Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences

Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences

The Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences is a resource to provide comprehensive coverage of the core theories, methods, techniques, and applications employed by forensic scientists. One of the more pressing concerns in forensic science is the collection of evidence from the crime scene and its relevance to the forensic analysis carried out in the laboratory. The Encyclopedia will serve to inform both the crime scene worker and the laboratory worker of their protocols, procedures, and limitations. The more than 200 articles contained in the Encyclopedia form a repository of core information that will be of use to instructors, students, and professionals in the criminology, legal, and law enforcement communities.

Review of the Encyclopedia

Robert E. Gaensslen and David A. Stoney made a review of the Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences which can be found at https://library-resources.cqu.edu.au/JFS/PDF/vol_46/iss_6/JFS4661530.pdf.

We found particularly interested the following sentences:

“The effort to be international means that many specialists from
many countries are contributors. In a way, this tactic might make
the work more interesting for everyone, and emphasizes the commonalities
across international boundaries. But because forensic
science practices are in many important respects intertwined with
countries’ legal systems, there are also important differences in the
way things are done in the different countries. And legal system
specific practices in one country are probably of little or no interest
to forensic scientists in other countries. It is unlikely, for example,
that forensic scientists outside the United States care about the implications
of Daubert.

In other instances, the topic headings will differ from the conventional.
“Serology”for example, is construed to include blood
identification and species determination, but also blood pattern
analysis. Sexual assault evidence examination, which most criminalists
would group under a heading like “biological evidence analysis”
is placed under “clinical forensic medicine.” ”

Table of Contents of the Encyclopedia:

Accident Investigation (a) Aircraft. Accident Investigation (b) Motor vehicle (including biomechanics of injuries). Accident Investigation (c) Rail. Accident Investigation (d) Reconstruction. Accident Investigation (e) Airbag related injuries and deaths. Accident Investigation (f) Determination of cause. Accident Investigation (g) Driver versus passenger in motor vehicle collisions. Accident Investigation (h) Tachographs. Accreditation of Forensic Science Laboratories. Administration of Forensic Science (a) An international perspective. Administration of Forensic Science (b) Organisation of laboratories. Alcohol (a) Blood. Alcohol (b) Body fluids. Alcohol (c) Breath. Alcohol (d) Post-mortem. Alcohol (e) Interpretation. CONTENTS: Alcohol (f) Congener analysis. Analytical Techniques (a) Separation techniques. Analytical Techniques (b) Microscopy. Analytical Techniques (c) Spectroscopy. Analytical Techniques (d) Mass spectrometry. Anthropology: Archaeology. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (a) Overview. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (b) Morphological age estimation. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (c) Sex determination. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (d) Determination of racial affinity. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (e) Excavation/retrieval of forensic remains. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (f) Bone pathology and ante-mortem trauma in forensic cases. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (g) Skeletal trauma. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (h) Animal effects on human remains. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (i) Assessment of occupational stress. Anthropology: Skeletal Analysis (j) Stature estimation from the skeleton. Art and Antique Forgery and Fraud. Autoerotic Death. Basic Principles of Forensic Science. Biochemical Analysis (a) Capillary electrophoresis in forensic science. Biochemical Analysis (b) Capillary electrophoresis in forensic biology. Blood Identification. Blood Stain Pattern Analysis and Interpretation. Causes of Death (a) Post-mortem changes. Causes of Death (b) Sudden natural death. Causes of Death (c) Blunt injury. Causes of Death (d) Sharp injury. Causes of Death (e) Gunshot wounds. Causes of Death (f) Asphyctic deaths. Causes of Death (g) Burns and scalds. Causes of Death (h) Traffic deaths. Causes of Death (i) Systemic response to trauma. Causes of Death (j) Poisonings. Cheiloscopy. Clinical Forensic Medicine (a) Overview. Clinical Forensic Medicine (b) Defence wounds. Clinical Forensic Medicine (c) Self-inflicted injury. Clinical Forensic Medicine (d) Child abuse. Clinical Forensic Medicine (e) Sexual assault and semen persistence. Clinical Forensic Medicine (f) Evaluation of gunshot wounds. Clinical Forensic Medicine (g) Recognition of pattern injuries in domestic violence victims. Computer Crime. Credit Cards: Forgery and Fraud. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (a) Recording. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (b) Collection and chain of evidence. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (c) Recovery. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (d) Packaging. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (e) Preservation. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (f) Contamination. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (g) Fingerprints. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (h) Suspicious deaths. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (i) Major incident scene management. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (j) Serial and series crimes. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (k) Scene analysis/reconstruction. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (l) Criminal analysis. Crime-Scene Investigation and Examination (m) Decomposing and skeletonized cases. Criminal Profiling. Criminalistics. Detection of Deception. Disaster Victim Identification. DNA (a) Basic principles. DNA (b) RFLP. DNA (c) PCR. DNA (d) PCR-STR. DNA (e) Future analytical techniques. DNA (f) Paternity testing. DNA (g) Significance. DNA (h) Mitochondrial. Document Analysis (a) Handwriting. Document Analysis (b) Analytical methods. Document Analysis (c) Forgery and counterfeits. Document Analysis (d) Ink analysis. Document Analysis (e) Printer types. Document Analysis (f) Document dating. Drugs of Abuse (a) Blood. Drugs of Abuse (b) Body fluids. Drugs of Abuse (c) Ante-mortem. Drugs of Abuse (d) Post-mortem. Drugs of Abuse (e) Drugs and driving. Drugs of Abuse (f) Urine. Drugs of Abuse (g) Hair. Drugs of Abuse (h) Methods of analysis. Drugs of Abuse (i) Designer drugs. Dust. Ear Prints. Education , An International Perspective. Electronic Communication and Information. Entomology. Ethics. Evidence (a) Classification of evidence. Evidence (b)The philosophy of sequential analysis. Evidence (c) Statistical interpretation of evidence/Bayesian analysis. Expert Witnesses , Qualifications and Testimony. Explosives, Methods of Analysis. Facial Identification (a) The lineup, mugshot search and composite. Facial Identification (b) Photo image identification. Facial Identification (c) Computerized facial reconstruction. Facial Identification (d) Skull-photo superimposition. Facial Identification (e) Facial tissue thickness in facial reconstruction. Fibres (a) Types. Fibres (b) Transfer and persistence. Fibres (c) Recovery. Fibres (d) Identification and comparison. Fibres (e) Significance. Fingerprints (Dactyloscopy) (a) Visualisation. Fingerprints (Dactyloscopy) (b) Sequential treatment and enhancement. Fingerprints (Dactyloscopy) (c) Identification and classification. Fingerprints (Dactyloscopy) (d) Standards of proof. Fingerprints (Dactyloscopy) (e) Chemistry of print residue. Fire Investigation (a) Types of fire. Fire Investigation (b) Physics/Thermodynamics. Fire Investigation (c) Chemistry of fire. Fire Investigation (d) The fire scene. Fire Investigation (e) Evidence recovery. Fire Investigation (f) Fire scene patterns. Fire Investigation (g) The laboratory. Firearms (a) Types of weapons and ammunitions. Firearms (b) Range and penetration. Firearms (c) CS Gas. Firearms (df) Humane killing tools. Firearms (e) Laboratory analysis. Forensic Anthropology. Forensic Engineering. Forensic Nursing. Forensic Psycholinguistics. Forensic Toxicology (a) Overview. Forensic Toxicology (b) Methods of analysis – ante-mortem. Forensic Toxicology (c) Methods of analysis – post-mortem. Forensic Toxicology (d) Interpretation of results. Forensic Toxicology (e) Inhalants. Forensic Toxicology (f) Equine drug testing. Forgery and Fraud (a) Overview (including counterfeit currency). Forgery and Fraud (b) Auditing and accountancy. Gas Chromatography, Methodology in Forensic Sciences. Genetics (a) Serology. Genetics (b) DNA – statistical probability. Glass. Hair (a) Background. Hair (b) Hair transfer, persistence and recovery. Hair (c) Identification of human and animal hair. Hair (d) Microscopic comparison. Hair (e) Other comparison methods. Hair (f) Significance of hair evidence. Hair (g) DNA typing. Health and Safety (including Risk Assessment). History (a) Crime scene sciences. History (b) Fingerprint sciences. Identification/Individualization, Overview and Meaning. Investigative Psychology. Legal Aspects of Forensic Science. Lie Detection (Polygraph). Literature and the Forensic Sciences (a) Resources. Literature and the Forensic Sciences (b) Fiction. Microchemistry. Modus Operandi. Odontology. Offender Signature. Paints and Coatings: Commercial, Domestic and Automotive. Pathology (a) Overview. Pathology (b) Victim recovery. Pathology (c) Autopsy. Pathology (d) Preservation of evidence. Pathology (e) Post-mortem changes. Pathology (f) Post-mortem interval. Pattern Evidence (a) Footmarks (footwear). Pattern Evidence (b) Footmarks (bare footprints). Pattern Evidence (c) Shotgun ammunition on a target. Pattern Evidence (d) Tools. Pattern Evidence (e) Plastic bag striations. Pattern Evidence (f) Serial number. Pharmacology. Post-Mortem Examination, Procedures and Standards. Psychological Autopsies. Psychology and Psychiatry (a) Overview. Psychology and Psychiatry (b) Psychiatry. Psychology and Psychiatry (c) Psychology. Quality Assurance/Control. Serial Kil
ling. Soil and Geology. Stalking. Statistical Interpretation of Evidence. Time Factor Analysis. V

oice Analysis. Wildlife. Wood Analysis.

Authors of the Encyclopedia

Siegel, Jay A.

Jay Siegel is Director of the Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program at Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from George Washington University. He worked for 3 years at the Virginia Bureau of Forensic Sciences, analyzing drugs, fire residues and trace evidence. From 1980 to 2004 he was professor of forensic chemistry and Director of the forensic science program at Michigan State University in the School of Criminal Justice. Dr. Siegel has testified over 200 times as an expert witness in 12 states, Federal Court and Military Court. He is Editor in Chief of the Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences, author of Forensic Science: A Beginner’s Guide and Fundamentals of Forensic Science and has over 30 publications in forensic science journals. Dr. Siegel was awarded the 2005 Paul Kirk Award for lifetime achievement in forensic science. In February 2009, he was named Distinguished Fellow by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. In April 2009 he was named the Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award by his alma mater, George Washington University.

Knupfer, Geoffrey C.

Saukko, Pekka J.

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Education, Expert Witnesses, country.

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