Beyond the Crime Lab The New Science of Investigation

by Zonderman, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780471254669
• ISBN10: 0471254665
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-15
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Behind today's most lurid headlines. A timely look at the fascinating realm of high-tech sleuthing Beyond the Crime Lab The New Science of Investigation Revised Edition The science of criminal investigation is evolving at an astonishing rate. Gone are the days of merely dusting for fingerprints and checking for lipstick traces. Today's forensics experts use DNA typing, computer and physical anthropologic reconstructions, and other highly sophisticated techniques-techniques that some critics believe have dire implications for every citizen's right to privacy and individual freedom. Completely updated to address the latest trends and developments in the field, this revised edition of Beyond the Crime Lab takes you on an entertaining and sometimes alarming journey through the incredible and perpetually advancing world of criminal investigation.

Author Biography

JON ZONDERMAN is a freelance science and business writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Technology Review, High Technology, and the Washington Journalism Review. He lives in Orange, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi	(2)
Henry C. Lee, Ph.D.
Preface to the Revised Edition	xiii	(4)
Preface to the First Edition	xvii
Introduction	1	(10)
Forensic Science in the United States	4	(1)
Advances in Forensic Science	5	(1)
The Fields of Forensic Science	6	(1)
Popular Opinion and Forensic Science	7	(1)
Problems in the Application of Forensic Science	8	(3)
1 The Scene of a Crime	11	(8)
2 Victims without Identities, Murders without Bodies	19	(26)
3 Inside the Lab: Chemistry + Probability = Crime	45	(30)
Fiber Analysis	47	(6)
Paint Analysis	53	(2)
Firearms Analysis	55	(3)
Tool-Mark Analysis	58	(1)
Impressions and Imprints Analysis	59	(1)
Document Analysis	59	(3)
Drug Analysis	62	(5)
Forensic Toxicology	67	(3)
Explosives and Fire-Residue Analysis	70	(5)
4 Fingerprints: Proof Positive	75	(18)
History	77	(3)
Classification	80	(6)
Latent Fingerprint Development	86	(7)
Conventional Techniques	87	(2)
Laser Techniques	89	(2)
Direct Photography	91	(2)
5 DNA Typing: A Genetic Fingerprint?	93	(34)
DNA: The Building Blocks of Life	94	(6)
Of Probes and Statistics	100	(2)
A Hard Lesson	102	(3)
A Natural Progression	105	(3)
Blood Groups	106	(1)
Isoenzymes	107	(1)
Serum Groups, Hemoglobin Variants, and the HLA System	107	(1)
Determining the Scientific Acceptability of DNA Typing	108	(8)
Freeing the Innocent	116	(2)
Jury Belief in a Witness over DNA	118	(1)
Mass Testing and Civil Liberties	119	(4)
Working Backward: No-Body Murders and Reuniting Families	123	(2)
DNA Technology into the Twenty-first Century	125	(2)
6 The Mind and Brain of Violent Criminals	127	(40)
The "Criminal Type"	132	(5)
Serial Murder	137	(11)
The Murdering Mind: Outlook or Illness	148	(4)
Profiling of Criminals	152	(4)
Preemptive Profiling	156	(3)
Rape-Victim Interviews as Sources of Clues to Rapist Personality	159	(2)
Arson	161	(2)
Bombings	163	(4)
7 Electronic Surveillance: Is Big Brother Watching and Listening?	167	(22)
Legal Protections against Surveillance	171	(1)
The Technologies of Communication and of Communication Surveillance	172	(7)
Telephone	172	(3)
Transactional Information	175	(1)
Electronic Mail Surveillance	176	(2)
Paging Devices	178	(1)
Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA) Protection	179	(1)
Visual Surveillance	180	(1)
Airport Security	181	(2)
Biometrics and Personal Truth	183	(6)
8 Computers and Communications	189	(26)
The National Crime Information Center: In the Belly of the Beast	192	(1)
Computer-Power Crime Analysis at the Local Level	193	(5)
Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS): The First Use of Artification Intelligence (Pattern Recognition)	198	(2)
National Crime Information Center Problems: Past, Present, and Future	200	(5)
Holmes Meets Big Floyd	205	(3)
Anyone Can Create a Computer Profile	208	(7)
9 Controlling Criminals: Science and Corrections	215	(16)
Bird Dogs and Electronic Leashes	217	(4)
Biochemical Corrections	221	(4)
Changing the Criminal's Outlook	225	(2)
Postsentence Confinement and Community Notification	227	(4)
10 Liberty, Justice, and Science	231	(14)
Author's Note	245	(2)
Index	247