Origin of Forensic Science
ORIGIN AND SERVICES OF FORENSIC SCIENCE
“For most people, "forensic science" means cops and fingerprints and DNA analysis. All of that is still true, but these days forensic science encompasses much more.” Forensic science, also known as forensics, may generally be defined as the application of scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge to assist courts in resolving questions of fact in civil and criminal trials. In other words forensic science, in its broadest definition, is the application of science to law. Forensic science is carried out by forensic scientists, whose primary objective is the even-handed use of all the available information to determine the facts and ultimately the truth no matter who they are instructed by. Forensic scientists perform two roles in their work. One is to analyze physical evidence found either on a victim, at the scene of a crime, or both and to compare it to evidence found on the suspect. The other is to provide expert testimony in a court of law. Without question, the field of forensic science has come a very long way since its recorded beginnings in the 700s, when the Chinese used fingerprints to establish the identity of documents and clay sculptures. Although records show that the Chinese used forensics first many people still to this day believe that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle played a large part in scientific crime-detection though his character Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes applied the newest developing principles of serology, fingerprints, firearms identification, and questioned-documents examinations. Holmes did all of this way before a real-life criminal investigators came into play. When Holmes wrote his first novel, A Study in Scarlet, published in 1887, examples of his ability to show scientific methods were discovered and implemented. Many people can be cited for their work with forensics, Holmes was not the only one. Mathieu Orfila was considered the father of forensic toxicology. In 1814,
“For most people, "forensic science" means cops and fingerprints and DNA analysis. All of that is still true, but these days forensic science encompasses much more.” Forensic science, also known as forensics, may generally be defined as the application of scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge to assist courts in resolving questions of fact in civil and criminal trials. In other words forensic science, in its broadest definition, is the application of science to law. Forensic science is carried out by forensic scientists, whose primary objective is the even-handed use of all the available information to determine the facts and ultimately the truth no matter who they are instructed by. Forensic scientists perform two roles in their work. One is to analyze physical evidence found either on a victim, at the scene of a crime, or both and to compare it to evidence found on the suspect. The other is to provide expert testimony in a court of law. Without question, the field of forensic science has come a very long way since its recorded beginnings in the 700s, when the Chinese used fingerprints to establish the identity of documents and clay sculptures. Although records show that the Chinese used forensics first many people still to this day believe that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle played a large part in scientific crime-detection though his character Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes applied the newest developing principles of serology, fingerprints, firearms identification, and questioned-documents examinations. Holmes did all of this way before a real-life criminal investigators came into play. When Holmes wrote his first novel, A Study in Scarlet, published in 1887, examples of his ability to show scientific methods were discovered and implemented. Many people can be cited for their work with forensics, Holmes was not the only one. Mathieu Orfila was considered the father of forensic toxicology. In 1814,
References: Byrd, J. (n.d.). Entomology. Retrieved July 2, 2010, from http://www.forensicentomology.com Cohen, J. I. (n.d.). Forensic Pathology. Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.forensiconline.com Fendley, A. (2010, May 22). Forensic Scientist. Forensics, 206(2761), 9-10. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. (51091422) Kurland, M. (2009). Adventures in the History of Forensic Science (Vol. 256). Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. (44524248) Moore, S. (2010, Spring). What is Serology. Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.ehow.com Saferstein, R. (2010). Introducation. In Criminalistics (10th ed., pp. 1-15) [Introduction]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ORIGIN AND SERVICES OF FORENSIC SCIENCE