Summary
The relatively new field of criminology and criminal science has been a boon to law enforcement agencies worldwide. In the past, police often relied on eyewitness testimony to identify criminals and solve crimes, and criminals who fled to other regions could readily avoid arrest. Today, modern forensic techniques give police a wide range of tools with which to identify criminals and prove guilt. But successfully investigating a crime scene requires expertise and attention to detail. Using landmark cases to illustrate forensics in action, Crime Scene Investigation details the emergence of modern crime-fighting techniques from the mid-1800s to the present, focusing on how crime scenes are treated, how evidence is processed, and how evidence is used in court to build a case for conviction.
Chapters include:
- Fingerprinting
- Identification of Remains
- Offender Profiling
- Questioned Documents
- Ballistics
- Blood Spatter Analysis
- DNA
- Explosives
- Time of Death.
Cases covered include:
- Colin Pitchfork, serial killer
- George Metesky, mad bomber
- Steve Benson, lethal electronics whiz
- John Branion, deadly doctor
- Angelo John LaMarca, killer kidnapper.
Specifications
Full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Sidebars. Chronology. Bibliography. Endnotes. Further resources. Index.
About the Author(s)
Colin Evans is a writer specializing in criminal investigations and forensics. He has written numerous books, including Blood on the Table: The Greatest Cases of New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Killer Doctors, The Casebook of Forensic Detection, The Father of Forensics: The Groundbreaking Cases of Sir Bernard Spilsbury and the Beginnings of Modern CSI, Murder Two: The Second Casebook of Forensic Detection, and A Question of Evidence. He has also been a major contributor to Courtroom Drama, Great World Trials, Sex, Sin & Mayhem, and Great American Trials. Evans lives in the United Kingdom.