Forensic Science ISearch Pape Essay Research Paper

Forensic Science I-Search Pape Essay, Research Paper

What I Wanted to Learn

What I would like to learn about forensic science is how it began, and who influenced it. Also I like to know what the other types of forensic sciences there are and, better understand what forensic geology, entomology, ballistics and fingerprinting are.

What I Already Knew

Before beginning this search there are some things I already knew. I think that majoring in forensic science is going to require a lot of physical and biological science. There are also several different types of forensic sciences such as, Entomology-, which is the study of insects and their relation to the decomposition of a corpse, and ballistics-, which is the study of the type of weapon used. Also if I change my major to forensic science it would require me moving to another college, like University of Central Oklahoma.

What I Learned

As we all very well know science is growing at a very rapid rate, so is forensic science, which is what I m thinking of changing my major to. Through my research for this paper I have learned many things, from what the different types of forensic sciences are, and what they do, to where and how forensic science started. First I m going to define forensic science, which is the application of scientific techniques to provide objective, circumstantial evidence (Walls, Preface V). As forensic science is practiced today through forensic medicine from police work, the policeman could learn, and the doctor was assumed to know enough science to apply his technique to the problems encountered as they arose. Most Forensic professors agree that forensic science began with the writings of Sherlock Holmes in 1887 by Conan Doyle, which helped, publicize the idea that science could be applied to the everyday life of police work (Murray 3).

In 1893 another author, criminal investigator and professor of criminology published a book outlining the ideas of scientific geology investigation of a crime. Hans Gross, one of the forbearers of forensic geology who believed that it is most interesting that the impetus came from the ideas in men s minds, not accidentally from actual cases (Murray 6). He was born in 1847-1915 in Austria. Endowed with a keen interest in science, he grouped together the current methods of geological science investigation. With a high sense of imagination and foresight (Murray 5) , Gross suggested many links of science to criminal investigation in his classic book Handbuch fur Untersuchungrichter (Handbook for Examining Magistrates). Gross developed the ideas of that time in the sciences of medicine, serology, toxicology and ballistics. Also having heavily implemented the use of forensic geology in hiring mineralogists and micoscopist to study dust, dirt on shoes and spots on clothes (Murray 4). This book, originally compiled in German, was later translated into English under the title Criminal Investigation. It was reprinted several times and has impacted the use of science in criminal investigation. According to Gross, Dirt on shoes can often tell us more about where the wearer of those shoes had last been than toilsome inquires (Murray 5).

Another forbearer of the forensic geology world, Dr. Georg Popp, was trained as a chemist. Popp maintained a chemical and microscopic service in Frankfurt, Germany. Like many of the other consulting labs of Frankfurt his lab offered services in examining the areas of food, mineral water analyses, bacteriology and many other related fields. Foremost of Popp, he had the imagination and foresight to seek out new ways of using his science that was rapidly expanding (Murray 5). His interest in forensics began when an investigator, who had read Gross s book, asked Popp to examine some spots on a suspect s trousers to identify whether the spots of mud were from the scene of a crime. From this induction he devoted himself to finding new ways of using chemical and microscopic techniques. Popp was again asked to examine the evidence of a murder case in October of 1904 where a seamstress had been strangled with her own scarf in a bean field. All that was left at the scene of the crime was a dirty handkerchief containing nasal mucus. The nasal mucus contained bits of coal, particles of snuff and grains of minerals, particularly the mineral hornblende. This evidence led them to a man who had been known to work in a coal-burning gas works, dip snuff, and most interestingly worked part-time in a gravel pit that contained the mineral Hornblende. The suspect was then brought in for questioning and was found to have the mineral hornblende under his fingernails. Upon later investigation a soil sample from the suspects trousers was found to contain minerals that matched that of a soil sample from the crime scene where the body had been found. When confronted with the evidence the suspect immediately turned himself in. The Frankfurt news headlines contained the heading The Microscope as Detective (Murray 7).

A Question I have is what is forensic Hypnosis. I have been able to find only one resource for hypnosis. Forensic hypnosis is the management, application, and combination of the art of hypnosis and forensic science in criminal and civil investigations. The primary objective of forensic hypnosis is to enhance the recall of volunteer victims and witnesses to crimes and investigations. A hypno-investigator