Preview

Tool Mark Identification Essay

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2085 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tool Mark Identification Essay
Abstract
Tool marks evaluation arose out of the necessity to evaluate marks made at a crime scene without an academic basis. Tool mark identification lacks a scientific foundation. Examiners cannot determine the uniqueness of tool marks based on the comparison method because the lack of quantifiable data. Literature has explained that the NAS report has critiqued the reliability of tool mark examination in court. The subjectivity of the examiner is evident during analysis, which discredits the use of pattern evidence. These subjective observations lead to errors when determining uniqueness. The judicial system must discredit the validity of tool mark examinations until a quantifiable method is established. Researchers need to apply new research to proliferate the acceptance of pattern evidence.
…show more content…
E. (1999). The history of firearm and tool mark identification. The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners Journal, 31(3).
Kumar, R., Patial, N., & Singh, S. (2013). Identification of tool marks of a sickle on a telephone cable. Journal of Forensic Sciences,58(1), 217-219.
Page, M., Taylor, J., & Blenkin, M. (2011). Uniqueness in the forensic identification sciences Fact or fiction? Forensic Science International, 206(1), 12-18.
Petraco, N. D. K., Shenkin, P., Speir, J., Diaczuk, P., Pizzola, P. A., Gambino, C., & Petraco, N. (2012). Addressing the National Academy of Sciences' challenge: A method for statistical pattern comparison of striated tool marks. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 57(4), 900-911.
Nichols, R. G. (2007). Defending the scientific foundations of the firearms and tool mark identification discipline: Responding to recent challenges. Journal of Forensic Sciences (Wiley-Blackwell), 52(3), 586-594.
US Legal (2015). The Daubert Decision and the Supreme Court’s Construction of Rule 702. Retrieved from

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    In this case study I will examine the forensic evidence (limited to the main ballistic evidence), that was presented in the criminal trials and the forensic evidence that was introduced by the prosecution.…

    • 1606 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tonight we watched an episode of The Rookies named Neon Skies. The episode was about getting a couple of cops in a bad neighborhood to get to know the community and try to deter crime. The chief believes that Terry, a young African American rookie cop, would be great for the task. When rookie Terry passed on the offer, clean cut white Willie stepped up. The first day Willie encounters one of the neighborhood’s crew at the gym and invites them to a game of basketball. He gets beat up when he gets too close. He was also wearing police gear. Willie is a nice guy and is determined to come back. Terry ends up accompanying…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It has been approximately twenty months since 2001s September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and still victims' bodies are in the process of being identified. In matters like this, forensic scientists are forced to "bring out the big guns." Researchers can compare DNA samples from bodies to those taken directly from the victim: from hair, a toothbrush, a family member, and etcetera (Whitfield 6).…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Case Project 3 2

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Create a new user account for use in examining the suspect data. Enable “fast user switching” in the process.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Anth Media Analysis

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Houck, M. M., & Siegal, J. A. (2010). Fundamentals of Forensic Science (2 ed.). Burlington: Elsevier.…

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Csi Essay Example

    • 3977 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Technology is rapidly changing every aspect of the criminal justice system as computers make possible the streamlining of many procedures, shortening their time span and increasing their accuracy. Techniques used in the collection, processing and storage of evidence benefit from these recent developments.…

    • 3977 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    forensic science

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages

    5. When a bullet is retrieved, it is marked for identification purposes by usually being marked with the investigator's initials, often at the tip or base of the bullet. covering any striations or markings on the bullet, and labeling the sides of the bullet should be avoided.…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Studying the markings found on a bullet or the impact a bullet made on any surface can establish exactly which gun the criminal used. Every firearm produces a slightly different and unique pattern on the shell-casing it fires; the bullet will therefore imprint a distinct pattern upon anything it hits. Once scientists have identified these markings they can easily match them to the appropriate firearm.…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most common strategy that forensic science experts uses is that fingerprints, bite mark and ballistics for the purpose of determining the real perpetrators of the crime. The reason is that when a person is involved in an offence and touches any of the items around the scene of the offence, the person's fingerprints are reflected on the item. Hence, the forensic team has a strategy of getting the fingerprints from all items found at the scene of crime regardless of the number of people that touched anything around the area. The most unfortunate thing is that the entire fingerprint-collecting process appears to be scientific in nature as it has a process that it is used to obtain the fingerprints. However, the process has over the time proved that the process is not entirely scientific a thing that has made the process to appear pseudoscientific. The reason is that a lot of biases have been noted to be emanating from the fingerprint process. A lot of inconsistencies, contradictory, and claims that the forensic team cannot prove has been…

    • 1782 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nothing

    • 4138 Words
    • 17 Pages

    The search for physical evidence at a crime scene must be done thoroughly and followed by the protocol. How the criminalist will decide to execute the crime-scene investigation depends on the size and the locale of the area, as well as on the actions of the suspect(s) and victim(s) at the scene. It must be considered that physical evidence can be anything, from a massive object to a microscopic trace, however, some evidence are clearly visible but others need to be examined in the laboratory in order to be detected. Physical evidence must be processed in a way so as to prevent any change from happening between the time that was collected on the crime scene and the time it is received by the laboratory. When collecting physical evidence from a scene, any criminalist must be aware of the fact that recovery of one type of evidence can destroy another.…

    • 4138 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Drogin, E. Y., Dattilio, F. M., Sandoff, R. L., & Gutheil, T. G. (2011). Handbook of forensic assessment: Psychological and psychiatric perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gun Crime Research Paper

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages

    At the end of the 20th century, gun crime had risen dramatically, this caused problems for forensic scientists as they were an anonymous way to kill someone. One high profile murder case would cause this to change. On the 20th of January 1928, Mr Frederick Browne was arrested on suspicion of robbery. When the police searched his property, they found a type of revolver called a Webley. For several months they had been looking for a Webley revolver that was used to murder a police officer. At the murder scene, which was a car, a gun cartridge from the murder weapon was found. The police sent the cartridge to Robert Churchill, who was an expert in ballistics, he realised that the cartridge belonged to a webley revolver. He put the cartridge under…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The field of Criminal Justice has so many different career paths that anyone can succeed in and it’s for that reason I have picked the Forensic Science path to explore. There are a number of reasons why I have chosen to explore and get an education in this career. The specialization of Forensic Science within the Criminal Justice is right for me because I feel that families should have closure, I feel that people who don’t deserve to be in prison should have a fair trial, I like watching crime shows all the time, and last but not least it’s a more challenging field of work and I love challenges.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The current methods of fingerprinting that involve subjective comparison and matching of fingerprinting has led to disapproval of the method. Extensive testing has shown that the results of fingerprint testing are not valid (Schmalleger, 2011). Fingerprint matches are now being done by experts, those fingerprints that have been previously been examined to make identification of suspects were presented to the same experts in a different context and the results were different. Similarly, DNA evidence for identification of criminals has been marred by several problems. Surreptitious DNA collecting, presentation of partial DNA profiles, and fake DNA evidence; cast doubts on the DNA evidence presented in courts (Schmalleger, 2011).…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Laci Peterson Case:

    • 3313 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Laci Denise (Rocha) Peterson was born May 4, 1974 to Sharon and Dennis Rocha. Ever since Laci was a baby she was known for her big grinning smile and large dimples. People used to say that her smile hinted at a devilish side to her (Fleeman, 2003). As an adult she still had that beaming smile that people couldn’t resist wanting to get to know. Because of that smile, millions of people couldn’t resist wanting to help find…

    • 3313 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays