Crime was, at creation, is, and will still be part and parcel of human existence- it is part of a complete society. It is this postulation that probably led to such sayings as ‘human is to err’ and ‘to err is human’. However, this does not mean that the said human should retreat the fight against crime and just sit back, relax and watch crime prevail. There are various types of crimes, basically any act that violates the stipulated laws in a particular region, or any act universally considered to be of great wickedness or sin. Among the several types of crimes common to among human beings today include crime against persons, crimes against property, crimes against morality and white-collar crimes. Other minor types include organized crimes among others. Specifically, one can identify a crime by simply thinking of any act that is outlawed in their geographical area. By geographical area, it means that what is considered a criminal act in one place may be a heroic act in another location, hence the ‘place’ inclusion in the definition of crime. Moreover, laws of land differ from one place to another.
The human being, being the only creation blessed with the ability to think rationally and act, would not let crime prevail under his watch. In a bid to restore order in a society that would otherwise be riddled with crime and unimaginable bloodbath, there was the need to find ways to minimize, if not completely mitigate outlawed acts. As such, the law was born to limit human action and guide their steps. Furthermore, other supportive practices like forensic science also came into being in order to support the law by ensuring that those responsible are brought to book even after the criminal act had long been carried out. The ensuing discussion seeks to outline a brief history of forensic science with respect to a homicide scene.
Introduction: History Of Forensic Science
For quite some time now, the term ‘forensic’ has seen a myriad of controversy with respect to its definition. However, in general, the term can be seen as a solid and evidence-backed discussion used for legal proceedings in a court of law. In this regard, forensic science refers a debate involving scientific postulations in a judicial setting (Baden, 2010). Up until now, it is not quite certain the origins of forensic science but a great number of historians concur that it is China around the 6th-century. This is attributed to the first known hint of the concept which was found in a Chinese book ‘Ming Yuen Shih Lu’. From its supposed origin, the concept was picked up leading to an establishment of the use of fingerprints as a mode of identification during the 7th-century. This was made possible by, according to historical records, a proof of a street merchant who successfully verified the identity of his client who owed him money by capturing his fingerprints on a bill (Kind, 2012). Apparently, a court judge agreed to use the fingerprint as evidence providing a ground for more investigations into forensic science. Apart from such earlier examples of forensic science in practice, the 1659 Merriam-Webster Dictionary also had the word ‘Forensic’ in it.
Besides, several events contributed to the development of forensic science to its current complicated and sophisticated state. Prior to the 19th-century for example, robbery motivated various crimes from the major ones including the poisoning of 60 people by Helene Jegado, the stabbing of 6 women by Eusebius Pieydagnelle and murder of 6 girls by Martin Dumollard, to numerous other minor crimes. Around the same century and with rapid crime prevalence of crime in mind, Sir William Hershel saw it wise to use fingerprints on native contracts. The use of fingerprints continued in various parts, each time, an improvement of the previous version and in 1880; Henry Faulds from Scotland successfully applied the use of fingerprints in the elimination of an innocent suspect. Eight years later, one of the police researchers in Argentina, Juan Vucetich came up with a fingerprint classification system which found several applications in Latin America. It is these gradual but crucial discoveries that provided a foundation for the 1901 development of a blood-stain testing method by Dr. Paul Uhlenhuth which was aimed at isolating human blood from other animals’ blood. The 19th-century forensic science discoveries were topped by a pivotal discovery and development of the DNA profiling test by Sir Alec Jefferies in 1984.
Today’s forensic science sector, as had been said, is one of the most advanced sectors involving more than one sector in its quest to find answers. Apart from the heavy use of technology in the contemporary forensic science sector, a huge amount of expertise is required and the process is one of the most sophisticated. The use of computers and other integrated equipment and the involvement of both the judicial and medical sectors, a criminal investigation can literally be taken from ‘no-clue’ through piecing up of the little evidence on -site and off-site, to apprehension of the criminal. Some of the most complicated technology used in the present forensic science investigations includes three-dimensional laser scanners, and microscopes in combination with a computer-based system of using brain-wave responses to identify criminals. In a homicide case for example, laser scanners can be used to create three-dimension images of the crime scene, the images are later evaluated as part of the evidence in order to solve the puzzle.
Initial Actions At The Crime Scene
In the modern day, homicide is one of the most prevalent crimes, and which with no doubt, is one of the most crucial crime scenes a police officer can ever deal with (Lewis, 2014). Such incidences usually call for the intensive involvement of forensic science techniques owing to the nature of the death. In this case, the investigators are tasked with finding the cause of death from basically nothing; they have to devour whatever little evidence they can find from the site and use it to apprehend the criminal and find out what occurred. So, one of the initial steps taken after responding to a crime scene, before any forensic examinations, is to piece anything that may give a clue to what might have happened. Of course death has occurred, and that cannot be reversed. But, future similar occurrences can be prevented using the outcomes of the case at hand, therefore, there is need to critically examine the situation and leave no stone unturned with respect to the case in point. The initial response to a homicide scene involves three basic principles, which must be adhered to, if any meaningful outcome is to be obtained thereafter.
The first and paramount step is the quick and urgent response to the homicide crime site by patrol officers (Owen, 2011). This is the foundation of any forensic investigations that may come later since it is during this step that all the evidentiary materials are guarded against being destroyed, lost or altered by those covering for involvement in the crime scene in one way or another. The next and very vital principle of forensics with respect to a homicide scene is treating everything and anything as evidence- no room for doubt, nothing is taken for granted. It does not matter what form the material is in, whether electronic, verbal, physical or whichever form, it requires safe preservation. At arrival at the homicide, the most instant shreds of evidence usually come from eyewitnesses or even spontaneous statements of a suspect at the crime site (Silverman, 2014). The last step and principle is to completely secure the scene in order to make it possible for any investigations that may follow.
Scene Location And The Fourth Amendment
Any and all homicide forensic investigations begin at the initial site the body is discovered, this may be inside an apartment, inside a car or the car trunk, outside in a field like by the roadside. Such places are designated as the primary crime scene. In some cases, there may be a secondary crime scene if the body was found at a different place from where the crime took place. However, it is always prudent to focus the investigations at the primary crime scene as it holds more evidence and will undoubtedly lead to the secondary crime scene. Regardless of the scene, any forensic investigations involve a series of searches and surveys in a bid to collect meaningful evidence for the process. In typical homicide forensic investigations, there are, in most cases, more than one area of investigation, say, the place the body was found, where the actual crime was carried out, where physical traces of evidence connecting to the crime are found and a vehicle, if any, used to ferry the body to where it was found. Basically, this adds to the bulk and complicates the situation even more by widening the search area and including many civilians in the process.
There are therefore, several Fourth Amendment issues that may pop-up, for instance if the primary crime scene is the trunk of a car and the secondary crime scene is an apartment. As a requirement, all the searches should be done within the shortest time possible in order to prevent possible interference with the evidence in the search areas. However, this may be derailed by such requirements of such documents search warrants which may take time to process for several search areas. In addition, the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures unless there is a judicially sanctioned warrant. Clearly, this might act as a great obstacle to the initial collection of evidence. Fortunately, the first and already discussed principle of securing the scene comes into play here and sorts out such issues related to the Fourth Amendment. Securing the scene ensures the security of the evidentiary materials while those steps included in the Fourth Amendment are being followed.
Probable Pieces Of Evidence And Analysis
In a homicide case, everything and anything at the crime scene is treated as automatic evidence which will later be identified, collected, analyzed, critically evaluated and presented during the judicial proceedings. A caution though, nothing at the scene should be touched or moved in any way prior to the arrival of the investigators as this may constitute interference of evidence. The most obvious and first evidence is the crime scene in general- it is a clear proof that a crime has been committed (Kind, 2012). In addition, it contains many, if not all the elements of the corpus delicti (Kind, 2012) and provides a range of physical shreds of evidence evidences connecting someone to the crime. Another crucial piece of evidence is the dead body. The body may contain bullets, lacerations and other marks that may provide a clue to how the death occurred. Needless to say, bloodstains and ballistics can also be regarded as pieces of evidence in a homicide case. Blood stains found with a suspect can be analyzed and to link the suspect to the murder. Ballistics like bullets can as well be used in a similar way. Finally, the most concrete piece of evidence is the eyewitness’s recount of what had happened. It is always better if more than one witness can show up and testify. Testimonials from witnesses are always very credible with a very little error margin. All these pieces of evidence are always pooled together and analyzed by respective experts in order to lend credibility and strengthen the case against a particular suspect.
Discussion Of The Analysis Of The Pieces Of Evidence
Technically speaking, this area and type of forensic science is the basis of any forensic procedure. After analyzing the various pieces of evidence obtained from the scene, it is the outcomes of the discussion and evaluation of the said pieces of evidence that will dictate whether the suspect is guilty or not. But again, shoddy analysis of the pieces of evidence may help acquit a guilty suspect on grounds of lack of solid evidence. On such grounds, this type of forensic science is very important. Just from the presentation of the general crime scene, so much can be concluded which may open the way for more and fruitful investigations. A disorganized secondary crime scene for instance, may indicate in a homicide situation, that there was a struggle before the murder. In this case, robbery or some kind of altercation may have been the cause of the death. Likewise, the corpse might provide groundbreaking discoveries, in an instance where a gun was used; the type of fractures caused by the bullets may provide a clue to the orientation of the dead person with respect to the shooter. What’s more, the types of bullets found in the body are also used during the forensic process to determine the type of gun used and probably lead to the owner. Other pieces of evidence like blood stains and broken objects may also be used in various ways to help build the evidence and build parts of the general puzzle. Basically, this type of forensic science not only provides information about the possible cause of the death but also the killer and his motives.
Summary Of The Findings
After the most daunting task of identifying, collecting, evaluating and compiling the evidence, the last and most deterministic step of a homicide or any other law enforcement process is to present the significant findings before a court of law for prosecution of the perpetrator. This part is also one of the trickiest parts since a simple mess may lead to the prosecutor being prosecuted by the suspect. It therefore should be carried out with utmost caution.
In a homicide scene, the collected pieces of evidence include the bullets recovered, the corpse, and the bloodstains among several others as discussed above. For presentation before a legal panel for decision-making, all the pieces of evidence obtained are described in detail (Owen, 2011). On the same note, the crime scene itself and how various objects were placed on arrival are described in depth. Besides, other factors like who had access to the evidence and methods of collection of the evidence are also explained to the District Attorney. At this point, the chief forensic scientist is helped with other special forensic scientists.
Each expert presents their individual findings in detail, what their findings mean and how it is relevant to the legal proceedings. Specifically, the homicide crime case discussed above drew its findings from bullets, the corpse, bloodstains and the crime scene. As such, the blood type expert, for example, is poised to help the chief investigator corroborate the general findings and conclusions. The blood type expert must not only have to defend the validity of her test results but also explain all the possible sources of error. That way, the general decision made out of such a case and forensic science process not only ensures justice is achieved but also proves fair to both the offender and the offended, which is, and has been, the major intention of forensic science since it came to the limelight.