FORENSIC

AWARENESS
 FORENSIC AWARENESS
Delton Gordon MSc., BEng.
Detective Sergeant –TSD FCSI Training Department
Forensic Chemist/Toxicologist
Chemical Engineer
Certified Forensic Crime Scene Trainer
Forensic Crime Scene Investigator (CFCSI)
Lecturer - University of Technology
Faculty of Science and Sport
School of Applied Science
Contact: cell- 808-2827 delton.gordon@jcf.gov.jm
doagordon@gmail.com
Why do we look to Science for
assistance in our Legal System?
• Increasing Crime Rates
• New or Changed Laws
• New Crimes
• New Weapons
• Response to Public Concerns
• Response to Law Enforcement Concerns
 What is Forensic Science?
It is the application of scientific procedures in
conjunction with the law.

Forensic science is the umbrella term for a collection of

scientific procedures.

It is employed when it comes to providing evidence that a

crime has been committed, who committed the crime and
provides means of proving how a crime has been
committed.
criminal or civil court
 Role of the Forensic Scientists
Forensic science utilizes scientific principles
to support or negate theories surrounding
physical evidence found at a crime scene.

As such, forensic scientists analyze evidence

gathered or received from crime scenes and
present their findings based on the results of
their analyses.
 Categories of Forensic Science
 Forensic Chemistry
 Forensic Entomology
 Forensic Toxicology
 Forensic Pathology
 Forensic Psychology
 Forensic Anthropology
 Forensic Graphology
 Ballistics
 Computer Forensics
 Forensic Odontology
 Edmond Locard
(1877-1966)
• “Father of the Crime Lab”
• In 1910, he started the First Crime Lab in an
attic of a police station.
• 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”

 Locard’s Exchange Principle
“Every Contact Leaves a Trace.”

• He believed that every criminal can be

connected to a crime by particles carried
from the crime scene.

• When a criminal comes in contact with an

object or person, a cross-transfer of
evidence occurs.
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
Criminalistics
This subdivision focuses its effort to answer questions
relating to evidence gathered and received from a
crime scene. This would include:
• Biological evidence (DNA),
• Trace evidence (fingerprints),
• Impression evidence (footwear/tire tracks),
• Ballistics (firearms),
• Controlled or regulated substances (legal/illegal
drugs), or any other evidences connected to crime
scene investigation.
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
Digital Forensics
Similar to computational forensics, digital
forensics provides the legal system with a
way to recover data from electronic or
digital devices.
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology offers credit to the legal
system through identification of human
skeletal remains when discovered.
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
DNA Analysis
DNA forensics is a branch of forensic science
that focuses on the use of genetic material in
criminal investigation.
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
DNA Analysis
The legal system’s ability to collect DNA has
been crucial in identifying father and mother
via paternal/maternal testing. Forensic DNA
analysis has been crucial in providing
supporting evidence when law enforcement
seeks to discover the criminals of rape
victims.
 What is Forensic Entomology?

• The study of life cycles of insects that feed on 
the flesh of the dead, to establish time of
death and occasionally identify chemicals
present in a person’s body at the time of death
(Segen's Medical Dictionary)
 Forensic Entomology
• The main job duty of forensic entomologists is
to find the post-mortem interval (PMI), which
is the minimum amount of time for which
someone could have been dead.
• To do this, they examine the species, ages and
colony composition of the insects and
arthropods found on the body.
 
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychology is specialist attempt to
understand the cognitive, emotional, and
physical behaviors of suspects and
criminals.

It also helps to determine whether or not a

person is competent enough to represent
himself/herself in court.
 Subdivisions of Forensic Science
Toxicology
This focuses on drugs and poisons, and how they
affect the human body.
Toxicokinetic
Toxicodynamic
Pharmacokinetic
Pharmacodynmaic
 Forensic Odontology
This is the proper handling, examination and
evaluation of dental evidence, which will be
then presented in the interest of justice.
Blood Spatter Pattern Analysis
 Forensic Pathology
This is pathology that focuses on determining
the cause of death by examining a corpse,
during a criminal investigation. Cause,
Manner and Mechanism of death
Shoe Print Impression Analysis
Tyre Track Impression Analysis
Questioned Document Analysis
What Crime Scene Investigators do
Crime Scene Processing Protocol
• Interview
• Examine
• Photograph
• Sketch
• Process
Finger Print Recovery
Fingerprint Recovery
DNA Evidence Recovery
Crime Scene Photography
Crime Scene Sketch
Processing of Footwear Impression
Processing of Tyre Track Impression
Crime Scene Search
Excavation of Human Remains
Visit Post Mortem Examinations
Writing Crime Scene Reports
Giving Testimony in Court
Crime Scene Tools, Technologies, and
Methods used in the JCF
Cordon Tape
Laser Distance Measuring Device
Digital Camera
Copy Station
Superglue Fuming Chamber
Drying Cabinet
Metal Detector
Trajectory Kit
Electrostatic Dust Print Lifter
Fingerprint Recovery Kit
THE END