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FORENSIC SCIENCE
• What is Forensic Science?
o Forensic science is the use of scientific methods and evidence to
support legal debate
o Forensic science covers a broad spectrum
o Forensic science is an applied science that uses physical evidence and is
problem driven

• The Scope of Forensic Science…
BIOMETRICS

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DIGITAL FORENSICS

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Biometrics is the fundamental verification mechanism that
identifies individuals based on their physiological and
behavioural features
Biometrics is usually done with a computer
Biometrics works by using different recognition processes
which includes feature extraction, feature robustness and
feature matching
o Feature extraction is where key features of a
sample are selected or enhanced
o Feature robustness
o Feature Matching
Examples of biometrics include…
o Face
o Fingerprints
o Iris
o Voice
o Handwriting
o Palm prints
o Hand vascularity
o Hand shape
o DNA
o Ear shape
Digital forensics encompasses the recovery and investigation
of material found on digital devices
Digital forensics can be used to attribute evidence to specific
suspects, confirm alibis or statements, determine intent,
identify sources or authenticate documents
Examples of digital forensics include…
o Photography
o Computer examinations
o Data analysis
o Database studies
o Mobile devices
o Network analysis
o Video analysis
o Audio analysis

BLOODSTAIN PATTERN
ANALYSIS (BPA)

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DOCUMENT
EXAMINATION

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BODILY FLUIDS

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DRUGS OF ABUSE

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EXPLOSIVES

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FIRE / ARSON

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BPA involves the study and analysis of bloodstains at a
known crime scene with the goal of helping investigators
draw conclusions about the nature, timing and other details
of the crime
BPA uses the size, shape and distribution patterns at crime
scenes
BPA doesn’t tell us who committed the crime but it can tell
us how and with what
Document examination involves checking documents that
could be disputed within a court of law
Its aim is to provide scientific evidence about questioned or
suspicious documents
Questioned documents can include wills, titles, deeds,
stamps, bank checks, hand written correspondence, machine
generated documents and currency
It can even find texts not visible to the naked eye such as
impressions on paper and even reconstruct
burned/destroyed documents
Techniques used can involve equipment like infra-red
spectrums to see if the document is real or forged etc
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g
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This can help investigators narrow searches by telling them
the equipment used to make the bomb
Mass spectrometry and gas chromatography are used to
determine the substance sued
Analyses fire incidents

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FIREARMS AND
BALLISTICS

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FORENSIC
ANTHROPOLOGY

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FORENSIC
ENGINEERING

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FORENSIC
ENTOMOLOGY

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FORENSIC
ONDONTOLOGY

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FORENSIC PATHOLOGY

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FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY

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After the fire is put out, a team of investigators work to try
and figure out what the origin and cause of the
fire/explosion is
Like any other crime scene, they will collect as much
evidence as possible such as bodily fluids, semen,
fingerprints, impressions etc
These guys work on guns and ballistics
They can work out how close any firearms were used by
analysing evidence such as gun powder residue
They can also be used to work out the flight path of the
bullet and thus try and give a picture of what happened at
the crime scene
Different firearms use different calibre of bullet and cause
different striations once fired, this can be used to work out
the type of gun and how long ago it was fired
They identify human remains
They are used to give an identity and/or death of skeletal
remains
They can discover identity by examining bones to determine
possible height, gender etc
Forensic engineering covers building
This can be when bombs go off, and they are needed to see
if the building is structurally sound to enter
They can also predict outcomes of bombs and what the
possible impacts would be depending on the location it is in
the building or the building itself (E
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if the building will
collapse)
They use insects and anthropod relatives that inhabit
decaying remains
They can determine the time of death based on the age of
the insects
This is the study of teeth
Teeth are very sturdy and don’t really decay
They handle examinations, handling and dental evidence
Using teeth, you can determine the age, or gender of the
remains
This is helpful for when the person has been dead for a while
and already decayed leaving little forms of identification
They can also be used to identify bite marks by comparing
what’s at the crime scene to dental records t identify
suspects
This sector focuses on telling you what the cause of death
was b examine the corpse
They are frequently asked to identify the body
Examination of the body also allows the chance to collect
other evidence such as trace evidence or bodily fluids
They will extract parts of the body and run test on them to
discover how they dies, such as if it was from disease or
drugs etc
They can serve as expert witnesses in court
Toxicology uses disciplines such as analytical chemistry,
pharmacology, and clinical chemistry to aid in medical or
legal investigations of death, poisoning and drug use
Forensics toxicologists can help narrow searches for suspect
by determine what substances have been at crime scenes

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MARKS AND
IMPRESSIONS

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TRACE EVIDENCE
ANALYSIS (TEA)

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They look at substances at crimes scenes, see what they are,
the concentration at the crime scene, and possible effects it
will have on a person
AS it is not always easy to say what a person has taken
because drugs like heroin are almost immediately
metabolised, toxicologists also check for injection marks or
other physical abnormalities
These include things such as footprints, teeth marks or even
tool marks
Now this doesn’t exactly say if a person was there but it can
be used to narrow down suspects (E
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they could have
different shoes and you can measure the size to see if it is
the same as a suspect so you can have some evidence to
prove he could have been at the crime scene)
Similar with tools, it won’t tell you who but can tell you what
tools the crime was committed with (E
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weapon
impressions on the body where it was hit or for other crimes
such as breaking and entering)
TEA can include a wide range of materials but the most
common testes materials include, fibres, hair, paint and glass
Trace evidence is material that can be transferred during the
commission of a violent crime (and without committing
crimes)
This helps investigators understand what happened and can
even see who or what was there (E
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a hair sample can
confirm a person was there or a paint chip could confirm if a
certain type of car was there)



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