Scientific Crime
A Scientific Crime research paper should include an explication of how the recent technological and scientific advances have helped in the area of criminal justice.
Recent technological and scientific advances have increased the ability to determine the truth in many areas. For example, in medicine, diagnoses are more accurate, a result of improved laboratory analysis. The learning process in education is more efficient utilizing the tools of computers. The legal system or criminal justice system has also benefited from these improvements. Many of these advances used in determining the truth or possibly guilt as related to criminal investigation are labeled using the word "forensic." Thus, originally, the term forensic referred to the place where justice was administered. The word is derived from the Latin word forum, a public space, as in a market place or meeting ground. Forensics thus means belonging to a public space, since in Roman times, legal trials, sentencing, and executions were forensic in nature - they were literally for the public to view.
Types of Scientific Crime and Forensics
According to ISPAC the word forensic has a more general definition in that it refers to any investigation into a crime that utilizes science. There are many specialties within the area of forensics, including:
Whether the criminal investigative procedure utilizes a specific area of forensics or whether it is science in general that assists the investigator, the scientific community has enabled the criminal investigative processes to become far more accurate and expedited in investigating a crime.
Scientific Crime and Police
The primary task of the police charged with the investigation of a crime is to establish a reasonable line of inquiry. When the police first arrive at a crime scene, the possible suspects include the entire population. Through the process of gathering and evaluating evidence, this range of suspects is narrowed and a direction for further investigation becomes apparent. This is a multi-layered process that requires a broad range of analytical skills. Initially, the investigator must determine the physical components of the crime, which include information such as the identity of the victim, they type of weapon used, and other relevant factors. From this physical information, the investigator draws inferences, such as the likelihood that the victim's body was moved, that the perpetrator had access to a vehicle and was familiar with the geographic area.