Forensic science
In 1248, Song Ci wrote a book titled Washing Away of Wrongs that described how to solve crimes using medicine and entomology. This text from the Song dynasty in China introduced regulations for autopsy reports and explained why forensic workers must remain impartial. One famous case involved a murder committed with a sickle. An investigator asked every suspect to bring their sickle to one location. Flies gathered on a single blade because it still smelled of blood. The owner of that sickle confessed immediately after this observation.
Song Ci also devised methods to distinguish between suicide and faked suicide by examining wounds or dead bodies. He used sunlight and vinegar under a red-oil umbrella to promote the reappearance of hidden injuries. In ancient India, suspects filled their mouths with dried rice to determine guilt based on saliva production. Those accused in ancient Middle Eastern cultures licked hot metal rods briefly. A guilty person would produce less saliva and suffer burns due to lack of shielding.
Hans Gross published Handbook for Coroners in 1893, which is generally acknowledged as the birth of criminalistics. This work combined fields like psychology and physical science into one system usable against crime. Gross adapted fields such as crime scene photography to meet the needs of investigation. He later founded the Institute of Criminalistics in 1912 at the University of Graz Law School.
Edmond Locard formulated the basic principle that every contact leaves a trace. He called this Locard's exchange principle. In 1910, he founded what may have been the first criminal laboratory in the world. Persuading the Police Department of Lyon to give him two attic rooms and two assistants, he began his work there. Archibald Reiss founded the Institut de police scientifique at the University of Lausanne in 1909, creating the first school of forensic science globally.
Alphonse Bertillon created an identification system based on anthropometry around 1879. He measured twenty parts of the body to identify criminals and citizens. By 1884, over 240 repeat offenders were caught using the Bertillon system. However, fingerprinting eventually superseded these measurements. Sir William Herschel began using thumbprints on documents in India in 1858 to prevent signature repudiation.
In 1880, Henry Faulds published a paper in Nature discussing the usefulness of fingerprints for identification. Juan Vucetich set up the world's first fingerprint bureau in 1892 after studying Galton's pattern types. That same year, Inspector Alvarez found a bloody thumb mark on a door at Francisca Rojas' house. The print matched her right thumb exactly, leading to her confession. In 1901, the United Kingdom Fingerprint Bureau opened at Scotland Yard following the Henry Classification System developed by Azizul Haque and Hem Chandra Bose.
Forensic toxicology focuses on detecting drugs, poisons, and other toxic substances in biological samples. Carl Wilhelm Scheele devised a method for detecting arsenious oxide in corpses in 1773. James Marsh applied this science to forensics in 1832 during a murder trial involving John Bodle. He developed the Marsh test which could detect as little as one-fiftieth of a milligram of arsenic.
Ballistics examines patterns left on bullets and cartridge casings after being ejected from a weapon. Henry Goddard pioneered bullet comparison at Scotland Yard in 1835. He noticed a flaw in a bullet that killed a victim and traced it back to the manufacturing mold. Digital forensics applies scientific methods to recover data from electronic media. Forensic anthropology uses physical anthropology to identify skeletonized human remains. Forensic entomology examines insects in or around human remains to determine time or location of death.
The FBI used comparative bullet-lead analysis for over four decades starting with the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963. Internal studies found the technique unreliable due to improper interpretation, leading the agency to abandon the test in 2005. In at least three cases, bite-mark evidence convicted people who were later freed by DNA evidence. A 1999 study found a 63 percent rate of false identifications in forensic dentistry.
An audit of the Houston Police Department in 2002 revealed fabricated evidence that led to George Rodriguez's conviction for raping a fourteen-year-old girl. The former director estimated that 5,000 to 10,000 cases could have been contaminated by improper work. The Innocence Project database shows forensic science contributed to about 39 percent to 46 percent of wrongful convictions. Many traditional forensic sciences lack empirical validation and are subject to confirmation biases.
The International Committee of the Red Cross uses forensic science to clarify the fate of missing persons after armed conflict or disasters. This service helps families proceed with grieving processes by knowing what happened to their relatives. The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team worked to clarify the fate of people who disappeared during the military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. The International Commission on Missing Persons used forensic science to find individuals after conflicts in the Balkans.
A group of experts devised a UN Manual on Extra-Legal Executions known as the Minnesota Protocol in the late-1980s. This document was revised and re-published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2016. These efforts fulfill state responsibilities to investigate human rights violations while providing closure to affected communities.
Common questions
What book did Song Ci write in 1248 to describe solving crimes using medicine and entomology?
Song Ci wrote a book titled Washing Away of Wrongs in 1248 that described how to solve crimes using medicine and entomology. This text from the Song dynasty in China introduced regulations for autopsy reports and explained why forensic workers must remain impartial.
When was the first criminal laboratory founded by Edmond Locard established in Lyon?
Edmond Locard founded what may have been the first criminal laboratory in the world in 1910 at the Police Department of Lyon. He persuaded the department to give him two attic rooms and two assistants to begin his work there.
Who created an identification system based on anthropometry around 1879 before fingerprinting superseded it?
Alphonse Bertillon created an identification system based on anthropometry around 1879 to identify criminals and citizens. By 1884, over 240 repeat offenders were caught using the Bertillon system before fingerprinting eventually superseded these measurements.
Which scientist developed the Marsh test to detect arsenic during a murder trial involving John Bodle in 1832?
James Marsh applied forensic science to forensics in 1832 during a murder trial involving John Bodle. He developed the Marsh test which could detect as little as one-fiftieth of a milligram of arsenic.
What year did the United Kingdom Fingerprint Bureau open at Scotland Yard following the Henry Classification System?
The United Kingdom Fingerprint Bureau opened at Scotland Yard in 1901 following the Henry Classification System developed by Azizul Haque and Hem Chandra Bose. This bureau followed Juan Vucetich setting up the world's first fingerprint bureau in 1892 after studying Galton's pattern types.