FORENSIC INVESTIGATION
TECHNIQUES
Manzoor Hussain
Senior Research officer / Incharge
Forensic DNA Laboratory, CAMB
University of the Punjab, Lahore
Forensic?
• “Forensic” comes from the Latin word “forum”
meaning ‘a market place’.
• During the time of the Romans, a criminal charge
meant presenting the case before the public.
• Both the person accused of the crime & the accuser
would give speeches based on their side of the story.
• The individual with the best argumentation would
determine the outcome of the case.
Forensic Science?
• The study/application of all the physical and
applied sciences for the purpose of justice.
• Forensic science is the study and application of
science to matters of law.
• The application of the tools of science, as well as
specific scientific facts, to help solve legal
problems
• Application of scientific knowledge to aid in the
administration of justice
• Study and application of scientific examination and
evaluation of evidence for legal purpose
• Science in the service of the law
• The application of science and technology to those
criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police
agencies in a criminal justice system.
Forensic Science
“Every contact leaves it’s trace”
Edmond Locard (1877-
1966)
When a criminal comes in contact with an object or
person, a cross-transfer of evidence occurs.
“Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he
leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as silent witness
against him.
Not only his fingerprint, or his foot prints, but his hair, the
fibers from his clothes, the glass he breaks, the tool mark
he leaves, the paint he scratches, the blood or semen he
deposits or collects ….. All of these and more bear mute
History & Development of
Forensic Science
Mathieu Orfila
(1787-1853)
• “Father of Toxicology”
• Spanish native; taught medicine in France
• Wrote about the detection of poisons & their
effects on animals (1814).
• James Marsh, a Scottish chemist, was the
first to use toxicology (arson detection) in a
jury trial in 1836.
Francis Galton
(1822-1911)
• “Father of Fingerprinting”
• Developed fingerprinting as a way to uniquely
identify individuals.
In 1880, First recorded use of fingerprints
to solve a crime in Tokyo
In 1977, Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (AFIS) introduced
by FBI.
In 1996, FBI introduced computerized
searches of the AFIS fingerprint database.
Alphonse Bertillon
(1853-1914)
• “Man of Anthropometry”
• Developed a system to distinguish one individual person
from another based on certain body measurements (1879).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Mystery author in late 1800’s
• Popularized scientific crime-
detection methods in 1887 through
his fictional character ‘Sherlock
Holmes’.
Leone Lattes
(1887-1954)
• “Bloodstain Identification”
• He developed a procedure for determining the blood type
(A, B, AB, or O) of a dried blood stain.
Calvin Goddard
(1891-1955)
• “Man of Ballistics”
• Developed the technique to examine bullets, using a
comparison microscope, to determine whether or not a
particular gun fired the bullets.
In 1991, Integrated Ballistics
Identification System (IBIS)
launched for comparison of bullets,
cartridge cases, and shell casings.
Albert Osborn
(1858-1946)
• Document Examination”
• His work led to the acceptance of documents as scientific
evidence by the courts.
Edmond Locard
(1877-1966)
• “Father of the Crime Lab”
• In 1910, he started the 1st crime lab.
• With few tools, he quickly became known world-
wide to forensic scientists & criminal
investigators & eventually founded the
Institute of Criminalistics in France.
• His most important contribution was the
“Locard’s Exchange Principle”
J. Edgar Hoover
“Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation
during the 1930’s
• Hoover's leadership spanned 48 years.
• He organized a national laboratory to offer
forensic services to all law enforcement
agencies in the U.S.
Sir Alec Jeffreys
The Organization of a
Forensic / Crime Laboratory
Crime Labs
• Can be under the direction of …
– The Police Department
– The Prosecutors or District Attorney’s Office
– The Coroner or Medical Examiner’s Office
– Universities as independent testing facilities
• Range in size and in the number of staff members
• Can be classified under several jurisdictions
– Federal
– State
– County
– Municipal
• There are approximately 320 public crime labs
operating in various jurisdictions in USA and
more than 40 labs in India.
• These crime labs range being able to perform a
diversity of tasks to very specialized scientific
testing
Forensic Investigations
Forensic Science
Forensic Investigations
CSI – Crime Scene Investigation Unit – handles on site
examination for evidence.
Biology Unit – DNA, body fluids analysis, hair & fibers,
botanical
Fingerprint Unit – latent fingerprints
Toxicology Unit – Determines the presence or absence of
drugs or poisons
Documents Unit – handwriting, printed
Photography Unit – digital imaging documentation
Firearms Unit – guns, bullets, gunpowder
Forensic pathology unit. -- What injuries are present?
When did the injuries occur? Why and how were the injuries
produced?
Trace evidence unit.
Forensic Chemistry unit.
Polygraph unit: Administers lie detector tests to suspects
Voiceprint / sound Unit – Analyzes tape-recorded messages or
telephoned threats
Forensic Psychiatry Unit – mental evaluation / monitoring--
relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings
are examined
Forensic Odontology - dental ID-- Provide information about
the identification of victims when the body is left in an
unrecognizable state
Forensic Engineering – Concerned with failure analysis,
accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires or
explosions
Forensic Computer Unit- digital analysis
Forensic Anthropology:
– Identification and examination of skeletal remains
– May reveal personal attributes such as origin, sex, age,
race, and/or injury
– Facial reconstruction
Forensic Entomology:
– The study of insects and their relation to a criminal
investigation
– As decomposition occurs, insects arrive on the body
remains in a regular time interval
– May help determine time of death
Full Services Crime Lab?
Full-Service Crime Lab:
1. Physical Science Unit:
– Applies the principles and techniques of
chemistry, physics, and geology to
identification and comparison of crime-scene
evidence
– Examples:
• Drug Chemistry Identification
• Soil/Mineral Analysis
• Physical Properties of Trace Evidence
2. Biology Unit:
– Staffed with biologists and biochemists that
apply their knowledge to the identification of
biological aspects of a crime scene
– Examples:
• Identification and DNA profiling of dried blood
stains and other bodily fluids
• Hair and fiber comparison
• Identification of plant material
3. Firearms Unit:
– Responsible for the examination of firearms,
discharged bullets, cartridge cases, shotgun
shells, and ammunition of all types
– Examples:
• Examination of ammunition casings
• Firearm or gunpowder residue
• Target length
• Tool marks
4. Document Examination Unit:
– Studies the typewriting and handwriting on
questioned documents to determine authenticity
and/or source
– Examples:
• Handwriting identification
• Analysis of ink or paper
• Erasure marks
5. Photography Unit:
– Used to examine and record physical evidence
– Examples:
• Digital imaging
• Infrared imaging
• Ultraviolet imaging
• X-ray photography
Application of Forensic Science
• Identification of Criminals or Victims
• Solving Mysteries
– Past crimes (unsolved or wrongfully convicted)
– Cause, Location, Time of Death
– Paternity cases
• Cyber crimes
• Corporate Crimes
• Disasters & Wars
• ID remains of victims (either civilian or soldiers)
• Terrorism
How does a crime is Solved?
There are 3 ways to solve crimes:
– Confessions – Fess up… you did it.
– Eye Witness accounts- Everyone saw you do it. Often
this can be flawed. Depends upon the observational
skills of the individual.
– Analysis of Physical Evidence- DNA, fingerprints, all
the other lab results.
Examples of Physical Evidence
• Body/corpse
Imprints
• Broken glass
Toolmarks/firearms
• Hairs
Bullets/casings
• Fibers
DNA
• Paint chips
Blood
• Documents
Semen
• Fingerprints
Drugs, chemicals
• Other prints (shoe, tire, etc.)
Soil
Questions
?
Forensic DNA
Deoxyribonucleic
Acid
Forensic DNA Typing
• Human identification remained always a challenge for law
enforcement agencies. However, the advent of modern DNA
technology has increased the ability to perform human identity
testing.
• Individual identification is desirable in number of situations
including
- Determination of perpetrators of violent crime such as
murder and rape
- Resolving un-established paternity and
- Identifying remains of missing persons or victims of mass
disasters etc.
Forensic DNA Typing
The incorporation of DNA into criminal investigation and
paternity testing has proved to be of tremendous
importance in forensics.
Analysis of human DNA has shown that every individual
has unique DNA except identical twins. Obviously,
therefore, the DNA profile provides an excellent mean to
identify a criminal from the group of suspects in crime
investigation.
Forensic DNA Analysis
“DNA testing is to Justice what the telescope is for the
stars; not a lesson in biochemistry, not a display of
wonders of magnifying glass, but a way to see things as
they really are.”
The application of DNA technology in criminal
investigations has grown rapidly in the past 20 years. DNA
analysis has proven an extremely powerful weapon for
both prosecution and defense. Through-out the world,
DNA evidence has provided the critical linkages leading to
numerous convictions. DNA’s power as an exclusionary
tool is equally noteworthy.
DNA
Deoxyribo Nucleic
Acid
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic
Acid Double Helix
Areas of DNA
1. Common
2. Different
3. Very different
DNA Profile
FIRST DNA CASE
• Two young girls were raped and murdered
in England
• 5,000 local men were asked to provide
blood/saliva samples
• DNA profile of Colin Pitchfork, a local
baker, was matched with the semen from
both murders. In 1988, he was sentenced to
life for both murders.
TYPES OF CASES
• Paternity
• Rape
• Sodomy
• Murder
• Dead body identification/Mass disaster
• Robbery
