Home Invasion-The Importance of Forensic Evidence
One of the most powerful parts of a case against a criminal can be the forensic evidence that is collected and presented. Dramatic breakthroughs in both the scientific and technological fields have greatly impacted the criminal justice system.
A recent crime wave has swept your city. Imagine you came home last night to find your house had been burglarized. Understandably, the police and crime lab are overworked and in need of help.
Physical evidence (meaning any materials at the scene of the crime that could be valuable to a criminal case) was collected by crime scene technicians at the house and from a possible getaway car and is listed below. You will need to:
A. Choose the three most important types of evidence collected from the link below.
B. Define the physical properties of the evidence collected .
C. Explain what information can be found from this evidence.
D. Hypothesize how the evidence could be used in the investigation.
Review the evidence that was collected from the crime scene.
Note that although this is largely a hypothetical investigation, the description of a material and how it is tested will be factual and you will need to conduct research using the Library to identify reliable sources.
The final results and importance of the evidence in an investigation will be up to your interpretation and largely hypothetical.
Review the link below for additional information.
•Source: National Institute of Justice. (n.d.) Forensic Science.
Three pieces of evidence
Choose three pieces of evidence from the list presented and complete the questions in the table below.
The table should also:
• Use APA style for all citations. In text citations can be placed in the table and a full reference page located at the end of the assignment template.
• Avoid plagiarism. Do not cut and paste directly from the source into the table. Note: no more than 10% of your paper should be directly quoted from any outside source.
• Utilize at least two reliable sources.
• Be free of grammar and spelling errors.
Analyze the evidence and the chemical properties of the material. Key properties such as color, density, chemical or biological composition should be discussed.
Describe how thisevidence was correctly collect from the scene.
Necessary tests to be performed on this type of sample.
Hypothetical results recorded.
Apply the hypothetical results from the evidence collected to the investigation and include discussion about how the results could influence a decision in a trial setting.