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1247
First forensic science book published by the Chinese
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. -
1302
First autopsy
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. -
First time physical evidence used in chemical case by John Toms.
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. -
Chemical testing utilized - James Marsh used chemical processes to determine arsenic.
James Marsch helped solve the death of a man using chemistry and detecting arsenic. -
First pathology reports published
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. -
First uses of photos in identification in San Francisco.
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. -
Criminal features reduced to numerical measurements of physical features of bones by Alphose Bertillon.
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
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. -
Fingerprint ID used in crime - Juan Vucetic use fingerprints as evidence in a murder investigation which he termed dactyloscopy.
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. -
First use of fingerprints
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. -
Investigations into blood markers - human blood grouping, ABO, discovered by Karl Landsteiner.
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. -
Learning about forensics - first school of forensic science founded by Radolphe Archibald Reiss in Switzerland.
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. -
Guns are unique - Victor Balthazard used tools to make gun barrels never the same.
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. -
Fingerprints found to be unique - Henry Faulds, William James Herschel and Galton.
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. -
Lie detection- prototype polygraph invented by John Larson.
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. -
Crime labs built- first police crime lab established in Los Angeles.
LA police backed an officer named Rex Welsh to set up the first scientific laboratory in LA and to be the departments first criminalist. -
Crime experts built a lab- FBI established its own crime laboratory and a chair of legal medicine at Harvard was established.
1932 two events happened that would go on to provide new innovations in forensic science. -
Voice recording used as evidence- a sound spectrograph discovered to be able to record voices.
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. -
First national crime system- FBI established the National Crime Information Center (computerized national filing system).
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. -
advances in residue detection - technology developed at aerospace corporation in the us to detect gunshot residue.
Introduced in 1974 by the Aerospace Corporation. Became internationally accepted process for analyzing gun shot residue. -
Auto fingerprints system first implemented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police implement first automatic fingerprint identification system. Became the standard for other systems later developed. -
DNA technique for unique ID - DNA fingerprinting techniques by Sir Alec Jeffreys.
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. -
DNA catches the criminal - Tommy Lee Andrews convicted of a series of sexual assaults using DNA profiling.
For the first time a rapist was convicted using DNA as part of the evidence to convict. -
DNA evidence certified - National Academy of Sciences announces DNA evidence is reliable.
After a lengthy amount of research the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates through the data that DNA is a reliable way to identify people -
Faster fingerprint ID's - FBI establishes the integrated automated fingerprint identification system which took two weeks to two hours.
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. -
Faster DNA IDs which took 6 to 8 weeks to 1 to 2 days.
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. -
Footwear detection system - Britain's Forensic science service develops online footwear coding and detection systems.
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 -
Four second dental match - Japanese researchers develop a dental x-ray matching system.
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. -
A way for scientists to visualize fingerprints even after the print has been removed is developed, relating to how fingerprints can corrode metal surfaces.
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 -
Facial sketches matched to photos - Michigan State University develops software that automatically matches hand drawn facial sketches to mugshots.
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 U.S. Department of Justice announces launch of National Commission on Forensic Science
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 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 partners with Girl Scouts to encourage girls to attend 3 week Forensic Science camp
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. -
innovative counter-terrorism technique that checks for environmental DNA
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
