Evidence & Investigation: An Introduction

Forensic Science Criminals will always take with them a trace of something from the scene of the crime, and will always leave behind some trace of having been there. Trace evidence is used to figure out what happened at the scene of the crime. The job of forensic science investigators is to collect, preserve and analyze evidence found at the crime scene.

Types of Evidence Fingerprints Footwear impressions and footprints Tire tracks Hairs and fibres Plastic and paper Soil Tool marks Shell casings Biological fluids Auto parts

What will we be doing in this unit… We will be studying fingerprints, footprints, fibres, handwriting, chromatography and tire tracks so that we can answer these four (4) questions by the end of the unit: What is so special about a fingerprint? What story do footprints tell? What do hunters or investigators look for when looking for an animal or a suspect? What ways do forensic investigators go about collecting and analyzing evidence?

Hypothesis and inference Today’s Lesson Hypothesis and inference

Hypothesis A hypothesis includes both a prediction (what you think) and a reason for the prediction

Inference A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. YOU MUST HAVE EVIDENCE FOR AN INFERENCE

WHAT AM I USED FOR