This book explores the interaction between science and society and the development of forensic science as well as the historical roots of crime detection in colonial India. Covering a period from the mid-19th to mid-20th century, the author examines how British colonial rulers changed the perception of crime which prevailed in the colonial states and introduced forensic science as a measure of criminal identification in the Indian subcontinent. The book traces the historical background of the development and use of forensic science in civil and criminal investigation during the colonial period, and explores the extent to which forensic science has proven useful in investigation and trials. Connecting the historical beginning of forensic science with its socio historical context and diversity of scientific application for crime detection, this book sheds new light on the history of forensic science in colonial India. Using an interdisciplinary approach incorporating science and technology studies and history of crime detection, the book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of forensic science, criminology, science and technology studies, law, South Asian history and colonial history.
The book "Technology in Forensic Science" provides an integrated approach by reviewing the usage of modern forensic tools as well as the methods for interpretation of the results. Starting with best practices on sample taking, the book then reviews analytical methods such as high-resolution microscopy and chromatography, biometric approaches, and advanced sensor technology as well as emerging technologies such as nanotechnology and taggant technology. It concludes with an outlook to emerging methods such as AI-based approaches to forensic investigations.
Essays explore forensic science in global and historical context, opening a critical window onto contemporary debates about the universal validity of present-day genomic forensic practices. Contemporary forensic science has achieved unprecedented visibility as a compelling example of applied expertise. But the common public view—that we are living in an era of forensic deliverance, one exemplified by DNA typing—has masked the reality: that forensic science has always been unique, problematic, and contested. Global Forensic Cultures aims to rectify this problem by recognizing the universality of forensic questions and the variety of practices and institutions constructed to answer them. Groundbreaking essays written by leaders in the field address the complex and contentious histories of forensic techniques. Contributors also examine the co-evolution of these techniques with the professions creating and using them, with the systems of governance and jurisprudence in which they are used, and with the socioeconomic, political, racial, and gendered settings of that use. Exploring the profound effect of "location" (temporal and spatial) on the production and enactment of forms of forensic knowledge during the century before CSI became a household acronym, the book explores numerous related topics, including the notion of burden of proof, changing roles of experts and witnesses, the development and dissemination of forensic techniques and skills, the financial and practical constraints facing investigators, and cultures of forensics and of criminality within and against which forensic practitioners operate. Covering sites of modern and historic forensic innovation in the United States, Europe, and farther-flung imperial and global settings, these essays tell stories of blood, poison, corpses; tracking persons and attesting documents; truth-making, egregious racism, and sinister surveillance. Each chapter is a finely grained case study. Collectively, Global Forensic Cultures supplies a historical foundation for the critical appraisal of contemporary forensic institutions which has begun in the wake of DNA-based exonerations. Contributors: Bruno Bertherat, José Ramón Bertomeu Sánchez, Binyamin Blum, Ian Burney, Marcus B. Carrier, Simon A. Cole, Christopher Hamlin, Jeffrey Jentzen, Projit Bihari Mukharji, Quentin (Trais) Pearson, Mitra Sharafi, Gagan Preet Singh, Heather Wolffram
This book explores the rise of modern DNA typing techniques, which have proven the innocence of many persons convicted of major crimes and resulted in the exoneration of more than two hundred on death row.
The Global Practice of Forensic Science presents histories, issues, patterns, and diversity in the applications of international forensic science. Written by 64 experienced and internationally recognized forensic scientists, the volume documents the practice of forensic science in 28 countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. Each country’s chapter explores factors of political history, academic linkages, the influence of individual cases, facility development, types of cases examined, integration within forensic science, recruitment, training, funding, certification, accreditation, quality control, technology, disaster preparedness, legal issues, research and future directions. Aimed at all scholars interested in international forensic science, the volume provides detail on the diverse fields within forensic science and their applications around the world.
How and when did forensic science originate in the UK? This question demands our attention because our understanding of present-day forensic science is vastly enriched through gaining an appreciation of what went before. A History of Forensic Science is the first book to consider the wide spectrum of influences which went into creating the discipline in Britain in the first part of the twentieth century. This book offers a history of the development of forensic sciences, centred on the UK, but with consideration of continental and colonial influences, from around 1880 to approximately 1940. This period was central to the formation of a separate discipline of forensic science with a distinct professional identity and this book charts the strategies of the new forensic scientists to gain an authoritative voice in the courtroom and to forge a professional identity in the space between forensic medicine, scientific policing, and independent expert witnessing. In so doing, it improves our understanding of how forensic science developed as it did. This book is essential reading for academics and students engaged in the study of criminology, the history of forensic science, science and technology studies and the history of policing.
Jim Fraser explains the forensic techniques used in the investigation of crime, such as DNA profiling, toxicology, trace evidence, digital forensics, fingerprints, and crime scene management, and how forensic scientists work alongside criminal investigators and lawyers.
Covering a range of fundamental topics essential to modern forensic investigation, the fourth edition of the landmark text Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques presents contributions from experts in the field who discuss case studies from their own personal files. This edition has been thoroughly updated to r
"Forensic Science is an interdisciplinary subject that uses principles and methodologies of various subjects including chemistry, biology, physics, geology, psychology, social science and engineering to help law enforcement agencies to enforce criminal laws and regulations to resolve civil and criminal cases. Body fluids, fingerprints, footprints, illicit drugs, explosives etc. are the evidences that can be found at the scene of crime in trace amount. These evidences are first analysed through screening and then confirmatory methods. During this process, the probability of sample loss is very high, especially when a sample amount is inadequate and therefore does not meet minimum requirement to analyse it. Generally, scientists discuss new-fangled nanotechnology research and its conversation turns to the commercial aspects or potential issues around health, safety, and the environment. In recent years, some of them have shown their interest to integrate nanotechnology with basic sciences and applied for forensic purposes, which are shifting the paradigm of forensic investigation process. Introduction of Forensic Nanotechnology as Future Armour is the first comprehensive book to consider both fundamental and applied aspects of forensic nanotechnology. This emerging field of forensic science investigates real-time crime scenes and terrorist activities, inquiries, detects the presence of explosive materials, biological indicators, document preservation, fingerprint enhancement and food adulteration using nanomaterial. Scientists and researchers are working on nanotechnology applications that may steer the power of forensic investigation, but the challenges to bring them from lab to the courtroom remain persistent. Moreover, some crucial concerns in forensic science such as analysis cost and time, methods' effectiveness and wide availability and results' accuracy and reliability are creating obstacles in forensic investigation and security. In this book we requested to enrich the scientific content as state-of-the-art in terms of application of nanotechnology in forensic science. In this way, all chapters will emphasise the emerging field of research to solve crime with the help of nanotechnology in various fields of forensic science like detecting explosives, biological indicators, document preservation, latent fingerprint and food adulteration. The integration of laboratory processes onto a nano platform is conceivably the most interesting advancement of nanotechnology highlighted in this book and some more issues like recent research developments, challenges and future opportunities are also addressed in this book. The book is written for a wide readership including researchers, undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds such as chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology engineering, physics, life sciences, forensic science, and biomedical engineering. It can be used not only as a textbook but also as a review and reference book. However, because many other nano technological applications for forensic analysis are yet to be studied, this book can be helpful to explore new opportunities. We hope that the chapters of this book will provide the reader with valuable insight as a revolutionary, protective tool in the fields of virtopsy, crime scene investigation, identification, forensic biology and toxicology. We also hope that after reading this book, researchers around the world will be motivated to enter into the field of forensic nanotechnology"--
This Book intends to assist with exploring the scientific advancement in the field of a forensic criminal investigation. This Guide will help us to understand what Forensic Science is, its scope, history, various divisions, a new revelation in the fields of forensics, and its concerned institution. It also makes us familiarize ourselves with various laws in the field of forensic science and different sections, acts, and punishments related to a crime and also helps in understanding how a scene of the crime is protected and processed along with various steps for crime scene management. This book familiarises us with the duties and importance of police in the criminal justice system and judiciary. This guide discusses the various types of injuries inflicted on the victim along with the different changes seen after the death of the victim and how it has been proven to be an important aspect in crime scene investigation and crime scene reconstruction. This guide also discusses the various challenges faced during the crime scene investigation and in the field of Forensic Science.
