Forensic Science

Description

Fingerprints. Blood spatter. DNA analysis. The world of law enforcement is increasingly making use of the techniques and knowledge from the sciences to better understand the crimes that are committed and to catch those individuals responsible for the crimes. Forensic science applies scientific knowledge to the criminal justice system. This course focuses on some of the techniques and practices used by forensic scientists during a crime scene investigation (CSI). Starting with how clues and data are recorded and preserved, students examine some of the basic scientific principles and knowledge that guides forensic laboratory processes, such as those testing DNA, toxicology, and material analysis. Techniques such as microscopy, chromatography, odontology, entomology, mineralogy, and spectroscopy are examined. This course satisfies an elective credit. 

Major Topics and Concepts

Semester 1

Module 1: Introduction to Forensic Science

Learn about forensic science as a field of study.
Discuss the history and development of the field of forensic science.
Examine some of the responsibilities that forensic scientists have in their work.
Investigate the relationship between forensic science and the criminal justice system.
Explore some of the specialty areas within forensic science.

Module 2: The Crime Scene

Discover how a crime scene is secured.
Examine the different ways in which a crime scene is recorded.
Learn how forensic scientists and officers search a crime scene for evidence.
Investigate how evidence is collected and packaged.
Learn why evidence needs to be collected carefully and within legal guideline

Module 3: Physical Evidence

Learn about the different types of evidence.
Examine the difference between individual and class characteristics and what they mean for crime investigations.
Discuss how physical and chemical properties help forensic scientists compare samples.
Investigate glass fragments and soil as physical evidence and what they can tell forensic scientists about a crime.
Discuss how impressions, like footprints and tire tracks, are collected and analyzed.

Module 4: Physical Evidence: Hair, Blood and Fingerprints

Learn about the physical structures of hair, blood, and fingerprints.
Discuss how DNA can be found in hair collected from crime scenes.
Investigate how stains are tested to determine if they are blood and if they are human blood.
Learn about the different types of fingerprints.
Examine how fingerprints are discovered and collected at a crime scene.

Module 5: Firearms and Tool Marks

Discuss how firearm and bullet evidence is collected from a crime scene.
Learn why bullets fired from a gun can contain unique markings and striations.
Examine how investigators can estimate the distance between a gun and a shooting victim.
Investigate what information forensic scientists can learn from tool marks.
Discuss how forensic scientists can recover serial numbers from firearms and vehicles.

Module 6: Human Remains

Investigate some of the ways that can help determine the time of death.
Learn about some different ways that bodies may decompose.
Discuss what forensic scientists can learn from a forensic autopsy.
Examine what information can be gained from skeletal remains.
Learn about ongoing research into decomposition rates.

Module 7: DNA Evidence

Learn about the properties of DNA.
Examine how and why DNA can be used as an individual characteristic in forensic science.
Investigate how biological evidence is best collected and preserved for DNA testing.
Discuss what tests are used on biological evidence to retrieve DNA information.
Examine some of the considerations in using DNA in court trials.

Module 8: Arson and Explosion Evidence

Discuss what challenges arson and explosion crime scenes present in the collection, preservation, and analysis of evidence.
Learn how investigators determine where a fire started and whether accelerants were used.
Examine the different types of explosive materials that may be used in bombs and other explosions.
Investigate how evidence at an arson scene is collected and tested.
Discuss the methods used to test for explosive materials at crime scenes.

Semester 2

Module 9: Drug Evidence

Learn about some of the different types of drugs and their effects.
Examine some of the common ways that samples can be taken from humans to test for drugs.
Consider some of the issues in collecting and preserving drug evidence.
Investigate screening tests and their uses in criminal investigations.
Discuss confirmatory tests and their uses in criminal investigations.

Module 10: Forgeries and Document Examination

Learn about questioned documents and exemplars.
Examine some of the aspects that document examiners use to compare handwriting.
Investigate some of the aspects that document examiners use to compare typescript.
Discuss some of the ways that document alterations can be found.
Learn more about how document examiners find forgeries and counterfeit materials.

Module 11: Forensic Toxicology

Learn what poisonous substances have been used in history.
Understand how poisons are absorbed and transmitted through the body.
Discuss techniques used by forensic scientists to identify poisons and other toxins.
Examine the collection and preservation of blood evidence.
Consider the role of toxicologists in criminal investigations.

Module 12: Paint, Soil and Other Trace Evidence

Learn how protons, neutrons, electrons, and other aspects are used by forensic scientists to study trace evidence.
Learn about the nature of matter and its relationship to elements and compounds.
Consider the usefulness of various forms of trace evidence in investigating crimes.
Learn about different types of microscopes and how they work.
Examine some of the tests used to identify and compare trace evidence.

Module 13: Forensic Entymology

Define forensic entomology and its uses.
Learn about the history of forensic entomology.
Examine what insects and arthropods are common pieces of evidence in criminal investigations.
Investigate some of the tests used in forensic entomology.
Learn about studies into insect activity as they related to forensic science.

Module 14: Forensic Anthropology

Learn about the areas of forensic anthropology and forensic odontology.
Discuss the history of forensic anthropology and odontology.
Consider some of the characteristics of bones and teeth that provide forensic scientists with information about the person.
Examine some of the tests used in the area of forensic anthropology.
Investigate the use of forensic anthropology in the criminal justice system.

Module 15: Digital Evidence

Understand the different parts of computers.
Discuss the areas of a computer where information can be retrieved.
Examine how internet activity can be traced.
Investigate how emails and other aspects can be traced and examined.
Consider how computer evidence can be collected and preserved.

Module 16: The Future of Forensic Science

Consider how computers are being used in forensic science.
Discuss some of the recent advances in forensic techniques and testing.
Learn about how advances in other disciplines impact forensic science.
Examine some of current limitations of forensic science investigations.
Investigate some of the possible future changes in forensic science.