Forensic Science Essay Research Paper The word free essay sample

Forensic Science Essay, Research Paper The word Forensic comes from the Latin forensus, significance of the forum.1 In ancient Rome, the forum was where lawmaking arguments were held, but it was besides where tests were held merely similar modern twenty-four hours courthouses. From that, forensic scientific discipline has come to intend the application of the natural and physical scientific discipline to the gesture of affairs within a legal context2. Forensic Science can be viewed as a three-party construction dwelling of a Collection, which pertains to the scientific discipline probe, Examination, which pertains to the medical probe and, Presentation, which pertains to the tribunals. A forensic instance will affect all facets of each of the three structured elements, each being every bit of import as the other. It is obvious that there needs to be a shared attack for the successful terminal of each instance. Each measure in forensic scientific discipline must be done in an exact order ; therefore it can be assured that the probe can hold few uncertainties about what is being debated. In this paper I will concentrate my attending on the first facet of the three-step construction, Collections and Scientific Investigation. I will demo what should be done at offenses scenes, how offense scenes should be handled and what stairss must be followed to guarantee that all grounds is uncontaminated as when the offense was committed. The intent of offense scene probe is to assist set up what happened at the offense and to place the responsible individual or people. Carefully documenting the state of affairs at a offense scene and acknowledging all important physical grounds do this. The ability to acknowledge and decently roll up physical grounds is frequently times critical to both work outing and prosecuting violent offenses. It is no hyperbole to state that in the bulk of instances, the jurisprudence enforcement officer who protects and searches a offense scene plays a important function in finding whether physical grounds will be used in work outing or prosecuting violent offenses. Documenting a offense scene and its conditions can include straight entering brief inside informations such as lighting, furniture, fingerprints, and other valuable information. Certain grounds if non collected right off can easy be lost, destroyed or ruined. The scope of probes can besides spread out to the fact of difference in such instances as self-destruction or self-defence. It is besides of import to be able to acknowledge what should be present at a offense scene, what to look for at a offense scene and what might look out of topographic point. A offense scene frequently does non relate to the direct country in which a victim or existent offense has occurred, but the possibility of flight or entree paths should besides be checked. Anything, which can be used to link a victim to a suspect or a suspect to a victim or a offense scene, is of import physical grounds. Richard Saferstein explains, Physical grounds encompasses any and all objects that can set up that a offense has been committed or can supply a nexus between a offense scene and its victim or a offense and its culprit ( 31 ) . I will now explicate the appropriate techniques and ways a offense scene and physical grounds should be handled and examined. One of the first things an officer should make one time he gets to the offense scene is to take control and procure the scene every bit rapidly as possible. This is to forestall anyone from destroying grounds and to maintain unauthorised individual or individuals out of the country such as the media, the populace or anyone who doesn # 8217 ; t belong. While this is being done, an officer should besides be watchful for useless grounds and note if there are any possible attack or flight paths. After an officer does this, he should reason the grade in which the scene has been protected and do certain there is adequate security in the country. All individuals come ining and go outing the offense scene should be logged and kept down to a bare lower limit to do certain the pureness of the offense scene when the instance goes to tribunal. Each individual involved in the offense scene should hold knowledge comparative to its original conditions to avoid from inadvertent motion of objects, grounds or anything, which might ache in the probe of the offense. When all of this is done, the following measure that can occur is the existent review of the offense scene. The review of the offense scene will normally get down with a walk through of the country along the test of the offense. The trail is that country, which all noticeable actions connected with a offense, took topographic point. It is besides sometimes marked by the presence of physical grounds ; this may include the point of entry, the location of the offense, countries where a suspect may hold cleaned up and the point of issue. The intent of the walk through is to observe the location of possible grounds and to mentally sketch how the scene will be physically examined. The first topographic point research workers should look is the land they walk on. This is to forestall any grounds from being destroyed and if observed should be marked and warned to others non to step in that country. As the walk through occurs, the research workers should do certain their custodies are busy and they don # 8217 ; t touch anything. The best manner to forestall from touching anything is to maintain your custodies in your pockets. Once the walk through has been completed, the scene should be documented with videotape, exposure and studies. Any or all objects can supply a nexus between a offense and its victim/suspect ; therefore it is really of import that the offense scene be good photographed and recorded One of the first stairss in documenting and entering a offense is videotape. Videotapes can supply a position on the offense scene layout that can non be as easy perceived in exposure and studies. The status of the scene should remain unaffected with the exclusion of markers placed by research workers to demo little things that might non be seen such as slugs, bloodstains or other key pieces of grounds. A key in videotaping is slow motion through out the scene and should be done so from get downing to stop. It is besides wise to travel over an country twice in order to forestall unneeded rewinding of the tape when screening and to do certain the taper has captured everything. Taping should get down with the general lineation of the scene and environing country. Taping should go on throughout the scene utilizing different angles, close-ups, and still shootings for a few seconds. Once videotaping has finished it is so best to besides capture the offense scene with still picture taking. Regardless if a scene has been videotaped, still photographs are a must at every offense scene. Although videotaping does enter everything, exposure can demonstrate certain things such as direct comparing. Actual size exposure can be used to compare fingerprint and shoe prints photographed at the scene against the suspect. Again, when photographing, the outer portion of the scene should be taking first to demo the environing countries, so towards the offense scene itself. Wide angle exposures should be used of the offense scene and environing countries. A good technique to utilize when hiting suites is to hit from many possible angles such as from all four corners, from a room access or from a window. When close-ups are necessary of cardinal pieces of grounds, a swayer should be photographed with the points where comparative size is of import. While each exposure is being taken, a individual should besides be taking notes on what the individual is hiting, in order at a ulterior day of the month to understand what was seeking to be accomplished. After still picture taking has been taken, the concluding measure in entering a offense scene is to chalk out and pull the scene out by manus. While exposures are planar and frequently can change distance and size, studies provide the agencies of demoing distance or objects, and an over-head position of the country and milieus. A study is normally made of the scene as if one is looking straight down or consecutive in front. Measurements should be taken at offense scene of distances between two objects, room measurings and cardinal pieces of grounds. Two measurings should be taken at right angles to each other from two location points. Each measuring should be double measured to do certain they are right and accurate. A professional utilizing all the measurings and notes taken by the research workers can do a concluding study. However, the original studies should non be thrown out but saved along with other cardinal grounds in instance a dissension occurs or something was missed. Once the offense scene has been recorded with videotaping, still picture taking and studies, assemblage of grounds can happen. Gathering and turn uping physical grounds is a really slow a boring occupation when done right, nevertheless, it can give up many hints. One of the first things an research worker must find is the size and country that must be searched. The chief focal point hunt must include all likely points of entry and issues used by the felons. When seeking, certain forms may be used to cover and analyze the country. There are about three different ways in which an country can be examined. One manner is a coiling hunt method, which is by get downing in the centre of the scene and work in a coiling outward do this method until all of the scene has been covered and checked. Another method and normally the preferable method is the grid method. This is done by taging the offense scene into a grid and walking in a consecutive line from one side of the grid towards the other where as you make 180 grades turn and come back a few stairss over from where you merely searched. This form overlaps itself and I feel is one of the best hunt methods. The concluding method used is a quadrant or zone hunt. This is when the scene is divided into certain quarter-circles, normally four and each zone is searched with either the spiral or deprive line hunt. Then after each zone is searched, the overall scene can be searched utilizing the above forms. When grounds is found it must be bundle and protected in a manner that prevents any physical alteration from go oning from the clip it is taken to the it reaches the offense research lab. Such things like breakage, taint, vaporization and ruined samples can all be avoided with proper handling and packaging. Original conditions must be maintained at all cost and when of all time possible the full object should be submitted to the offense research lab. Good judgement must be maintained and common sense normally plays a function. Each different point must be placed in separate containers to forestall cross- taint. It is besides wise to take comparative samples, so that grounds can be compared to normal or controlled pieces. Unbreakable bottles with palpebras are good for such things as hair, glass, fibres and other grounds. However, when anything contains blood grounds, it must be placed in a non-seal able container, such as paper bags. This is to halt bacterium from organizing and perchance doing the grounds unserviceable. Besides good for grounds aggregation are manila envelopes, composition board boxes and paper bags. Besides blood, particular involvement must be made towards vesture. All vesture must be air-dried and placed separately in separate paper bags to guarantee changeless circulation to forestall cast or mold from go oning. The lone clip a seal able container must be used, is in the instances when leery fires are being investigated. Finally, with gathering grounds at offense scenes, an research worker must do certain he non merely labels the grounds, but besides makes a right description on all studies and diagrams. Evidence should non be handled a great trade after recovery and should be kept down to as few people as possible. Research workers must continuously look into paperwork, packaging notations, and other recording of information for possible struggle or mistakes, which may do confusion or jobs at a ulterior clip in tribunal. Once grounds is gathered it must be sent to a research lab for processing and farther probe. When points are to be delivered the method normally depends on how far off the research lab is from the offense scene. In most instances, a province or local research lab is within a few hours and bringing can be made by personal bringing. However, in some instances when points must be shipped to F.B.I. central offices in Washington D.C. , personal bringing is normally out of the inquiry. When an point needs to be shipped via mail, it should be packaged in a manner non to damage it. Postal ordinances do prohibit such things as ammo or explosives from being send through the mail. Each point when shipped should be logged and sent with a checklist in order to do certain everything shipped is accounted for. An in depth study should besides be sent of the offense, notes, and why the points were sent and what should be looked for. Along with the grounds, control specimens should besides be sent to the research lab so that they can measure grounds to a normal piece of what is being looked for. One of the chief concerns with physical grounds ever argued by the tribunals is whether or non the grounds was obtained lawfully. Often with a few major tribunal instances, grounds has been thrown because it was obtained illicitly to do certain of a strong belief. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provinces, The right of the people to be secure in their individuals, houses, documents, and effects, against unreasonable hunts and ictuss, shall non be violated, and no warrants shall publish, but upon likely cause, supported by curse or avowal, and peculiarly depicting the topographic point to be searched, and the individuals or things to be seized. ( U.S. Constitution ) With this, the Constitution means the constabulary do have a right to prehend points or grounds that might assist them in finding a suspect, nevertheless they do non hold to the right to take the points illegality. The constabulary must hold likely cause in order to take belongings and prehend points, which belong to person else. Unreasonable hunts and ictuss occur when the officers in charge do non hold the authorization to be at a certain topographic point or make non hold the tribunals or proprietors permission to look around, or about the individual # 8217 ; s belongings or country. One instance that clearly shows how illegal hunts and ictuss took topographic point against a suspect is in the instance of Michigan v. Tyler4. In this instance, Loren Tyler who leased a concern was charged with incendiarism after his concern was destroyed by fire. During the probe, assorted points and physical grounds were recovered from the edifice. However, on three other separate occasions, 4 yearss, 7 yearss, and 25 yearss after the fire, research workers came back to the scene and once more took assorted points that they thought would assist them construct a instance against Tyler. Each of these hunts was made without a warrant or without consent of the proprietor. During the test, the physical grounds seized in all four hunts was used to convict Tyler of incendiarism. On entreaty, the U.S. Supreme tribunal upheld a reversal of the strong belief stating that the grounds was illegal. The other hunts were made without consent, or with out likely cause, the resulting reentries to the scene were prohibited and a new test was arranged on these conditions. The message as explained from the Supreme Court is clear, When clip and fortunes permit, obtain a hunt warrant before investigation and recovering physical grounds at the offense scene ( Saferstein 50 ) . In decision, as we can see through out this study, aggregation and recording of a offense scene is really of import, with out proper regulations and particular handling, a felon can travel free. The intent of offense scene probes is to assist set up what happened, and to place the responsible individuals or victims. To figure this out, careful recording and probes of a offense scene must take topographic point. Recording the offense scene inside informations such things as topographic point, clip, conditions, lighting, fingerprints, grounds, etc. To enter a offense scene such things as videotape, still picture taking and studies are used to give a narrative or clip line of what happened and what took topographic point. Once the offense scene has been recorded, existent review for physical grounds occurs. This is where the research workers expression for hints such as fingerprints, bloodstains, points or anything, which might take them towards a suspect. When garnering grounds, each point should be topographic point in separate containers and certain regulations for blood stained apparels and fire probes apply. The research workers must maintain piece of land and record everything in which they recover from a offense scene. Searching a offense scene is a long and thorough procedure, nevertheless, it will give up many hints when done decently. Once the grounds is found, recorded and packaged, it must be sent to a offense lab for farther processing. Each point when shipped should be recorded, logged and accounted for from individual to individual so when used in a test, the grounds has been accounted for from get downing to stop. The concluding thing research workers must do certain is that all grounds was seized decently and with likely cause. This is the chief ground why in so many tribunal instances grounds is thrown out, improper hunts and ictuss. If any research worker is in uncertainty on whether or non a topographic point or individual can be search, it is ever best to obtain a warrant for that such ground.