Today, there is more interest in forensic science than ever before. Crime and Circumstance weaves an intriguing tale of how an obscure corner of medicine dating back to ancient times matured into modern forensic science. The author explores the scientific and social threads that created forensic science and continue to drive its evolution. The result is an entertaining narrative that introduces intriguing cases and personalities across history, nations, and cultures and helps readers translate what they encounter in popular media into the reality of forensic science and laboratory investigation. Through historical and contemporary examples, Bell illustrates how cutting-edge research migrates to forensic laboratories, a transfer that is more indirect than people might expect. Although science and the judicial system both pursue truth, the interface between them is anything but seamless. This unique historical approach focuses on personalities from scientific law enforcement and emphasizes the myriad discoveries made over the years. Through these stories, the reader is introduced to the underlying science in an interesting, lively, and accessible way.

Forensic Chemistry, Third Edition, the new edition of this ground-breaking book, continues to serve as the leading forensic chemistry text on the market. Fully updated, this edition describes the latest advances in current forensic chemistry analysis and practice. New and expanded coverage includes rapid advances in forensic mass spectrometry, NMR, and novel psychoactive substances (NPSs). Topics related to seized drug analysis, toxicology, combustion and fire investigation, explosives, and firearms discharge residue are described and illustrated with case studies. The role of statistics, quality assurance/quality control, uncertainty, and metrology are integrated into all topics. More pharmacological and toxicokinetic calculations are presented and discussed. Hundreds of color figures, along with graphs, illustrations, worked example problems, and case descriptions are used to show how analytical chemistry is applied to forensic practice. Topics covered offer students insight into the legal context in which forensic chemistry is conducted and introduces them to the sample types and sample matrices encountered in forensic laboratories.

In the courtroom, critical and life-changing decisions are made based on quantitative forensic science data. There is often a range in which a measured value is expected to fall and, in this, an inherent uncertainty associated with such measurement. Uncertainty in this context is not error. In fact, estimations of uncertainty can add to the utility and reliability of quantitative results, be it the length of a firearm barrel, the weight of a drug sample, or the concentration of ethanol in blood. Measurement Uncertainty in Forensic Science: A Practical Guide describes and defines the concepts related to such uncertainty in the forensic context. The book provides the necessary conceptual background and framework a baseline for developing and deploying reasonable and defensible uncertainty estimations across forensic disciplines. Information is presented conceptually, using easily understood examples, to provide a readable, handy reference for scientists in the laboratory, as well as investigators and legal professionals who require a basic understanding of the science underpinning measurement results.

Forensic DNA analysis plays a central role in the judicial system. A DNA sample can change the course of an investigation with immense consequences. Because DNA typing is recognized as the epitome of forensic science, increasing public awareness in this area is vital. Through several cases, examples and illustrations, this book explains the basic principles of forensic DNA typing, and how it integrates with law enforcement investigations and legal decisions. Written for a general readership, Understanding Forensic DNA explains both the power and the limitations of DNA analysis. This book dispels common misunderstandings regarding DNA analysis and shows how astounding match probabilities such as one-in-a-trillion are calculated, what they really mean, and why DNA alone never solves a case.

Forensic DNA analysis plays a central role in the judicial system. A DNA sample can change the course of an investigation with immense consequences. Because DNA typing is recognized as the epitome of forensic science, increasing public awareness in this area is vital. Through several cases, examples and illustrations, this book explains the basic principles of forensic DNA typing, and how it integrates with law enforcement investigations and legal decisions. Written for a general readership, Understanding Forensic DNA explains both the power and the limitations of DNA analysis. This book dispels common misunderstandings regarding DNA analysis and shows how astounding match probabilities such as one-in-a-trillion are calculated, what they really mean, and why DNA alone never solves a case.

In the courtroom, critical and life-changing decisions are made based on quantitative forensic science data. There is often a range in which a measured value is expected to fall and, in this, an inherent uncertainty associated with such measurement. Uncertainty in this context is not error. In fact, estimations of uncertainty can add to the utility and reliability of quantitative results, be it the length of a firearm barrel, the weight of a drug sample, or the concentration of ethanol in blood. Measurement Uncertainty in Forensic Science: A Practical Guide describes and defines the concepts related to such uncertainty in the forensic context. The book provides the necessary conceptual background and framework-a baseline-for developing and deploying reasonable and defensible uncertainty estimations across forensic disciplines. Information is presented conceptually, using easily understood examples, to provide a readable, handy reference for scientists in the laboratory, as well as investigators and legal professionals who require a basic understanding of the science underpinning measurement results.

Covering a range of fundamental topics essential to modern forensic investigation, the fifth edition of the landmark text Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques presents contributions and case studies from the personal files of experts in the field. In the fully updated 5th edition, Bell combines these testimonies into an accurate and engrossing account of cutting edge of forensic science across many different areas. Designed for a single-term course at the undergraduate level, the book begins by discussing the intersection of law and forensic science, how things become evidence, and how courts decide if an item or testimony is admissible. The text invites students to follow evidence all the way from the crime scene into laboratory analysis and even onto the autopsy table. Forensic Science offers the fullest breadth of subject matter of any forensic text available, including forensic anthropology, death investigation (including entomology), bloodstain pattern analysis, firearms, tool marks, and forensic analysis of questioned documents. Going beyond theory to application, this text incorporates the wisdom of forensic practitioners who discuss the real cases they have investigated. Textboxes in each chapter provide case studies, current events, and advice for career advancement. A brand-new feature, Myths in Forensic Science, highlights the differences between true forensics and popular media fictions. Each chapter begins with an overview and ends with a summary, and key terms, review questions, and up-to-date references. Appropriate for any sensibility, more than 350 full-color photos from real cases give students a true-to-life learning experience. *Access to identical eBook version included Features Showcases contributions from high-profile experts in the field Highlights real-life case studies from experts' personal files, along with stunning full-color photographs Organizes chapters into topics most popular for coursework Covers of all forms of evidence, from bloodstain patterns to questioned documents Includes textboxes with historical notes, myths in forensic science, and advice for career advancement Provides chapter summaries, key terms, review questions, and further reading Includes access to an identical eBook version Ancillaries for Instructors: PowerPoint (R) lecture slides for every chapter A full Instructor's Manual with hundreds of questions and answers-including multiple choice Additional chapters from previous editions Two extra in-depth case studies on firearms and arson (photos included) Further readings on entomological evidence and animal scavenging (photos included)

Microscopy, which has served as a fundamental scientific technique for centuries, remains an invaluable tool in chemistry, biology, healthcare, and forensics. Increasingly, it is being integrated into modern chemical instrumentation and is of value as a powerful analytical tool across many scientific disciplines.

Designed to serve as a primary resource for undergraduate or graduate students, An Introduction to Microscopy helps students master the foundational principles of microscopy. Intentionally concise, this text does not attempt to cover all aspects of all types of microscopy such as polarizing light and fluorescence. Instead, the authors' intent is to provide students with the basic knowledge necessary to explore and understand these more advanced techniques. The authors draw from their own extensive backgrounds in forensic identification to explain the methods and ways in which microscopy shapes every investigation.

All nine chapters include questions and most include simple exercises related to the material covered. Numerous figures and photographs supplement the text and explain the procedures and principles introduced. A glossary is included as well as a convenient list of abbreviations, and references to more in-depth readings.

Offers a Fundamental Approach for Students in all Fields

The material assumes basic mathematics skill through algebra and a basic knowledge of fundamental chemistry and physics (essential for understanding optics). Although the authors used the high-quality microscopes found in their laboratories to produce the images found in the book, the information and methods can be applied to any type of microscope to which students have access.

Understanding the fundamentals of microscopy provides students with a relevant and marketable skill that can be readily applied in many fields, even if the students have not had significant academic training in the subject. Furthermore, by understanding various aspects of microscopy, students will begin to understand the science behind other related areas, such as spectroscopy, optics, and any number of applications involving analytical instrumentation.

Forensic scientists apply scientific analysis in a legal context and play a vital role in solving crimes. Sometimes the collection of forensic evidence is the only way to establish or exclude an association between suspect and victim or crime scene, or to establish a likely order of events. Profiting from recent scientific developments and the advancement of technological equipment, forensic science is a rapidly evolving discipline that encompasses many sciences and the law. This dictionary covers in over 1300 entries the key concepts within forensic science, including a wide array of relevant specialist terms from areas such as chemistry, biology, anthropology, art, engineering, firearms, toolmarks, trace evidence, crime scene investigation, case history, biographies of investigators and criminals, as well as forensic computing. Ranging from crime scene to fibers and fluorescence to RAM, this new dictionary is the most up-to-date of its kind and is international in scope. Entry-level web links to online resources are listed and regularly updated on a companion website, expanding the scope of the dictionary and pointing to more in-depth supplementary material. Many entries are complemented by case examples (Dr Crippen, Mary Ann Cotton, etc.), figures, and photographs, which makes this A to Z an ideal reference for students of forensic science, as well as professionals and those with an interest in forensics.