LIVE BY CHOICE NOT BY CHANCE!!!!

[ !!!!!  CRIME NEVER DIES – PART -1  !!!!!!!!  ]

 

 

 

Crime in some form or the other has existed since the beginning of human race. With the advancement in science and technology the concept of crime as well as the methods adopted by criminals in its commission have undergone a phenomenal change. On one hand the intelligent criminal has been quick to exploit science for his criminal acts , on the other hand the investigator is no longer able to rely on age old art of interrogation and methods to detect crime.

In this context FORENSIC SCIENCE has found its existence.

 

The word forensic comes from the Latin word forensic (meaning “public discussion or debate” ) . So When one combine forensics and science, you get the practical application of science to matters of debate, which in modern times translates to the law.

Forensic science is science used in public, in a court or in the justice system; so any science, used for the purposes of the law, is a forensic science.so one can define it as application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system.

                                                  Forensic science can be used to:

1.Prove elements of a crime
2.Verify or discredit victim or suspect statements
3.Identify decedents or suspects
4.Establish a connection to a crime or crime scene

                                            early history of forensic science

The Eureka legend of Archimedes (287 to 212 B.C.E.) can be considered an early account of the use of forensic science. By examining the principles of water displacement, Archimedes was able to prove that a crown was not made of gold (as it had been claimed) by its density and buoyancy.After Archimedes we come to know of another early forensic science application by Soleiman, an Arabic merchant of the 7th century. He used fingerprints as a proof of validity between debtors and lenders.

The use of fingerprints as a means to establish identity occurred during the seventh century. The use of medical evidence to determine the mode of death began as early as the 11th century in China and flourished in 16th-century Europe. The combination of a medical and legal approach to dealing with crimes used in the United States today had its origin in England in the 12th century, when King Richard I established the Office of the Coroner. The American colonists instituted the coroner system, which still exists today. There is no federal law requiring a coroner to be a licensed physician.

In the 700s, the Chinese also used the fingerprint concept. In the 1000s, Quintilian, a prosecutor in the Roman courts, used a similar method to solve murders. The first document that mentions the use of Forensics in legal matters is the book Xi Yuan Ji Lu (translated as “Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified”) written in 1248 by Chinese author Song Ci.

Forensic science became quite widespread in 16th century Europe. Medics began to use their knowledge to investigate the cause of death. Ambrose Paré, a French army surgeon, two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia were some of the pioneers in this field.

Then we have a series of written record like “A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health” by the French physician Fodéré and “The Complete System of Police Medicine” by the German medic Johann Peter Franck and the first dissertation on systematic document examination published by François Demelle of France. In 1686, Marcello Malpighi, a professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna, identified the fingerprint method.

In the 18th century, many scholars did some groundbreaking work in Forensics. Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and German chemist Valentin Ross led the way. England also solved a number of murder cases using forensic science. For instance, in the year 1784 in Lancaster, John Toms was convicted of murder, when a torn bit of a newspaper in a gun was found matching a leftover paper in his pocket.

In the 19th century, scholars like Thomas Bewick, an English naturalist, Spanish professor of medicinal/forensic chemistry Mathiew Orfila, John Evangelist Purkinji, professor of anatomy at the University of Breslau, to name a few, made history in forensic science.

Eugène François Vidocq is another name in record since he established the first detective force, the Sûreté of Paris. Then can we forget Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote the first Sherlock Holmes case in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of London?.

also Medical exams to determine cause of death have been used for centuries, but the use of science to investigate crimes and identify criminals began in the mid to late 1800s. The first attempt to document the identity of offenders was called anthropometry, which consisted of measuring and documenting the offender’s body. By keeping these records, repeat offenders could be identified, even if they gave a false name.

It was soon discovered that due to similar characteristics and measurement errors, this method was not as reliable as was hoped. This method was replaced by dactylography, or the use of fingerprints for identification. Because everyone has different fingerprints, this method has been extremely successful and is still in use today.

The next major advancement in forensic science did not occur until the 1980s when scientists were able to decode human deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This allowed for the identification of a suspect through hair, skin cells, saliva, blood, and semen. DNA has become a reliable way to connect a suspect with a crime scene and to identify human remains. As this science progresses, new collection and testing methods have allowed investigators to get useful DNA samples from very small or degraded specimens.

LATE HISTORY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

In the 20th century, there was no stopping the forensic timeline. It was the time when we got the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI launched its Automated Fingerprint Identification System ( AFIS ) with the first computerized scans. With the arrival of the computer, there was no looking back. Today there is no crime solving without forensic science. The History of Forensic Science is there to prove its worth.

Modern forensic science has a broad range of applications. It is used in civil cases such as forgeries, fraud or negligence. It can help law enforcement officials determine whether any laws or regulations have been violated in the marketing of foods and drinks, the manufacture of medicines or the use of pesticides on crops.

It also can determine whether automobile emissions are within a permissible level and whether drinking water meets legal purity requirements. Forensic science is used in monitoring the compliance of various countries with such international agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention and to learn whether countries are developing secret nuclear weapons programs. However, forensic science most commonly is used to investigate criminal cases involving a victim, such as assault, robbery, kidnapping, rape or murder.

 

THUS IT CAN BE SAID ………………………….

Forensic science can prove the guilt or innocence of a defendant in criminal law, and it can help resolve a broad spectrum of legal issues in civil actions through the identification, analysis, and evaluation of physical and other evidence.
But an accurate forensic science definition extends beyond the traditional concept of science. It can include the areas of accounting, psychological testing, and interpretation of data and other evidence too.

……………………………..TO BE CONTINUED

 

@manishanandan