locards principle

Locard’s principle, the basic principle of forensic science, was formulated by Dr. Edmond Locard. Dr. Edmond Locard believes and states “Every contact leaves a trace”, meaning whatever is touched, left behind or approached will serve as factual evidence against a person and only can that evidence be failed is by the lack of human effort by failing to study and understand it. The Locard’s exchange principle believes no matter what a criminal does or where a criminal goes, simply by coming in contact with anything, a criminal is capable of leaving many different sorts of criminal evidence for investigators to gather and collect. Having said this, different sorts of evidence can include, fingerprints, footprints, DNA, hair, bodily fluids, skin cells, blood, clothing, fibers, etc. Though many different types of evidence can be investigated and found at a crime scene, it is extremely common that when a criminal leaves the location in where a crime has been committed, that criminal will most likely take away something such as evidence from the scene with them. Trace evidence is clear and factual physical evidence, which most importantly, cannot lie, be forgotten and be cannot be wrong. As Paul L. Kirk expressed and explains Locard’s exchange principle, Paul L. Kirk states “Trace evidence (physical materials) is a silent witness that speaks when humans cannot”. An example of Locard’s exchange principle can be viewed as the following, a person enters another person’s home and strangles that person to death. The person who strangled and committed this crime has now most likely left footprints and other evidence at the scene of the crime. When police, detectives, investigators, etc… have located and found that suspect involved this this crime, you find the victims skin cells under the suspects fingernails, the case has now been solved because that criminal has taken away evidence from the scene with them. The importance of this principle from the perspective of a criminal