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Chemistry, Microscopy And Toxicology

Forensics is defined as the aplication of science to interpret clues for crime investigation. The earliest forensic scientists were physicianswho were called upon to give an opinion as to the cause of death in individuals. Now most of the forensic scientists are investigators that pick up clues at the crim scene. Because criminals often are not the brightest people on the planet they often do not plan out a burglary or theft and carelessly leave behind distict clues that allow an invetigator to track them relatively easily. There are many areas of forensics which include: general crime scene Ú investigation, forensic chemestry, forencic toxicology,forensic pathology, genetic figerprinting, fingerprinting and chromotography. The purpose of crime scene investigation is to help establish what happened (crime scene reconstruction) and to identify the responsible person. This is done by carefully documenting the conditions at a crime scene and recognizing all relevant physical evidence. The ability to recognize and collect the evidence is important in solving and prosecuting violent cases. In majority of the cases, The law enforcement officer who protects and searches the crime scene plays major part in determining whether the physi

cal evidence will be used in solving or prosecuting the violent crime. Crime scene investigation is not what we think it is, unlike the movies, is actually a difficult and time consuming job. There is no substitute for a careful and thoughtful approach. One should not leap into conclusions as to what happened based on what little informa ætion he has with him or her, but generate several theories of the crime, keeping the ones that have not been crossed out by incoming information at the scene. Reasonable inferences about what happened are produced from the scene and appearance and information from witnesses. These theories will help guide the investigator to document specific conditions and recognize valuable evidence. Documenting crime scene conditions can include immediately recording transient detail such as lighting (on/off), drapes (open/closed), weather, or furniture moved by medical teams. Certain evidences such as shoe prints or gunshot residue is fragile and if not collected immediately can be destroyed or lost. The scope of the investigation also extends to considerations of arguments which might be generated in this case (self defense / suicide) and documenting conditions which would support or refute these arguments. In addition, it is important to be able to recognize what should be present at a scene an ïd what should not (victim's vehicle/wallet) such as objects which appear out of place (ski mask) which might have been left by the assailant. It is also important to determine the full extent of a crime scene. A crime scene is not merely the immediate area where the body is located or where an assailant concentrated his activities but can also encompass a vehicle and access/escape routes. Although there are common items which are frequently collected as (evidence fingerprints, shoe prints or bloodstains ), literally any object can be used as physical evidence. Anything which can be used to connect the victim to a suspect or a suspect to a victim or crime scene is relevant physical evidence. Using the "shopping list" approach (collecting all blood stains, hairs, or shoe prints in recognizing the best evidence. For example, collecting bloodstains under the victim's body can be excellent physical since it can be directly tied to a matchbook found in a suspect's pocket. Since a weapon or burglar õtool is easily recognized as significant physical, it is frequently destroyed by the perpetrator. Sometimes the only remaining evidence is microscopic evidence consisting of hair fibers, or other small traces the assailant unknowingly leaves behind or takes with him. Although this evidence is effectively collected when the clothing of the suspect or victim is taken, protocols (involving tape lifts ) should be in place to process nude bodies so as to not lose this fragile evidence. Forensic chemistry is the application of chemistry to the investigation of a crime. The investigation of the crime is , however, is not limited to crime against individuals such as home suicidal, theft, fraud and arson. Forensic chemists also involved in the investigations of crime against society such as food adulteration, environmental pollution, use and pollution of unsafe chemicals and dangerous working conditions. The application of chemistry to the study of physical or theoretical problems, the results of which may øbe entered into court as technical evidence. Boundaries are not sharply defined for forensic chemistry, and it includes topics that are not entirely chemical by nature. Some of the items most often encountered in crime laboratories, and the information sought in regard of them , are: (1) Body fluids and viscera to be analysed for poisons, drugs or alcohol, quantitation of which may assist in determining the dosage taken or the person's behavior prior to death; (2) Licit and licit pills, vegetable matter, and pipe residues for the presence of controlled substances; (3) Blood, saliva, and seminal stains, usually in dr