtain a DNA profile which can be
compared to suspect DNA.

Forensic toxicology is the study of the effect of drugs and poisons on/in the human body.

Forensic Document Examination or Questioned Document Examination is the discipline that

answers questions about a disputed document using a variety of scientific processes and
methods. Many examinations involve a comparison of the questioned document, or components
of the document, to a set of known standards. The most common type of examination involves
handwriting wherein the examiner tries to address concerns about potential authorship.

Forensic Chemistry

The application of Chemistry to the study of physical materials or theoretical problems, the
results of which may be entered into court as technical evidence. Boundaries are not sharply
defined for forensic Chemistry, and it includes topics that are not entirely chemical in nature.

Some of the items most often encountered in crime laboratories, and the information sought in
regard to them, are: (1) body fluids and viscera to be analyzed for poisons, drugs, or alcohol,
quantitation of which may assist in determining the dosage taken or the person's behavior prior to
death; (2) licit and illicit pills, vegetable matter, and pipe residues for the presence of controlled
substances; (3) blood, saliva, and seminal stains, usually in dried form, to be checked for species,
type, and genetic data; (4) hairs, to determine if animal or human; if human, the race, body area
of origin, and general characteristics; (5) fibers, to determine type (animal, vegetable, mineral, or
synthetic), composition, dyes used, and processing marks; (6) liquor, for alcoholic proof, trace
alcohols, sugars, colorants, and other signs of adulteration; (7) paint, glass, plastics, and metals,
usually in millimeter-sized chips, to classify and compare to known materials; (8) inks on
documents, to determine type, dye content, or possible age; also chemical obliterations and
restoration of chaffed papers; (9) swabs from the hands of suspects, to be checked for the
presence of gunshot residue; (10) debris from a fire or explosion scene, for the remains of the
accelerant or explosive used.

Forensic Medicine

The noun forensic medicine has one meaning the branch of medicine that interprets and
establishes the medical facts in civil or criminal law cases. Also called legal medicine or medical
jurisprudence. The branch of medicine that interprets or establishes the facts in civil or criminal
law cases also called medical jurisprudence.

Medical jurisprudence is a science of applying medical facts to legal problems. Routine tasks
include filling out birth and death certificates, deciding insurance eligibility, and reporting
infectious disease. Perhaps more significant is medical testimony in court. When merely relating
observations, doctors are ordinary witnesses; interpreting facts based on medical knowledge
makes them expert witnesses, required to present their opinions without bias toward the side that
called them. Conflicts between medicine and law can occur, usually over medical confidentiality.

Forensic medicine is one of the largest and most important areas of forensic science. Also called
legal medicine or medical jurisprudence, it applies medical knowledge to criminal and civil law.
Areas of medicine that are commonly involved in forensic medicine are anatomy, pathology, and
psychiatry.

Medical jurisprudence or forensic medicine, the application of medical science to legal

[Link] typically involved in cases concerning blood relationship, mental illness, injury, or
death resulting from violence. Autopsy (see post-mortem examination) is often used to determine
the cause of death, particularly in cases where foul play is suspected. Post-mortem examination
can determine not only the immediate agent of death (e.g. gunshot wound, poison), but may also
yield important contextual information, such as how long the person has been dead, which can
help trace the killing. Forensic medicine has also become increasingly important in cases
involving rape. Modern techniques use such specimens as semen, blood, and hair samples of the
criminal found in the victim's bodies, which can be compared to the defendant's genetic makeup
through a technique known as DNA fingerprinting. This technique may also be used to identify
the body of a victim. The establishment of serious mental illness by a licensed psychologist can
be used in demonstrating incompetency to stand trial, a technique which may be used in the
insanity defense (see insanity), albeit infrequently. The synonym of forensic medicine is forensic
pathology.

Forensic Pathology

Forensic pathology is the legal branch of pathology concerned with determining cause of death
(such as bullet wound to head, exsanguiation, strangulation, etc.) and manner of death (including
murder, accident, natural, or suicide). This includes examination of some wounds and injuries
due to crime or negligence, examination of tissue specimens that may be relevant to rape, or
other crimes. Forensic pathologists work closely with the coroner (England and Wales) or
medical examiner (United States). The examination of dead bodies (autopsy or post mortem) is a
subset of anatomical pathology. Often times, a coroner or medical examiner has a background in
pathology.
Forensic medicine is often used in civil cases. The cause of death or injury is considered in
settling insurance claims or medical malpractice suits, and blood tests often contribute to a
court's decision in cases attempting to determine the paternity of a child.