Forensics 1 Exam Questions with Correct Answers| Latest Update Guaranteed Success
The only way to convict a person successfully of a criminal act is by obtaining evidence that
proves the individual committed the crime - this is known as the "burden of proof"
Physical evidence from a crime scene comes in many different forms, such as fingerprints,
hair, blood, saliva, semen, skin, bone, bullet casings, paint fragments, and fibres.
According to Barry Fisher (2000), the Crime Lab Director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, finding and interpreting physical evidence from a crime scene is crucial because it
can prove that a crime has been committed
establish the identity of the suspect(s)
exonerate the innocent
corroborate the victim's testimony
lead to a confession from the suspect(s)
be more reliable than eyewitness evidence
be expected by judges and juries
Most physical evidence can be categorized into one of two groups- individualized or
identified.
Individualized Physical Evidence is unique and can be directly linked to a specific person
and/or source
e.g. fingerprints, DNA, bullet casings, dental impressions
,Identified Physical Evidence shares a common source; it can be grouped into a class of items
having similar properties e.g., clothing, shoe prints, blood type
A casing from a 7.62 mm bullet is found at the scene of a shooting. When the bullet was
compared to a bullet that had later been test fired from the suspect"s gun as part of the
criminal investigation, the markings upon both bullets matched. Individualized: Every
firearm has unique grooves within its barrel that leave marks on bullets that are propelled
through it.
One night a hit-and-run collision occurred; a vehicle that lost control at an intersection struck a
parked car. The suspect vehicle sped away after the collision. Although a license plate number
was not obtained, a witness noted that the suspect vehicle was a blue half-ton truck. Police
officers found one half of a unique plastic license plate frame at the scene and determined that
it did not belong to the victim"s car. Several hours after the collision, police officers found a
damaged blue half-ton truck that had half a plastic license plate frame that matched the
fragments of frame found at the earlier collision. This evidence is individualized for two
reasons: half of the same type of plastic license plate frame was found on the blue half-ton
truck and the broken fragments of the two pieces were determined to match. However, if a
license plate frame had been found at the crime scene and it matched a similar frame that the
blue half-ton truck had at some point, it could be argued that the frame did not necessarily
belong to the suspect.
Several red cotton fibers are found upon the ledge of a window that had been broken to gain
entry into a home. A suspect wearing a torn red cotton jacket is apprehended nearby. Tests
conducted later show that the fibers from the crime scene and the fibers from the suspect"s
jacket have identical physical properties. Identified Physical Evidence: The red cotton jacket
came from a store that sold many of the same red cotton jackets, each of which have identical
physical properties to the fibers found at the crime scene. Also, because the suspect was not
found at the crime scene, he could have torn his jacket anywhere and could argue that he had
not been involved in this crime.
On the morning of Christmas Eve a young girl appears to have gone missing, her parents cannot
find her anywhere. While looking, they find a lengthy hand-written note left by the suspect who
took the girl on a table in the hallway of the home. The paper upon which this note is written is
the same type of paper found in a notepad in the same location. Later that day the young girl is
,found dead in the basement of her home. Identified Physical Evidence: The notepad came
from a store that would have sold many of the same notepads, each of which would have
contained the same paper as that of the note left at the crime scene.
This evidence could be considered individualized if the ink used to write the note could be
linked to a specific pen and/or if handwriting could be matched to a specific person.
Which type of evidence is considered more valuable; Individualized or identified?
individualized evidence is more valuable than identified evidence in proving that a suspect is
guilty of a crime because it can be linked directly to the suspect.
Individualized evidence often provides the basis of what is commonly referred to as a
"smoking gun"
Ex; Finding a murder victim's credit card in a suspect's pocket and bloody knife in his or her
jacket moments after the crime occurred.
Ex; Finding the suspect's fingerprints on the blade of the knife, as well as blood traced to the
victim, provide additional individualized evidence
Identified evidence can still be useful in two ways: -When it directly supports individualized
evidence and/or
-When it is presented with additional pieces of identified evidence.
Why is identified evidence not as valuable as individualized evidence? By itself, identified
evidence merely suggests that a person may have been involved in the commission of a
criminal offense, it is insufficient to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect
committed the crime.
In other words, the collection of identified evidence helps narrow the field of possible suspects,
but in the absence of individualized evidence typically falls short of providing the basis for a
conviction in court.
The category of physical evidence is often debated in a court of law by two things: the
prosecution and the defense.
, Prosecution A lawyer known as the prosecutor or prosecution; presents evidence in court to
convict a suspect charged with an offense; typically works for the federal or provincial
government.
(In Canada, this lawyer is often referred to as "the Crown Prosecutor" because he or she
historically represents the interests of the Queen.)
Defense: Defense Attorney: a lawyer representing the person accused of a crime in a
criminal matter; hired by the accused or appointed free of charge through Legal Aid
Expert witnesses; Also known as subject matter experts, people who are recognized by the
courts as having credibility and a thorough understanding of specific areas of knowledge such
as drug identification, ballistics, blood spatter, and alcohol analysis.
However convincing an expert witness may be on the stand, it is ultimately up to the trial judge
or jurors to decide if evidence is individualized or merely identified, and whether it should be
accepted in court.
In 1998-99, the average annual cost of incarcerating a male offender in a federal institution in
Canada was $59,661.
In 1998-99, the average annual cost of incarcerating a female offender in a new regional facility
in Canada was $113,610
Before a forensic fingerprint identification system was developed, criminals were classified
according to various body measurements such as height, foot length, arm length, and/or
head circumference.
In 1892, an English scientist, Sir Francis Galton, wrote a book called Finger Prints that
discussed the unique fingerprint ridge patterns he found from person to person. Galton's work
was the first of its kind.
The only way to convict a person successfully of a criminal act is by obtaining evidence that
proves the individual committed the crime - this is known as the "burden of proof"
Physical evidence from a crime scene comes in many different forms, such as fingerprints,
hair, blood, saliva, semen, skin, bone, bullet casings, paint fragments, and fibres.
According to Barry Fisher (2000), the Crime Lab Director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, finding and interpreting physical evidence from a crime scene is crucial because it
can prove that a crime has been committed
establish the identity of the suspect(s)
exonerate the innocent
corroborate the victim's testimony
lead to a confession from the suspect(s)
be more reliable than eyewitness evidence
be expected by judges and juries
Most physical evidence can be categorized into one of two groups- individualized or
identified.
Individualized Physical Evidence is unique and can be directly linked to a specific person
and/or source
e.g. fingerprints, DNA, bullet casings, dental impressions
,Identified Physical Evidence shares a common source; it can be grouped into a class of items
having similar properties e.g., clothing, shoe prints, blood type
A casing from a 7.62 mm bullet is found at the scene of a shooting. When the bullet was
compared to a bullet that had later been test fired from the suspect"s gun as part of the
criminal investigation, the markings upon both bullets matched. Individualized: Every
firearm has unique grooves within its barrel that leave marks on bullets that are propelled
through it.
One night a hit-and-run collision occurred; a vehicle that lost control at an intersection struck a
parked car. The suspect vehicle sped away after the collision. Although a license plate number
was not obtained, a witness noted that the suspect vehicle was a blue half-ton truck. Police
officers found one half of a unique plastic license plate frame at the scene and determined that
it did not belong to the victim"s car. Several hours after the collision, police officers found a
damaged blue half-ton truck that had half a plastic license plate frame that matched the
fragments of frame found at the earlier collision. This evidence is individualized for two
reasons: half of the same type of plastic license plate frame was found on the blue half-ton
truck and the broken fragments of the two pieces were determined to match. However, if a
license plate frame had been found at the crime scene and it matched a similar frame that the
blue half-ton truck had at some point, it could be argued that the frame did not necessarily
belong to the suspect.
Several red cotton fibers are found upon the ledge of a window that had been broken to gain
entry into a home. A suspect wearing a torn red cotton jacket is apprehended nearby. Tests
conducted later show that the fibers from the crime scene and the fibers from the suspect"s
jacket have identical physical properties. Identified Physical Evidence: The red cotton jacket
came from a store that sold many of the same red cotton jackets, each of which have identical
physical properties to the fibers found at the crime scene. Also, because the suspect was not
found at the crime scene, he could have torn his jacket anywhere and could argue that he had
not been involved in this crime.
On the morning of Christmas Eve a young girl appears to have gone missing, her parents cannot
find her anywhere. While looking, they find a lengthy hand-written note left by the suspect who
took the girl on a table in the hallway of the home. The paper upon which this note is written is
the same type of paper found in a notepad in the same location. Later that day the young girl is
,found dead in the basement of her home. Identified Physical Evidence: The notepad came
from a store that would have sold many of the same notepads, each of which would have
contained the same paper as that of the note left at the crime scene.
This evidence could be considered individualized if the ink used to write the note could be
linked to a specific pen and/or if handwriting could be matched to a specific person.
Which type of evidence is considered more valuable; Individualized or identified?
individualized evidence is more valuable than identified evidence in proving that a suspect is
guilty of a crime because it can be linked directly to the suspect.
Individualized evidence often provides the basis of what is commonly referred to as a
"smoking gun"
Ex; Finding a murder victim's credit card in a suspect's pocket and bloody knife in his or her
jacket moments after the crime occurred.
Ex; Finding the suspect's fingerprints on the blade of the knife, as well as blood traced to the
victim, provide additional individualized evidence
Identified evidence can still be useful in two ways: -When it directly supports individualized
evidence and/or
-When it is presented with additional pieces of identified evidence.
Why is identified evidence not as valuable as individualized evidence? By itself, identified
evidence merely suggests that a person may have been involved in the commission of a
criminal offense, it is insufficient to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect
committed the crime.
In other words, the collection of identified evidence helps narrow the field of possible suspects,
but in the absence of individualized evidence typically falls short of providing the basis for a
conviction in court.
The category of physical evidence is often debated in a court of law by two things: the
prosecution and the defense.
, Prosecution A lawyer known as the prosecutor or prosecution; presents evidence in court to
convict a suspect charged with an offense; typically works for the federal or provincial
government.
(In Canada, this lawyer is often referred to as "the Crown Prosecutor" because he or she
historically represents the interests of the Queen.)
Defense: Defense Attorney: a lawyer representing the person accused of a crime in a
criminal matter; hired by the accused or appointed free of charge through Legal Aid
Expert witnesses; Also known as subject matter experts, people who are recognized by the
courts as having credibility and a thorough understanding of specific areas of knowledge such
as drug identification, ballistics, blood spatter, and alcohol analysis.
However convincing an expert witness may be on the stand, it is ultimately up to the trial judge
or jurors to decide if evidence is individualized or merely identified, and whether it should be
accepted in court.
In 1998-99, the average annual cost of incarcerating a male offender in a federal institution in
Canada was $59,661.
In 1998-99, the average annual cost of incarcerating a female offender in a new regional facility
in Canada was $113,610
Before a forensic fingerprint identification system was developed, criminals were classified
according to various body measurements such as height, foot length, arm length, and/or
head circumference.
In 1892, an English scientist, Sir Francis Galton, wrote a book called Finger Prints that
discussed the unique fingerprint ridge patterns he found from person to person. Galton's work
was the first of its kind.
