WHAT IS FORENSIC SCIENCE
The Oxford English Dictionary lists one of the first uses of the phrase “forensic science” to describe “a mixed science” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2005). The early days of forensic science could certainly be called mixed, when science served justice by its application to questions before the court. Forensic science has grown as a profession and into a science in its own right. Given the public’s interest in using science to solve crimes, it looks as if forensic science has an active, if hectic, future. Forensic science describes the science of associating people, places, and things involved in criminal activities; these scientific disciplines assist in investigating and adjudicating criminal and civil cases. The discipline divides neatly into halves, like the words that describes it. “Science” is the collection of systematic method ologies used to increasingly understand the physical world. The word “forensic” is derived from the Latin forum for “public” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2005). In ancient Rome, the Senate met in the Forum, a public place where the political and policy issues of the day were discussed and debated; even today, high school or university teams that compete in debates or public speaking are called “forensics teams.” More technically, “forensic” means “as applied to public or legal concerns.” Together, “forensic science” is an apt term for the profession of scientists whose work answers questions for the courts through reports and testimony.
IN MORE DETAIL: CRIMINALISTICS AND TRACE EVIDENCE The term criminalistics is sometimes used synonymously with forensic science. “Criminalistics” is a word imported into English from the German kriminalistik. The word was coined to capture the various aspects of applying scientific and technological methods to the investigation and resolution of legal matters. In some forensic science laboratories, forensic scientists may be called criminalists. Criminalistics is generally thought of as the branch of forensic science that involves the collection and analysis of physical evidence generated by criminal activity. It includes areas such as drugs, firearms and toolmarks, fingerprints, blood and body fluids, footwear, and trace evidence. “Trace evidence” is a term of art that means different things to different people. It might include fire and explosive residues, glass, soils, hairs, fibers, paints, plastics and other polymers, wood, metals, and chemicals. These items are generally analyzed by forensic science or forensic science laboratories. To avoid confusion, unnecessary terminology and regionalism, the phrases “forensic sciences” and “forensic scientists” instead of “criminalistics” and “criminalist” will be used.
