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T'zu's The Washing Away of Wrongs (Hsi yüan chi lu) was first printed way back in 1247. It is the oldest book on forensic science that was designed to help magistrates investigate crimes. -
There were so many different dates of supposed first autopsies that I selected the first date I found where it was used in the hopes of solving a crime. It was ordered by a magistrate in Italy after a death. -
John Toms was tried and convicted when investigators used a wad of paper used to pack a bullet in the muzzle of a gun to match it to a torn newspaper in Toms pocket. They found that the wad and the torn newspaper matched perfectly. -
James Marsch helped solve the death of a man using chemistry and detecting arsenic. -
First published in 1839 - Gross's 7 Elements of Pathological Anatomy was created to provide information about pathology. The text was for years used as one of the only reference books by pathologists. -
Prior to using photographs police officers would rely on written descriptions or eye witness testimony comparing people in person. By using photos, it sped up the process and made it easier for people to confirm a suspects guilt. -
Alphonse Bertillon designed a system to help identify people from photos quickly and easy based on 9 different areas. He was able to identify a repeat offender by proving that the man, who had just been caught on the scene of a buglary, had indeed been arrested for robbery some time before. -
Sherlock Holmes and the coroner - coroner's act established that coroners were to determine the causes of sudden, violent and unnatural deaths. Arthur Conan Doyle also published the first Sherlock Holmes story. -
One of the first examples of using fingerprint technology to solve a case. First used by Juan Vucetic to help convict a criminal in a case. -
Back in 1892 a guy named Eduardo Alvarez used a bloody print to prove that Francisca Rojas killed her sons. The bloody print was left on a door frame and it proved she was there at the murder. -
He discovered that were different blood types (ABO) and this allowed investigators to rule out individuals based on blood evidence that did not match their own blood. -
In 1909, he was the founder of the first academic forensic science programme and of the "Institut de police scientifique" (Institute of forensic science) at the University of Lausanne. -
Through trial and error Victor Balthazard figured out that every time a machine made a gun barrel it was slightly different. He developed several techniques in order compare one barrel to another based on the grooves the barrel put on a bullet. -
Work from all 3 of these men helped determine the fact that each fingerprint is unique and that they can help determine one person from another. -
John Augustus Larson, a officer at the Berkeley Police Department in California, invented the cardio-pneumo psychogram in 1921, a device that monitored systolic blood pressure and breathing depth, and recorded it on smoke-blackened paper.
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LA police backed an officer named Rex Welsh to set up the first scientific laboratory in LA and to be the departments first criminalist. -
1932 two events happened that would go on to provide new innovations in forensic science. -
A sound spectrograph discovered to be able to record voices. Voiceprints began to be used in investigations and as court evidence from recordings of phones, answering machines, or tape recorders. -
Over 50 years ago this system called NCIC was created to help law enforcement. In practical terms, this system allows law enforcement officers to know if the person they pulled over is armed or dangerous - among many other things. -
Introduced in 1974 by the Aerospace Corporation. Became internationally accepted process for analyzing gun shot residue. -
Royal Canadian Mounted Police implement first automatic fingerprint identification system. Became the standard for other systems later developed. -
Sir Alec Jeffries discovered mini-satellites in areas on a dna strand. He was able to identify people by finding patterns in the mini-satellites. -
For the first time a rapist was convicted using DNA as part of the evidence to convict. -
After a lengthy amount of research the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates through the data that DNA is a reliable way to identify people -
For the first time, all of the fingerprints (that were loaded into the system) could be scanned and compared against the fingerprints of a victim or suspect. -
There are several different advancements in the speed at which DNA is sequenced beginning back in 1977. The biggest advance was seen in 2001 and commercially available rapid dna devices were sold in 2012. -
Much like a fingerprint or photo database, the footwear detection system simplifies the process for officers. With this system, they are now able to quickly identify and track multiple types of shoe marks -
A major step forward, Japanese scientists developed a system that quickly identifies and compares dental records. This system will be very useful when using for terrorist events, fires, plane crashes and other disasters where many people are killed. -
In order to create a way to find a fingerprint even after it was cleaned, scientists used chemicals and other techniques to detect fingerprints using how metals and other materials corrode from the fingerprint -
This was a big step forward in identifying criminals and victims. Prior to this, they had to physically view each mug shot and compare with sketch. -
the national commission has 30 members who are responsible for improving forensic sciences. They will meet regularly to compile information and provide forensic scientists with accepted guidelines. -
The Innocence Project, The Innocence Network, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and pro bono partner Winston and Strawn, LLP announce a partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice to review approximately 3,000 cases in which microscopic hair analysis conducted by the FBI was used to inculpate the defendants. -
FBI encourages girls to join learning about forensic science. Typically a male dominated field, more girls are being encouraged to choose forensic science as a career. -
This could help provide evidence of where a person of interest might have travelled based on the environmental DNA signature from dust on their belongings
