Crime Lab Units Flashcards
Biology unit
Staffed with biologists and biochemists who identify and perform DNA profiling on dried bloodstains and other bodily fluids
Firearms unit
Examines firearms, discharged units, cartridge cases, shotgun shells, and ammunition of all types
Document examination unit
Studies the handwriting and typewriting to ascertain authenticity and/or source on questioned documents
Photography unit
Examines and records physical evidence
Toxicology unit
Examines bodily fluids and organs to determine the presence or absence of drugs and poisons
Latent fingerprints unit
Processes and examines evidence for latent fingerprints when submitted in conjunction with other lab examinations
Polygraph unit
A.k.a lie detector, has come to be recognized as an essential tool of the criminal investigator than the forensic scientist.
Voiceprint analysis unit
Investigators may require the skills of a voiceprint analysis unit to tie the voice to a particular subject
Crime scene investigation unit
Dispatches specially trained personnel to the crime scene to collect and preserve physical evidence that will later be processed at a crime lab
Forensic psychiatry
Specialized area that examines the relationship between human behavior and legal proceedings
Forensic odontology
Practitioners help identify victims based on dental evidence when the body is left at an unrecognizable state.
Forensic engineering
Concerned with failure analysis, accident reconstruction, and causes and origins of fires or explosions
Forensic computer and digital analysis
A new fast-growing field that involves identifying, collecting, preserving, and examining information derived from computers and other digital devices, such as cell phones
Physical science unit
Applies principles and techniques of chemistry, physics, and geology to the identification and comparison of crime-scene evidence
