Forensic Science

Investigators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, professionals within the field of law enforcement, and other criminal justice personnel need to understand forensic terms when communicating with forensic scientists or interpreting forensic lab results. This book introduces commonly-used forensic terms, many of which are crucial to the interpretation and understanding of laboratory report findings. With the introduction of new procedures and methods of analysis, many new terms have emerged. This volume adds many of the new terms used in criminal court cases, forensic entomology, forensic psychiatry, crime scene reconstruction, and other forensic disciplines. The definitions and accompanying illustrations come from various domains including toxicology, drug chemistry, criminalistics, bioscience/DNA, firearms/ballistics, forensic pathology, and the legal system. The illustrations communicate the use of laboratory instruments, investigative techniques, and laboratory methods of analysis.