Essay On Forensic Investigation

Forensic science is misleading because it suggests only one type of science is involved, but this is not the case. Forensic investigations can involve virtually any field of science and technology.

There are many steps that have to be taken when leading a criminal investigation and investigating a crime scene. Firstly, detectives have to try and figure out why and how a crime was committed. They examine a crime scene looking for information or clues such as fingerprints, weapons, and DNA. They investigate the victims’ history to define why someone would want to harm them. After they have formed a hypothesis, they try to find proof that somebody committed a crime so that they can arrest the suspects. They look at both the cause and the actual evidence of the crime and try to see if their hypothesis makes sense. The suspects then enter the criminal justice system where they are tried using the evidence collected at the crime scene.

Forensic investigations require skills of specially trained scientists, police, engineers, doctors and others. “These investigators observe all types of evidence, from weapons to bloodstains and from computers to bugs” (Erzinclioglu 5). The greater the evidence against a person, the greater the chance of conviction.

Homicide detectives usually work in pairs and approach a crime scene with five basic questions: Did the death take place at the crime scene or elsewhere? Was there any attempt to alter the crime scene? Does the scene point to any particular activity such as drug abuse or burglary? Is the cause of death obvious? Are there sufficient clues pointing to how the death occurred?

“Scene processing is the term practical to the series of steps taken to investigate a crime scene. Although the methods an...

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...rams that improve and image by enhancing the contrast, which is the difference in color concentrations. Changing the brightness or dullness of the image. Increasing the resolution and sharpening or de- blurring the image.

Fingerprints are a guaranteed method of identification because each person’s fingertips are unique and fingerprints don’t change throughout a person’s lifetime. Fingerprint ridges appear in three pattern types; loop, whorls, and arches.

The most collective type of fingerprint pattern, loops begin at one side of the fingertip, double back, and exit on the same side. Whorls are the second most common type of fingerprint pattern. They form a circular pattern which sometimes look like a bull’s-eye on a dartboard.

Arches are less common than loops and whorls. They form a wavelike pattern which begins on one side of the fingertip and ends on the other.