Welcome
to Forensic Profiles! The word forensic comes from the Latin word "foren"
or to debate. Generally, when a science is brought into the courtroom, it becomes
a "forensic science." Or, a science that is being used to determine the outcome
of an issue in court.
Barry A. J. Fisher is the
Crime Laboratory Director for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, a position he has held since 1987. He began his
career in criminalistics with the Sheriff’s crime lab in 1969. His current interests concern the interrelationship between
forensic science and the law along with public policy issues concerning the timely delivery of quality forensic support services
to the criminal justice system. To that end, he served as a member of the American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section’s
Ad Hoc Committee to Ensure the Integrity of the Criminal Process and is currently a member of the American Judicature Society’s
Commission of Forensic Science and Public Policy. He represents the American Academy of Forensic Sciences on the Consortium
of Forensic Science Organizations, which represents six national forensic science professional organizations and works to
influence public policy in forensic science at the national level.
Fisher is a Distinguished
Fellow and past-president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences; past-president of the International Association of
Forensic Sciences, past-president of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors and a past-chairman of the American
Society of Crime Laboratory Directors – Laboratory Accreditation Board. He is a member of the Law Enforcement and Corrections
Technology Advisor Council.
His textbook,
Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, in its 7th edition.
Returning to the Scene
of the Crime
It’s a
given that criminals often return to the scene of the crime, such as an arsonist or serial murderer returning to the scene
as a means to relive the crime. It’s not only criminals that do so – detectives, prosecutors and juries also need
to revisit the crime scene. For the detective, it may be to re-examine the evidence; the prosecutor for case preparation;
and for a jury to assist members in making a decision.
Typically, investigators
rely on photographic evidence and two-dimensional (2D) drawings as a means to re-evaluate crime scenes. The problem is we
live in a three-dimensional (3D) world and it can be difficult to visualize the positional relationships of evidence with
2D tools.
What if agents
could measure with extreme accuracy thousands of data points per second in a crime scene? What if an agent could capture that
information, recall it and create his or her own virtual representation for use during a trial?
Through a combination of
laser and computer technology, HDS creates a virtual crime scene that gives investigators the ability to manipulate every
piece of evidence in that crime scene.
Click here to read on......
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All About Forensic Science
This brand new website was
launched on the 10th January 2007 and is designed to help anybody looking for informed and detailed information on this fascinating
topic. Definitions, history, topic areas, theory and practice, careers, debates, CSI, degree and study options will all be
covered in detail here.
FOR MOST PEOPLE, "forensic science" means cops and fingerprints and DNA analysis. All of that
is still true, but these days forensic science encompasses much more. Some "whodunits" are more complicated and can involve
an international cast of characters. Forensic science now also is used to verify and monitor compliance with such international
agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention, and to learn whether a country is
developing a clandestine nuclear weapons program.  The Laboratory's Forensic Science Center was established in 1991, and in its short life has become a leader in law enforcement,
national security, defense, and intelligence applications. Using sophisticated analytical equipment, experts in organic, inorganic,
and biological chemistry can determine the composition and often the source of the most minute samples of material. Lasers
are also being used to "interrogate," or examine, a variety of materials. The March 1994 issue of Energy & Technology Review described in detail the workings of the Forensic Science Center. It
reported on the Center's excellent performance in a "round-robin" series of exercises with analytical chemistry facilities
from around the world. The Center has done so well in these exercises over the years that it is no longer just a participant.
Its staff also prepares samples for other laboratories to analyze. Following is an update on activities at the Forensic Science
Center since early 1994.
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