Physical Evidence: Fourth Edition

Forensic Science
From the Crime Scene to the Crime Lab

Fourth Edition
Chapter 5
Physical
Evidence
Copyright © 2019, 2016, 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Physical Evidence (1 of 4)
• Physical evidence encompasses any and all objects that
can establish that a crime has or has not been committed
or can provide a link between a crime and its victim or a
crime and its perpetrator.
• If the investigator cannot recognize physical evidence or
cannot properly preserve it for laboratory examination, no
amount of sophisticated laboratory instrumentation or
technical expertise can salvage the situation.
• It would be impossible to list all the objects that could
conceivably be of importance to a crime.
• Almost anything can be physical evidence.
• Although you cannot rely on a list of categories, it is useful
to discuss some of the most common types of physical
evidence.
• The purpose of recognizing physical evidence is so that it
can be collected and analyzed.
• It is difficult to ascertain the weight a given piece of
evidence will have in a case, as ultimately the weight will
be decided by a jury.
Types of Physical Evidence (1 of 2)
• Blood, semen, and saliva
• Documents
• Drugs
• Explosives
• Fibers
• Fingerprints
• Firearms and ammunition
• Glass
Types of Physical Evidence (2 of 2)
• Hair
• Impressions
• Organs and physiological fluids
• Paint
• Petroleum products
• Plastic bags
• Plastic, rubber, and other polymers
Purpose of Examining Physical Evidence (1 of 2)
• The examination of physical evidence by a forensic
scientist is usually undertaken for identification or
comparison purposes.
• Identification has as its purpose the determination of the
physical or chemical identity of a substance with as near
absolute certainty as existing analytical techniques will
permit.
Purpose of Examining Physical Evidence (2 of 2)
• A comparison analysis subjects a suspect specimen and
a standard/reference specimen to the same tests and
examinations for the ultimate purpose of determining
whether or not they have a common origin.
Identification (1 of 3)
• The object of an identification is to determine the physical
or chemical identity with as near absolute certainty as
existing analytical techniques will permit.
 The process of identification first requires the adoption of
testing procedures that give characteristic results for
specific standard materials.
 Once these test results have been established, they may
be permanently recorded and used repeatedly to prove
the identity of suspect materials.
 Second, identification requires that the number and type
of tests needed to identify a substance be sufficient to
exclude all other substances.
Common Types of Identification (1 of 2)
• The crime laboratory is frequently requested to identify the
chemical composition of an illicit drug.
• It may be asked to identify gasoline in residues recovered
from the debris of a fire, or it may have to identify the
nature of explosive residues—for example, dynamite or
TNT.
Common Types of Identification (2 of 2)
• The identification of blood, semen, hair, or wood are also
very common and as a matter of routine, include a
determination for species origin.
Comparison (1 of 2)
• A comparative analysis has the important role of
determining whether or not a suspect specimen and a
standard/reference specimen have a common origin.
• Both the standard/reference and the suspect specimen are
subject to the same tests.
Comparison (2 of 2)
• The forensic comparison is actually a two-step procedure.
 First, combinations of select properties are chosen from
the suspect and the standard/reference specimen for
comparison.
 Second, once the examination has been completed, the
forensic scientist must be prepared to render a
conclusion with respect to the origins.
Role of Probability (1 of 2)
• To comprehend the evidential value of a comparison, one
must appreciate the role that probability has in
ascertaining the origins of two or more specimens.
• Simply defined, probability is the frequency of occurrence
of an event.
Role of Probability (2 of 2)
• In flipping a coin, probability is easy to establish.
• With many analytical processes exact probability is
impossible to define.
Classifying Characteristics
• Individual Characteristics
 Evidence that can be associated to a common source
with an extremely high degree of probability is said to
possess individual characteristics.
Individual Characteristics (1 of 3)
• In all cases, it is not possible to state with mathematical
exactness the probability that the specimens are of
common origin.
• It can only be concluded that this probability is so high as
to defy mathematical calculations or human
comprehension.
• Examples
 The matching ridge characteristics of two fingerprints
 The comparison of random striation markings on bullets
or tool marks
 The comparison of irregular and random wear patterns
in tire or footwear impressions
• Examples
 The comparison of handwriting characteristics
 The fitting together of the irregular edges of broken
objects in the manner of a jigsaw puzzle
 Matching sequentially made plastic bags by striation
marks running across the bags
Class Characteristics
• Evidence associated only with a group is said to have
class characteristics.
• The high DIVERSITY of class evidence in our environment
makes their comparison very significant in the context of a
criminal investigation.
Class Evidence (1 of 6)
• One of the current weaknesses of forensic science is the
inability of the examiner to assign exact or even
approximate probability values to the comparison of most
class physical evidence.
• For example, what is the probability that a nylon fiber
originated from a particular sweater, or that a paint chip
came from a suspect car in a hit and run?
• There are very few statistical data available from which to
derive this information, and in a mass-produced world,
gathering this kind of data is increasingly elusive.
• One of the primary endeavors of forensic scientists must
be to create and update statistical databases for
evaluating the significance of class physical evidence.
• Most items of physical evidence retrieved at crime scenes
cannot be linked definitively to a single person or object.
• The value of class physical evidence lies in its ability to
provide corroboration of events with data that are, as
nearly as possible, free of human error and bias.
• The chances are low of encountering two indistinguishable
items of physical evidence at a crime scene that actually
originated from different sources.
• When one is dealing with more than one type of class
evidence, their collective presence may lead to an
extremely high certainty that they originated from the same
source.
Quick Review
• Two methods used by forensic scientists

when examining physical evidence are
identification and comparison.
• Identification is the process of determining
a substance’s chemical or physical identity
to the exclusion of all other substances
(e.g., drugs, explosives, petroleum
products, blood, semen, and hair species).
Quick Review
• A comparison analysis determines whether

a suspect specimen and a
standard/reference specimen have a
common origin.
• Evidence that can be linked to a common
source with an extremely high degree of
probability is said to possess individual
characteristics.
Quick Review
• Evidence that is associated with an entire

group is said to have class characteristics.
• The overall frequency of occurrence of an
event, such as a match between two
substances, can be determined by
multiplying together the frequencies of all
independently occurring instances related
to that event.
• This is known as the product rule.
Using Physical Evidence (1 of 2)
• As the number of different objects linking an individual to a
crime scene increases, so does the likelihood of that
individual's involvement with the crime.
Using Physical Evidence (2 of 2)
• Just as important, a person may be exonerated or
excluded from suspicion if physical evidence collected at a
crime scene is found to be different from
standard/reference samples collected from that subject.
Crossing Over (1 of 3)
• Crossing over the line from class to individual does not
end the discussions.
• How many striations are necessary to individualize a mark
to a single tool and no other?
 How many color layers individualize a paint chip to a
single car?
 How many ridge characteristics individualize a
fingerprint?
 How many handwriting characteristics tie a person to a
signature?
• These are all questions that defy simple answers and are
the basis of arguments.
Natural vs. Evidential Limits (1 of 3)
• There are practical limits to the properties and
characteristics the forensic scientist can select for
comparison.
 Modern analytical techniques have become so
sophisticated and sensitive that natural variations in
objects become almost infinite.
comparison.
 Carrying natural variations to the extreme, no two things
in this world are alike in every detail.
 Evidential variations are not the same as natural
variations.
comparison.
 Distinguishing variations of evidential use from natural
variations is not always an easy task.
Quick Review
• The value of class physical evidence lies in
its ability to corroborate events with data in
a manner that is, as nearly as possible,
free of human error and bias.
• As the number of objects linking an
individual to a crime scene increases, so
does the likelihood of that individual’s
involvement with the crime.
Quick Review
• A person may be exonerated or excluded
from suspicion if physical evidence
collected at a crime scene is found to be
different from standard/reference samples
collected from that subject.
Forensic Databases (1 of 7)
• Next Generation Identification (NGI) System
 Replaces previous database system
 Includes IAFIS as well as several other informational and
biometric databases
• The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification
System (IAFIS), a national fingerprint and criminal history
system maintained by the FBI.
• The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) enables
federal, state, and local crime laboratories to electronically
exchange and compare DNA profiles.
• The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
(NamUs) was created in 2007 as a national centralized
repository and resource center for missing persons and
unidentified decedent records.
• NamUs is a free online system that can be searched by
medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement officials,
and the general public from all over the country in hopes of
resolving these cases.
• NamUs is comprised of three databases, all of which are
open to the general public.
• The National Integrated Ballistics Information Network
(NIBIN) allows firearm analysts to acquire, digitize, and
compare markings made by a firearm on bullets and
cartridge casings.
• The International Forensic Automotive Paint Data Query
(PDQ) database contains chemical and color information
pertaining to original automotive paints.
• SICAR (shoeprint image capture and retrieval) is a
shoeprint database.
 This product has a comprehensive shoe sole database
(SoleMate®).
• A second database, TreadMate®, also has been created to
house tire tread patterns.
Forensic Palynology (1 of 2)
• Forensic palynology involves the collection and
examination of pollen and spores connected with crime
scenes, illegal activities or terrorism.
• The microscope is the principal tool used in the field of
forensic palynology.
Forensic Palynology (2 of 2)
• The information gained from the analysis of pollen and
spore evidence has many possible uses.
 Link a suspect or object to the crime scene or the victim
 Prove or disprove a suspect's alibi
 Include or exclude suspects
• The information gained from the analysis of pollen and
spore evidence has many possible uses.
 Track the previous whereabouts of some item or suspect
 Indicate the geographical origin of some item
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Forensic Science

From the Crime Scene to the Crime Lab

• Two methods used by forensic scientists

• A comparison analysis determines whether

• Evidence that is associated with an entire

This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is

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