Forensic Science

Forensic Science

• In its broadest definition, forensic science is the application of science to criminal and civil laws.
• The goal of this class is to show how science plays a crucial role in criminal justice

What key skills do you think Forensic Scientist must possess? What about an eye witness?

Observation

• Observation = what a person perceives using his or her senses
• Perception = interpretation of information received from the senses - Our brains fill in gaps

Perception Activity #1

• I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.

Explanation

• We use context to pre-activate the areas of our brains that correspond to what we expect next. For example, brain scans reveal that if we hear a sound that leads us to strongly suspect another sound is on the way, the brain acts as if we're already hearing the second sound. Similarly, if we see a certain collection of letters or words, our brains jump to conclusions about what comes next.

Perception Activity #2

• S1M1L4RLY, Y0UR M1ND 15 R34D1NG 7H15 4U70M471C4LLY W17H0U7 3V3N 7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17

Observations vs Perceptions

Observation Activity

• Work with the person next to you
• Student 1- Observe your partner for 15 seconds
• Student 1- Close your eyes
• Student 2- Change one thing about your physical appearance
• Student 1- Open your eyes and determine what changed
• Switch Roles

Eyewitness Accounts

What factors do you think would/could affect an eye witness account?

Observations are Affected by:

• Emotional state
• Whether the witness was alone, part of a group, or whether others were in the area
• What type of/ how much activity was going on around them.

Observations are Affected by:

• Reports from individuals about crime-scene events often vary.
• Observations depend on the level of interest, stress, concentration, and the amount and kind of distractions present.
• Prejudices, personal beliefs, motives, and any lapse in time since the occurrence can also have an affect.

Innocence Project

• Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, starting in 1992, use DNA to examine post-conviction cases.
• The project has found that up to 87% of the wrongful convictions they discovered were due to faulty eyewitness identifications

How to be a Good Observer

• Start at one part of a crime scene and run your eyes slowly over every space.
• Slowly look at every part of a piece of evidence.
• Do not assume that later on you will be able to remember everything.

How to be a Good Observer

• Do not pay attention to only what you think is important.
• On a crime scene you will not know what will turn out to be important.
• Make a conscious effort to pay attention to all the details in your surroundings.

How to be a Good Observer

• Leave the final interpretation of data until later—
• Do look for patterns and make connections.
• Write down/photograph as much as possible. The more information obtained, the better will be the interpretations.

Observation Videos