SCIENTIFIC FORENSICS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH


Book Description

It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. -- Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia”, 1891 Forensic science prevents the enemies of progress and human rights who seek to exploit the openness and opportunities of globalization for their unethical progress. It bells the cats at the gateway for justice delivery with scathing attacks on criminality by scientific experimentation so that criminals and perpetrators cannot escape liability on blatant excuse. With the advancement of science and technology the criminals have adopted new methods and techniques for committing offences, but science has also helped the investigating agencies in their efforts to nab the criminals or real culprits.




Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice


Book Description

Uniting forensics, law, and social science in meaningful and relevant ways, Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice, by Kevin J. Strom and Matthew J. Hickman, is structured around current research on how forensic evidence is being used and how it is impacting the justice system. This unique book—written by nationally known scholars in the field—includes five sections that explore the demand for forensic services, the quality of forensic services, the utility of forensic services, post-conviction forensic issues, and the future role of forensic science in the administration of justice. The authors offer policy-relevant directions for both the criminal justice and forensic fields and demonstrate how the role of the crime laboratory in the American justice system is evolving in concert with technological advances as well as changing demands and competing pressures for laboratory resources.




The Expert Witness, Forensic Science, and the Criminal Justice Systems of the UK


Book Description

The global nature of crime often requires expert witnesses to work and present their conclusions in courts outside their home jurisdiction with the corresponding need for them to have an understanding of the different structures and systems operating in other jurisdictions. This book will be a resource for UK professionals, as well as those from overseas testifying internationally, as to the workings of all UK jurisdictions. It also will help researchers and students to better understand the UK legal system.




Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States


Book Description

Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.







Introduction to Forensic Psychology


Book Description

"Suitable for course adoption in a variety of undergraduate and graduate curricula, instructors will find this book most useful as primary source reading in classes exploring psychology and the legal system, criminal behavior, psychology, public policy, and the law: the criminal offender, topics in criminal justice and psychology, and introduction to forensic psychology. Complete in its coverage and concise in its analysis, this book is a must read for anyone wishing to learn about the fascinating and complex world of law, psychology, and crime."--BOOK JACKET.




Crime Scene to Court


Book Description

The captivating field of modern forensic science can be challenging to understand. Written for those with little or no scientific knowledge, this book covers the three main areas of an investigation where forensic science is practised: at the scene of the crime, in the forensic laboratory, and in court. The fifth edition of this popular book has been fully updated including new chapters and authors. With practitioners once again providing these chapters, readers are able to gain information on the forefront of current practices across the forensic science disciplines. Ideal for anyone studying forensic science or law, this book details how crime scene and forensic examinations are conducted in the UK, courtroom procedures, and the role of the expert witness. It is an excellent source of information for anyone with a role in an investigation, including the police and crime scene investigators. Review of the 4th Edition: "This is an excellent book which I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone with an interest in forensic science, from the experienced practitioner to the curious layman." Dr Alan Greenwood, Coventry University, UK




Critical Forensic Studies


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging interdisciplinary field of critical forensic studies. It reviews existing research and scholarship on forensic science from a critical social science perspective, while forging a blueprint for further work in this area. Forensic science has long captured the public imagination, as evidenced by the popularity of many novels, television programmes, and true-crime podcasts. At the same time, its role in the criminal justice system has been the subject of critique from scholars and practitioners in diverse fields. In response, the international forensic science community has become more involved in the scrutiny of its own knowledge and practices in relation to criminal justice objectives. Moving beyond a discussion of forensic science as a suite of specialised scientific disciplines that aim to provide evidence to the courts, Critical Forensic Studies offers critical insights relevant to a wide range of social actors in the criminal justice system. Core content includes: • the history and public understandings of forensic science • the professionalisation of forensic science • forensic science as a social process • crime scene examination and forensic intelligence • experts and evidence in court • technological advances and human rights • interdisciplinary knowledge, practice and research This book is essential reading for forensic and criminal justice practitioners and students across criminology, sociology, forensic science, law, and psychology.




Forensic Criminology


Book Description

This text provides an examination of the aetiological development of forensic criminology in the UK. It links the subjects of scientific criminology, criminal investigations, crime scene investigation, forensic science and the legal system and it provides an introduction to the important processes that take place between the crime scene and the courtroom. These processes help identify, define and label the ‘criminal’ and are crucial for understanding any form of crime within society. The book includes sections on: • the epistemological and ontological philosophies of the natural sciences; • the birth of scientific criminology and its search for the criminal ‘body’; • the development of early forms of forensic science and crime scene investigation; • investigating crime; • information, material and evidence; • crime analysis and crime mapping; • scientific support and crime scene examination; and • forensic science and detection methods and forensics in the courtroom. The text combines coverage of historical research and contemporary criminal justice processes and provides an introduction to the most common forensic practices, procedures and uses that enable the identification and successful prosecution of criminals. Forensic Criminology is essential for students of criminology, criminal justice, criminal investigations and crime science. It is also useful to those criminal justice practitioners wishing to gain a more in-depth understanding of the links between criminology, criminal investigations and forensics techniques.




Forensic Nursing Science


Book Description

Written and edited by the most respected authorities in forensic nursing and forensic sciences, this new edition provides the tools and concepts you need to collect evidence that is admissible in court, determine the significance of that evidence, and provide accurate, reliable testimony while administering high-quality patient care. Now in full color throughout, it remains the most comprehensive, highly illustrated text of its kind. - Provides a comprehensive, updated guide to forensic nursing science, paying special attention to the International Association of Forensic Nurses's (IAFN) goals for forensic nursing. - Retains a focus on assessment skills and the collection and preservation of evidence, following the established guidelines of the forensic sciences. Prepares you to provide testimony as a fact witness or a forensic nursing expert. Includes an illustrated case study in almost every chapter, helping you relate the information to clinical practice. - Highlights important recommendations for interventions in Best Practice boxes, including the evidence base for each. - Summarizes important points in Key Point boxes, so you can quickly review the most important concepts in each chapter. - Explores the evolving role of forensic nurses in today's health care facilities and the community. - Edited by Virginia Lynch, founding member and first President of the International Association of Forensic Nurses and Janet Barber Duval, both well-respected pioneers and educators in the field. - Contains 300 full-color illustrations integrated throughout the text, so you can view evidence quickly and easily, as it is likely to appear in practice. - Presents information on courtroom testimony and depositions in one reorganized, streamlined chapter, giving you a full, organized treatment of this extremely important topic. - Includes twelve new chapters: Digital Evidence, Medical Evidence Recovery at the Death Scene, Asphyxia, Electrical and Thermal Injury, Intrafamilial Homicide and Unexplained Childhood Death, Human Trafficking, Credential Development for Forensic Nurses, Gangs and Hate Crimes, Ethics Issues in Forensic Nursing, Forensic Physics and Fracture Analysis, Sexual Deviant Behaviors and Crime and Forensic Epidemiology. - Contains heavily revised information on Prehospital Evidence, Forensic Investigation in the Hospital, and Human Abuse and Deaths in Custody. - Features critical thinking questions with every case study, so you can thoroughly consider the implications of each clinical scenario.