Forensic evidence is scientifically tested, collected and used as part of legal matters. It can be used to identify a suspect, connect a suspect to a crime scene or to help settle civil matters such as property crimes like burglaries and robberies. Evidence can be physical, such as fingerprints, hair and blood or digital, such as computer search histories and online shopping habits.
For example, a fingerprint can provide a very detailed and comprehensive history of how the person touched an object. A crime scene can produce a wealth of physical evidence such as blood, bullets, tire tracks and footprints. In fact, a murder crime scene can produce so much evidence that investigators need to use a team of experts to test and analyze it.
Frances Glessner Lee, who is referred to as “the mother of forensic science” lobbied to have coroners replaced by medical professionals and created intricate crime scene dioramas that are still used today to train investigators. She also developed a series of tests for blood and bloodstain pattern analysis, which is now the foundation of many types of forensics.
Trace evidence is the discipline of forensics that studies microscopic amounts of paint, fibers and other materials. It is based on the principle of Locard’s Exchange Principle, which states that any contact between two objects will leave something behind at each site. A specialized laboratory will perform the analysis on this type of evidence. The process of testing may include Fourier transform infrared spectrometry or solvent tests that expose the paint sample to different chemicals.
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