Introduction

Forensic science has become a popular scientific aspect in the recent past both in real life and in the fantasy world. There have been several TV shows and games that have had gripping effects on the people that have interacted with and on account of the fascinating world that forensic science offers, the passion for forensic science has grown. The importance of forensic science cannot be overlooked. The changes that it has brought to criminal investigations are insurmountable and life-changing. Through the precision and technological aptness of forensic science, it is clear to see that the rates at which criminal investigations take place have improved. With forensic science came an age of surety as to the circumstances surrounding the crime.

By definition, forensic science is the application of scientific knowledge and techniques to criminal investigations in which physical evidence like fingerprints and other patterns are used to identify suspects for a particular crime. The name itself is a combination of two words derived from Latin, forensis, and science. The former relates to discussions or examinations carried out in public. It bears a robust judicial connotation considering in the past; the justice system was very public. The word science, on the other hand, is derived from the Greek language meaning knowledge. Taken together, both words mean the use of scientific methods to solve crimes.  Despite the etymology of forensic science, it is not an old concept, in fact,the branches of forensic science form part of nearly every branch of science and many other aspects of modern society.  Principles of chemistry, biology, and physics are incorporated into forensic science to create an accurate interpretation of available evidence and come up with accurate inferences that help the courts to arrive at a precise ruling that ensures unequivocal delivery of justice

History of forensic science

The history of forensic science dates back thousands of years. One of its earlier applications was fingerprinting. The Chinese were the first people to utilize fingerprints in documents. A eugenist named SirFrancisGalton, in 1892, was the first person to develop a system of classifying fingerprints. His method was later expanded in 1896 based on the pattern, direction flow and other characteristics of fingerprints. , and it became the standard system of criminal fingerprinting techniques. Earlier on in 1835, a Scotland Yard’s detective named Henry Goddard was the first person to link a bullet to the murder weapon. Bullet examination, however, became more precise later in the 1920s when another scientist created a comparison microscope to help determine which bulletscame from which casings. Later on in the 1970s, a team of scientists developed a method of gunshot residue using scanning electron microscopes. The 1980s saw the inception of the use of DNA evidence on various levels. Several challenges followed the presentation of DNA evidence in court. DNA evidence and the admissibility of it in court were hugely contested. A string of events culminated from the introduction of DNA evidence which prompted calls for certification, accreditation, and quality assurance for both DNA evidence and the forensic community in general.

Role of forensic science in criminal investigations

Forensic science has become an indispensable part of the criminal investigation system without which the process would be futile and unreliable. Without the application of forensic science, convictions would never be secured against criminals unless there was an eye witness present to give an account. Detectives are involved in the collection of evidence, but it falls upon the forensic scientists to analyze the data and to establish facts admissible in court. Therefore, in a world without forensic scientists, murderers, thieves, rapists, and many other criminals will escape from punishment.

Crime scene investigation takes up the majority of the criminal investigation. Understanding what happened at the crime scene allows the investigating officers to know what type of crime it was, it also helps to identify the criminal. Very often the criminal leaves traces of themselves behind. Crime scene analysis helps to collect such evidence and trace them back to the criminal. It is the job of the detectives to carefully pick out the physical evidence at the crime scene and document it either in pictures or in video recordings. The forensic scientists then come in to analyze and process the data so that it is admissible in court. The hair, blood, fingerprints, patterns and other physical evidence collected from the crime scene is subjected to grueling scrutiny by the scientists at the lab. The work of the crime scene investigator and the forensic scientist are complementary and intervenient in the ascertainment of criminal justice.

Over the years, forensic science has developed to include various scientific and technological advancements that have allowed scientists to carry out investigations more accurately. The improvements in science that have been witnessed by the forensic science fraternity have made it possible for crime analysts to branch out and gain expertise in areas, for example, bloodstain pattern analysis and ballistics. In the incident crime scene, there had been a homicide in which the victim was shot twice in the head and his body abandoned. In the beginning, the investigation seemed to have reached a dead-end, but it was saved by a bloodhound introduced to help track the scents found in the car in the hope that it will lead them to the place where the crime took place. The bloodhound, however, led them on a different trail, and it now came down to the results of the scientists at the forensic lab to determine what had taken place in the car.

Forensic science has many fields that have proved instrumental in finding the truth behind crimes. Forensic pathologists, for instance, are skilled in determining the cause of death by performing an autopsy which helps establish the cause and manner of death through the examination of body tissue and blood. In the incident case, the forensic pathologist examined the victim’s body and determined that manned in which the victim died. The homicide detective had hoped that the autopsy would determine the cause of death of the victim. The autopsy recovered the bullets and other fragments from the bullets used to commit the murder which helped the investigators to recreate the crime scene and determine the distance from which the shots may have been fired and from that, infer the relationship the shooter had with the victim and even the sequence in which the shots were fired.

The forensic scientists also analyzed the car in which the body was dumped and dusted it for fingerprints and blood stains.  The car had been cleaned although technology allowed the scientists to find traces to blood in the car. There is a chemical used by forensic scientist to determine the presence of blood even when it had been diluted upto 10,000 times. The chemical is spread over the crime scene, and if there were blood on the surface, it would show a blue color. In the incident investigation, there were found traces of blood patterns on the steering when of the car and on the hood of it. Fingerprints lifted from the vehicle was analyzed, and it led back to the victim, which made sense considering the car belonged to him.

Evidence from a witness led the police to an apartment where they found red stains all over the apartment which were later identified as blood. The forensics lab managed to link the blood to the victim thus establishing the apartment as the place where the victim was killed. The forensics team moved in to scan the apartment to develop a model of the crime scene as it was when they found it. They argue that once they left, it would be impossible to recreate the crime scene exactly as it was when they found it. The homicide team also looks around the apartment and finds a t-shirt which seems to have burn marks but could not link it to the actual murder. However, they were unable to link the burn with the shots fired. The bullets were linked to one firearm, and so the police concluded that the shooting was carried out by one person.

Initial response.

One of the most essential principles of securing a crime scene is the preservation of the scene with minimal contamination and disturbance to the physical evidence. Therefore, the initial response to the crime scene should be methodical, expeditious and meticulous. Upon arrival at the spot where an accident has occurred, the officers, as a matter of policy, shall assess the scene and treat the incident as a crime scene. After that, they promptly but cautiously enter the crime scene while remaining observant of the people and things in the environment surrounding them.

There is a procedure expected of the initial responding officer which include: noting dispatch information, for example, the time and date when the call was made, the location, and the parties involved. The officers also must be aware of the persons and vehicles departing from the scene and any other persons or vehicles within the vicinity that may be related to that particular crime. It is also required of them to approach the crime scene carefully and scan the entire area thoroughly and note any secondary crime scenes. They should also ensure that the officers are safe before that proceed to assess the crime scene. To avoid jeopardizing their safety, officers are expected to treat the crime scene as active until otherwise proven thus they should consider that the crime is still active until it can be proven otherwise. The officers should also direct additional response units to that area.

Upon arrival at the scene, one must take control of the area by cordoning off the place and keeping all unauthorized personnel from entering. Every detail of the crime scene must be documented. Everything in the crime scene must be noted down. Committing things to memory is ill-advised. Thereafter, you initiate a preliminary survey to plan the entire search. A quick run-through of the whole crime scene follows. Pictures are taken for purposes of record keeping. The extent of the area of the search is demarcated. Transient physical evidence must be identified and protected. The information gathered from the crime scene at this point should inform a general theory of the crime.Based upon the preliminary survey already carried out, the officer determines what evidence is likely to be present while considering whether the evidence has been tampered with. At this point, a general narrative is developed to provide a proposed representation of the scene. At this point, the officer in charge can let the forensic unit come in and take photographs of the scene and prepare a diagrammatic representation of the scene. The physical evidence from the scene is marked and collected.

In the incident crime scene, the lead investigating officer was investigating a homicide for the very first time. However, he carried out his duties meticulously and with the utmost professionalism. All the requirements of an investigating officer were met. The officers were meticulous in the collection of evidence and did not allow for any destruction of evidence. The due process was followed to the latter.

The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution provides that every person has the right not to be forcibly searched. It ensures that if the police have reasonable cause to believe that there has been a crime in the property of a person, they should approach the court and obtain a search warrant to search. Once a search warrant has been acquired, the investigating officer can search within the confines of the permit. The order offers the scope of the search and gives authority to one person to execute the warrant. In the incident case, once the police had received the call from the concerned neighbor, they were able to obtain a search warrant for the apartment and proceeded to carry out the search. There were no fourth amendment issues in this case.

In the above crime scene, the police found plenty of evidence pointing towards the criminal. In the car where the body was found, no evidence was left by the assailant, but in the apartment, there was plenty of evidence.However, the forensic evidence left behind on the corpse was very vital. The two bullets that were used to kill the victim were lodged in the body. Ballistic examination of the bullet determined the type of weapon from which they were shot. The police found blood in the futon in the apartment and on the carpet on the floor. The other important piece of evidence collected from the crime scene was the vehicle belonging to the alleged criminal in which there was a trash bag in which the police hoped to find the victim’s clothes.

Collection of evidence must be carried out delicately. The evidence that is likely to be easily lost is first collected. Most items are received in paper containers like, but liquids must be collected in sealable leak-proof containers. The fundamental principle to consider during collection and storage of evidence id to make sure that the evidence is free from contamination. Additionally, evidence that is moist evidence is collected in plastic containers but can only be kept there for a maximum of 2 hours.

The evidence collected from this crime scene was taken to examiners who were able to link them with the crime. The pathologist determined the gunshots to the head as the cause of death of the victim. The ballistics report also showed that the victim was shot twice from the same weapon which ruled out the possibility of there being a third person in the scene of the crime. An assessment of the suspect’s car and the content therein had no traces of the victim.

The pieces mentioned above of evidence were analyzed by various forensic professionals meticulously to establish connections between the crime and the suspect. The ballistic examiner looked at the nature of the remnants of the bullet and determined that such as the pattern in the bullet could be linked to only specific types of firearms. Every firearm has a specific quality unique to it, and it is this quality that allowed the identification of the weapon. Forensic science has developed from the past to a time when even the slightest of clues could be the link needed to know who committed the crime. As it was in the incident crime, the ballistic report allowed the police to narrow the investigation down to one suspect.

Summary of significant findings

When the police found the abandoned car, they found the body of a male person with two gunshot wounds to the head. From this discovery, the police were only able to establish how the victim might have met his death. This point was a dead-end since no evidence led forward. The case saw the light when a 911 call reported that the crime might have happened at a particular location. At this location, the police found blood stains in the house that matched the victim. They pursued that owner of the apartment who denied the allegations and claimed that the victim had come in with a colleague. This sent the police on a wild goose chase, thinking that there may have been two shooters to explain the two bullet wounds. However, the ballistics report linked both bullets to one firearm. The evidence was overwhelming, and with that, the investigating officer secured a confession from the accused person.

Conclusion.

Forensic science has come a long way and all the while it has developed and made it easier for the police to nail down criminals. Some of the technological advancements that continue to improve the field today were unfathomable of years ago. However, the growth in technology has made it possible for law enforcers to say without a shadow of a doubt that the accused person is responsible for the crimes they are accused of. The surety guaranteed by forensic science gives confidence to the courts to convict on account of the evidence presented in court. This confidence and accuracy of the investigation process have allowed the courts to ensure justice is done to victims of criminal activities.

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