Forensic science is a blend of technology, biology, and chemistry that has revolutionized the interpretation of criminal investigations. This approach helps law enforcement officers uncover truths about crimes that could otherwise remain hidden. When used to investigate murder and other crimes, forensic science techniques provide an objective narrative of the crime.

Additionally, it offers an understanding of facts that a human witness could distort or overlook. Most cases that require forensic evidence to establish liability involve serious offenses. If the results of the forensic testing are positive, the prosecution will proceed with the case, and the possibility of securing a conviction is high. Forensic evidence can prove or disprove the links between a crime scene, a suspect, and a victim.

You will require expert legal guidance if you or a loved one faces charges for an offense where the prosecution might rely on forensic evidence to secure a conviction. This article explains how forensic science and technology are used in solving criminal offenses.

Overview of Forensic Science in Solving Criminal Cases

Forensic science is a field that applies physical, scientific, and natural methods during criminal investigations. Forensic scientists are highly skilled individuals tasked with evaluating crime scenes to discover objective findings that can be used to prosecute these crimes. There are different fields of specialization in forensic science, each playing a significant role in building a solid case against a suspect.

A forensic scientist will examine different forms of physical evidence collected at a crime scene, including blood, hair fibers, fingerprints, drugs, and firearm residues. Tests are then administered to these pieces of evidence for use in criminal cases.

Forensic science offers strong and conclusive evidence that can be used to secure a criminal conviction even in the absence of witnesses. The analysis of a forensic scientist can be used in the initial stages of a criminal case to gather evidence, which undergoes further testing as the case progresses. A significant relationship between forensic science and criminal prosecutions is ensuring that convictions and exonerations occur without bias.

While law enforcement officers can interrogate suspects and obtain confessions, most of the information they obtain can be easily disputed. This could be due to different forms of misconduct in collecting information, false accusations, or coerced confessions. However, forensic experts deal with physical evidence, which could be challenging to shake off.

For example, a DNA match between a suspect and a weapon used for murder may be stronger than a witness testimony claiming to have witnessed the alleged suspect commit the crime. Historically, the human eye assessed much of the evidence collected at crime scenes. This made it challenging to link suspects to the crime. Now, techniques like DNA and fingerprinting have become a more reliable way to link different individuals to the scene, making it easier to solve crimes.

Forensic Science Techniques and Technologies

Forensic science has proven to be a useful tool in uncovering critical information surrounding criminal offenses. This helps to incriminate or rule out potential suspects for the crimes. Common forensic science techniques used to solve murders and other serious crimes include:

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

DNA is a common forensic science technique that enables authorities to exonerate or incriminate individuals suspected of violating different statutes under California law. The magnetic material in DNA allows law enforcement officers to find and arrest the perpetrator of a criminal offense by comparing their DNA to that found at the crime scene.

The biological materials used to determine a person’s DNA could be found in different biological materials, including blood, semen, buccal swabs, and vaginal swabs. Most of these materials are deposited in small quantities around crime scenes. Private and public laboratories throughout the state perform DNA analysis.

Storage of DNA found at different crime scenes and from individuals convicted in the state makes it easier to compare and find liable parties. In addition to finding the guilty parties in crimes, DNA analysis can help forgive a person who has been falsely accused.

For example, if you resemble someone who committed a certain offense, a witness can falsely identify you as the culprit. While this information may be enough to cause an arrest, seeking a DNA analysis of the crime scene can help prove that you were not there and forgive you. This could either result in a dismissal of your case or a not guilty verdict if your case goes to trial.

Fingerprint Matching

Another common forensic technique used to solve crimes in California is fingerprint analysis. Fingerprints are patterns that appear on the plantar surfaces of the fingertips and hands. Each person has a unique fingerprint. Therefore, fingerprints can be used to identify people at a crime scene and hold them accountable.

Your fingerprints will often remain on surfaces you touch. Therefore, if you have been at a crime scene and touched something, your fingerprints will be collected and matched with the national database. This can result in your arrest and charges.

The courts often accept positive fingerprint matches as substantial evidence in a criminal case. Before DNA and other extensive techniques emerged, dental records and fingerprints were the only ways to make objective identifications.

Physical Matching

Forensic scientists can use physical matching to collect and analyze evidence of a criminal act. Physical matching could be matching torn edges of a pattern from the original paper from which it was torn. Additionally, forensic scientists can match other physical aspects of the crime scene, which could be relevant to a criminal case.  Investigators can use this technique to collect admissible evidence for the court.

Other tools subject to physical matching include shoe prints, tire tracks, and tool impressions. For example, in crime scenes where a shoe print is found, forensic experts can examine the print to determine the specific type of shoe from which it may have come. The investigators will then narrow the search to individuals who purchased similar shoes before conducting further investigations.

Since physical matching may not be reliable to obtain a conviction, this technique can be coupled with other substantial techniques like DNA testing.

Hair and Fiber Analysis

It can be challenging for a person to spend time at a crime scene and fail to leave a trace of themselves or take something away from the scene. This is why forensic experts collect fibers and hairs from the crime scene and compare them to those of persons of interest and suspects.

Humans often shed different materials for their clothing and bodies. Therefore, if your hair is found at the crime scene or you are found with some fibers matching those at the crime scene, you can be prosecuted for the offense.

Ballistic Analysis

Given the prevalence of gun-related offenses in California, the use of ballistic analysis is important in determining different aspects of the crime. Ballistics is the study of items that are launched into flight. The investigators will analyze different types of firearms, including shotguns, long rifles, and pistols.

The role of ballistics in gun offenses is to determine the exact type of firearm used to commit the offense. Guns are classified according to their caliber. Determining the gun that dispenses certain bullets can help narrow the suspect list to individuals with access to the specific firearm. California law allows individuals over eighteen to purchase and possess firearms legally.

Therefore, matching different calibers of guns to a crime scene can help locate individuals with a specific firearm. In addition to determining the type of firearm used to commit the crime, ballistic analysis helps in determining the trajectory of the bullet. A trajectory is the path a bullet follows from when it leaves the barrel until it comes to rest.

This can help determine whether a victim was shot at close range. Investigators use this information to determine the geographical location of the suspect and that of the victim. This can be used in cases where there is uncertainty about whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.

Forensic Pathology

Forensic pathology involves the examination of dead bodies. This technique is useful in murder cases or situations involving suspicious deaths. A forensic pathologist will conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of the death. During the autopsies, the law enforcement officers are present, and they gather evidence that can be presented in court for the murder case.

When conducting the autopsy, a pathologist opens up the body and examines each aspect of the body. In addition to determining the time of death, the autopsy can help reveal the time of death. This is from the decomposition level or changes the body has undergone during the autopsy.

The cause of death is a critical aspect of murder and homicide investigations. When the prosecution has the exact cause of death, they can build a case against the suspect and obtain a conviction.

Analysis of Blood Spatter

Blood spatter is a complicated forensic analysis. This type of technique is useful in crimes involving severe bodily injury or the death of a victim, where there is blood present at the scene. The blood spatter analysis helps determine how blood is distributed at the crime scene. This can help reconstruct the accident scene and determine the type of object used to cause the injuries or death.

For example, the directness of a victim’s blood can help determine the type of object used and the estimated number of times they were strict to produce a certain blood pattern. When the alleged weapon is identified, law enforcement officers can find it and examine it further for more evidence.

Criminal Profiling

Offender or criminal profiling is a forensic analysis technique that rests on the assumption that the offender's characteristics can be determined by examining the characteristics of the crime. Criminal profiling is often useful in the investigation of severe crimes like serial murder.

The law enforcement officers use computerized systems to help them in these investigations. This can be done by comparing the characteristics of different crimes committed across California. If two or more cases have similar circumstances, they can assume the same person committed them. Other crimes where criminal profiling could be useful include violent sexual offenses.

If a person is a convicted sexual predator or sex offender, they could be investigated or questioned when a similar crime is committed in the jurisdiction where they reside. Criminal profiling may be based on the following principles:

  • Behavioral consistency. Offenders often exhibit consistent behavior at different crime scenes. This can help link one offender to multiple related cases. The law enforcement officers will assume that it is difficult for different offenders to commit crimes with similar specific details.
  • Behavior can reflect personality. This principle assumes that a person’s behavior or conduct at a crime scene reflects their personality. For example, if a person is known to be orderly, they will ensure that each detail of their criminal plan is properly articulated and organized.

Forensic Archeology

Forensic archeology is the application of archeological theories to solve crimes. This forensic science technique involves searching for, locating, sampling, and interpreting evidence and documentation of human remains. Forensic archeologists will use analytical reasoning when reconstructing past occurrences from excavating human remains.

This type of technique can be used to gather evidence in different types of cases, including murders, suspicious deaths, and suicides. When law enforcement officers deal with murder cases where the body has already been buried, forensic archeologists come in handy.

The information collected from the exhumations can help determine the state where an individual was at the time of burial. Forensic entomologists will collaborate with the archeologists to unearth the bodies and carefully collect evidence related to the crime.

The Future of Forensic Science in Criminal Investigations

Driven by the high crime rates and recognition of the critical role that forensic science plays in solving murder and other crimes, the forensic industry has become the center of the rapid growth surge. Critical science and technology advancements with the potential to revolutionize and make the use of forensic science better for criminal investigations include:

Bone Protein Preservation

Bones can hold information that can be critical in forensic investigations. The bone proteins help determine the duration of time an individual has been deceased and reveal their age at the time of death. The ability to read the protein levels in the bone could be a significant development in murder investigations.

This can also help rule out or incriminate different persons of interest or suspects. The use of this technology will be able to solve some cold cases or murders that have gone a while without crucial information to pursue a case.  However, the ability to read these levels depends on different factors, including burial conditions.

Simpler Fingerprint Analysis Techniques

Most criminal investigations will rely on analyzing fingerprints found at the crime scene. The fingerprints are then compared to those available in the national database to rule out or incriminate potential suspects. The current advancements have helped devise simpler ways to make fluorescent carbon, which can be applied to latent fingerprints. This allows the detention of the fiber prints under UV light.

Detection of Compounds with Handheld Devices

When investigating drug crimes where the exact nature of the substances found is unknown, researchers must take the compounds to a laboratory for further testing. This could delay prosecution and sometimes cause a culprit to be released before confirmation. With current technological advancements, some handheld devices can detect the nature of a compound. These devices are integrated with a mass spectrometer.

Faster detection of drugs and explosives can be valuable in ensuring that suspects are brought to justice faster and delays in criminal prosecution are avoided.

The Power of Proteomes in Forensic Science

Forensic scientists are turning to bone, protein, blood, and other biological samples to answer questions that DNA cannot answer. When the use of these samples is perfected, further information about crimes like murder and manslaughter can be brought to light.

Find a Competent Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

With the increase in rates of crimes in California and throughout the nation, the court system is more aggressive in ensuring that the perpetrators of these crimes face the consequences of their actions. This is done using every available evidence to strengthen the case and secure a conviction.

For murder and other serious offenses like rape and drug crimes, forensic science plays a significant role in the investigations and establishing liability for the offense. Forensic scientists are tasked with examining the physical evidence from the crime scene and coming up with theories and conclusions about how the crime may have occurred.

This is done using different techniques, including DNA analysis, fingerprint matching, ballistic analysis, and hair and fiber analysis. Although forensic science is a powerful tool, its interpretation depends on human judgment and expertise. Therefore, if you face charges for a crime where technology and forensic science are factors, you should hire and retain a reliable criminal attorney.

At Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer, we offer expert legal insight and representation for clients facing criminal charges in Los Angeles, CA. Contact us at 310-502-1314 for much-needed legal guidance.