1. Introduction

Question 1

What does Forensic Medicine focus on?

Answer 1

The body (living or dead)

Question 2

What does Forensic science focus on?

Answer 2

A variety of specialties including
-DNA
-Drugs
-Ballistics
-Documents
-Physical evidence
-Fingerprinting

Question 3

Give the murder rate of UK vs Columbia

Answer 3

UK: 1.23 per 100,000 pa
Columbia: 33 per 100,000 pa

Question 4

What should we consider when thinking about evidence?

Answer 4

-Interpretation (found at crime scene, physical objects or measurements)
-Reliability (How it can be trusted, and to what extent)
-What can/can’t be deduced

Question 5

Give the procedures in a case (in English based system)

Answer 5

-Evidence is provided from experts, witnesses, police
-Prosecution vs Defence
-Verdict is reached, given by judge, jury.

Question 6

What is presumption of innocence?

Answer 6

-Innocent until proven guilty
-Prosecution has to prove guilt
-Defence does not have to prove innocence

Question 7

What is reasonable doubt?

Answer 7

If any reasonable uncertainty remains based on the evidence, the defendant must be acquitted, as the prosecution has failed to meet its burden of proving guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Question 8

What must be demonstrated in a court case to convict defendant

Answer 8

-Actus Reus (Criminal action was committed)
-Mens Rea (intention to commit the criminal action)

Question 9

Give a limitation in forensic science with regards to actus reus and mens rea?

Answer 9

-It Is easy to establish actus reus, with a guilty action being supported by evidence from a crime scene
-However it is hard to establish mens rea, as we cannot directly observe one’s thoughts

Question 10

What does “Actus non facit rum nisi mens sit rea” mean?

Answer 10

The act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty

Question 11

What is forensic science?

Answer 11

The application of science to criminal justice, involving analysis of physical, chemical and biological evidence.

Question 12

What can forensic science be used to do?

Answer 12

-Reconstruct past sequence of events
-Link a suspect to a crime scene

Question 13

Outside of the criminal justice system, what may forensic sciences be used for?

Answer 13

-Art
-Archaeology
-Sport
-International politics
-Disaster

Question 14

Who is the founder of forensic science?

Answer 14

Edmond Locard

Question 15

What are the key aspects that Locard’s Exchange Principle suggests?

Answer 15

-“Every contact leaves a trace”
-“Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can diminish its value”

Question 16

Where was the first forensic laboratory set up?

Answer 16

Lyon, France by Locard

Question 17

Give some units that may be found in a a forensic science laboratory

Answer 17

-Voiceprint
-DNA lab
-Firearms
-Documents
-Photography
-Psychiatric profiling
-Toxicology

Question 18

Describe what the physical science unit of a forensic science lab would handle?

Answer 18

-Chemical and Physical analysis
-eg Chemical tests, spectroscopy, microscopy, drugs, material fragments, explosives

Question 19

Describe what the toxicology unit of a forensic science lab would handle?

Answer 19

Drugs and poisons in body fluids and organs

Question 20

What is voiceprint analysis?

Answer 20

Proving that a voice belongs to a certain person

Question 21

What is psychiatric profiling?

Answer 21

What can we tell about the criminal from the way they commit the crime?

Question 22

What is forensic anthropology?

Answer 22

Analysis of skeletal remains

Question 23

What is forensic odontology?

Answer 23

Using teeth to identify victim remains or criminals

Question 24

What is identification in forensics?

Answer 24

Determines the general nature or class of evidence (e.g., identifying a substance as blood or a tool as a hammer).

Question 25

What is individualisation?

Answer 25

Links evidence to a specific source with high certainty (e.g., matching a fingerprint to a specific person or a tire tread to a specific vehicle).

Question 26

What is reconstruction in forensics?

Answer 26

-The process of using physical evidence, witness statements, and scientific analysis to recreate the events of a crime.
-Focus is understanding the facts and creating a theory

Question 27

What is reenactment in forensics

Answer 27

-Recreating the events of a crime or incident to test hypotheses, validate evidence, or demonstrate how something occurred. It often uses simulations, models, or actors to replicate conditions and actions.
-Focus is visually explaining or demonstrating the sequence of events