Being in the forensic ballistics field it is very crucial for being highly educated on evidence handling and also documenting the evidence. In all forms of law enforcement it is mentioned on how important the care taking in evidence handling is but for forensic ballistic it is emphasized more than usual because the forensic ballistic experts can testify in court as an expert. In this field there are many different sorts of evidence that the expert may come across but majority of the evidence that revolves around them are related some way to firearms. The type of evidence that forensic ballistic evidence will usually be tied with firearms in some way and can be something as small as a bullet fragment or as large as hundreds of cartridges. Bullet
Forensic Science is an excellent career to be in, though to be in the career you must have a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, physics, and natural science. Careers for forensic science would be working in labs, courtrooms, with the FBI, or with the CIA (Funkhouser). Therefore forensic science can be a very important part of a crime and can be used for many things and
Forensic ballistics and firearm investigation begin when the bullets, cartridges, a weapon, or any combination of the above found at a crime scene. With the evidence, a crime laboratory will explore for clues on some things that might cause a suspect or possible to prove that the things were used in the crime. By contrast, the markings on the bullets or cartridges found at the scene with those discharged from the suspect’s weapon, a ballistics expert will typically confirm if the rounds came from a similar weapon. Just the act of cycling a cartridge through the weapon without firing it will leave permanent scratches on the case that is distinctive to the weapon.
When people usually hear the word forensics they usually automatically visualize crime scenes filled with things that can vary from blood, bullets, fingerprints ect. Unfortunately, it is not as cut and dry as you think, you're only seeing a small piece of the picture. The subject of forensics itself is very broad and actually involves a variety of different sciences all mixed together including, biology, chemistry, genetics, toxicology, phonetics, medicine, engineering, anthropology and many more. It is one of the fields of law enforcement, were technology and crime-solving all come together as one. Gathering the information needed to figure out what happened and the methods used to connect pieces of evidence to the crime scene were also not
Forensic evidence plays a huge role in most criminal cases. After the Daubert trial, forensic scientific evidence was reevaluated in criminal and civil cases. Scientific and forensic types of evidence can be extremely helpful in proving the case. It can help identify the suspect in a criminal case. That will help put a criminal in prison. There are many different types of forensic evidence that can be considered as scientific evidence. The different types include DNA matching, fingerprint identification, and hair evidence. The methods used to show these types of evidence are usually beyond the scope of knowledge that judges and juries know. Those types of forensic evidence are usually introduced as scientific evidence. Scientific evidence can sometimes be omitted from a courtroom or
I think the interesting thing about working with firearm evidence is learning about different types of weapons, identifying different markings on bullets and learning about the bullet trajectory and distance. The challenging part would be examining bullets that are broken or mutilated.
As human overpopulation increases, there will be a lack of resources and basic necessities that will become scarcer elevating crime rates. The broad field of forensics has numerous jobs that specialize in a specific duty. It provides and analyzes evidence in laboratories or offices that helps both state and local police departments solve crimes. As technology advances it also aids in the advancement of forensics. Forensic Science Technicians are required to have a variety of distinctive skills to assist in criminal investigations.
It is important for a forensic scientist to determine the distance from a gun to a shooter because in some cases a
The different types of specialists there are different types of specialists in forensic science like a ballistics specialists that specializes in firearms and things like that. Other types of specialists are like forensic anthropology that deals with bones and skulls. There is basically a different type of forensic scientists for every type of crime that there is. Ballistic specialists deal with firearms and they deal with collecting and analyzing firearms and ammunition. Some different types of things they’d deal with that have to deal with firearms and ammunition are like studying marks left on ammunition. Ballistic specialists have to have education is firearms and ammunition. Ballistic experts need at least a bachelor’s in forensic science. Some of the core requirements are
Law enforcement is very important to keep you safe. We have different branches in law enforcement to protect us. Forensic science gives Forensic evidence. Andrea Campbell, author of Forensic Science, says it is the most important evidence in court cases.
If someone was interested in pursuing a career in forensics they would need a strong stomach or hardy exterior. The scenes can be gruesome and this job isn’t for everybody. Also work environment involves visiting morgues with hundreds of dead bodies. A quality that is needed in this field is composure. Things do tend to happen so forensics and other technicians have to refrain themselves and get the job done. Critical thinking and problems solving skills are very important when solving cases that deal with quick decision making and the need of good judgment. Every analyst needs to be detail oriented because they need to notice the small things in order to collect good data. Requirements for this field of work consist of having a bachelor’s degree. Math, chemistry, biology and physics are important courses to take when studying for criminal justice. Other requirements can include a number of hours in seminars and workshops. Moderate terms of on job training can refine an individual’s skills giving them a better and wider range in the field.
Firearm evidence is usually found and encountered in crime scenes against people. There could be many different circumstances like murder, homicide, assault, robbery, suicide just to name a few. So this is basically what firearm evidence
Physical evidence/scientific examinations is the evidence found at the scene of the crime. This can include clothing, blood, fingerprints, weapons and much more. An example of physical evidence could be any listed above but also a bloody knife or a casing from a bullet.
According to Young and Ortmeier (2011), the forensic value of firearm and ballistics evidence is associated with the ability to link the firearm to the crime and the shooter. Markings and striations of the firearm on expended cartridge casings and projectile discovered at a crime are collected and compared to known bullets in a database of known firearm types and test-fired bullets. By checking these national databases, the firearm can be linked to several crimes or not connected to any crimes whatsoever. However, other evidence such as DNA and fingerprints can be linked to other crimes and therefore can link the person to the crime as well (Ortmeier, 2011).
Forensic science borrows from a number of sciences which include: physics, Biology and chemistry. It therefore involves examination of a wide spectrum as compared to any other method of investigation. Due to the wide spectrum of investigation and evidence analysis the method offers; it ensures that the results are accurate and can be used in the court of law to make a decision. The method establishes the existence of a crime, the connection between the crimes and the
Forensics is the use of scientific tests conducted on evidence that is used to aid a criminal investigation. Forensics is so important because without it either the wrong person could go to prison or the police could not arrest anyone, leaving the criminal to remain at large. Forensics allows insight into multiple factors that help catch the criminal behind the crime. Factors like DNA and fingerprinting are the very first piece of evidence to be looked at in an investigation to catch the killer. If the forensic scientists mix something up or misses what they are trained to look for, then they can do a lot of harm to a case. Forensics provides that very important physical evidence that will help the police catch the killer and bring that needed closer for the loved ones of the victim.