Branches of Forensic Sciences

Forensic Sciences

Forensic science is the application of sciences (such as physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and engineering) to matters of law. In criminal cases, forensic scientists are often involved in the search for and examination of physical traces that might be useful for establishing or excluding an association between someone suspected of committing a crime and the scene of the crime or victim. DNA evidence has become an increasingly powerful tool for solving both violent crimes and property crimes, such as homicide, sexual assault, and burglaries.

Forensic crime laboratories are responsible for examining and reporting on physical evidence collected during criminal investigations for federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Forensic crime laboratories receive requests for a variety of forensic services, such as DNA analysis, controlled substance identification, latent fingerprint examination, and digital evidence analysis. BJS defines a crime laboratory as a scientific laboratory employing at least one full-time employee with a degree in the natural sciences that examines physical evidence in criminal matters and provides reports and opinion testimony with respect to such evidence in a court of law.

Medical examiners and coroners’ offices are responsible for the medicolegal investigation of death. They may conduct death scene investigations, perform autopsies, and determine the cause and manner of death when a person has died as a result of violence, under suspicious circumstances, without a physician in attendance, or for other reasons. A medical examiner or coroner may clear a death case without the need to accept jurisdiction over (i.e., take possession of and maintain responsibility for) the decedent’s body. However, depending on the circumstances of the death, characteristics of the death scene, the decedent’s medical history, and other factors, the medical examiner or coroner may conduct an additional investigation to determine the cause and manner of death. [BJS- USA]

US National Survey of DNA Crime Laboratories

Provides national data on publicly operated forensic crime laboratories that perform DNA analyses. Data are collected on personnel, budgets, workloads, equipment, procedures, policies, and data processing. BJS first surveyed forensic crime laboratories in 1998, focusing solely on agencies that performed DNA analysis. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded the 1998 study as part of a DNA Laboratory Improvement Program.

To begin this study BJS created a list of publicly funded crime laboratories that we believed had performed DNA analyses. The list of laboratories was drawn from several sources, primarily respondents from the initial survey of DNA crime laboratories, laboratories that applied for grants from NIJ, and laboratories participating in CODIS. Verification of laboratories contacts and addresses was done by telephone for a small number of these laboratories before the first mailing of the survey.

In February 2001, surveys were mailed to 135 forensic crime laboratories and state laboratory system headquarters. An electronic version of the survey, on a BJS website, was also made available to the laboratories so they could provide information using the Internet.

Laboratories were given until mid- March to return the surveys. Follow-up to the initial mailing continued for four months with a second mailing, phone calls, and faxes to laboratories that had not responded.

When data collection was stopped we had received 124 responses. Of those respondents, 110 reported that they currently performed
DNA analyses. The respondents that did not test DNA included State headquarters, laboratories in the process of setting up DNA analysis capability, and one lab that screened for presence of DNA but did not perform analyses.

We do not have information from the 13 laboratories that did not respond, but we are confident that a majority of those nonrespondents perform some level of DNA analysis.  Including those with the 110 DNA laboratories that did respond, we estimate that approximately 120 forensic crime laboratories in the United States currently perform DNA analyses. [BJS]

Annual household income

The total household income for the 12 months preceding the interview. Includes wages, salaries, net income from businesses or farms, pensions, interest, dividends, rent, and any other source of monetary income of the head of household and all household members.

Aggravated assault

An attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether the victim is injured, or an attack without a weapon when serious injury results.

Arrest

The act of detaining in legal custody. An “arrest” is the deprivation of a person’s liberty by legal authority in response to a criminal charge.

Assault

An unlawful physical attack or threat of attack. Assaults may be classified as aggravated or simple. Rape, attempted rape, and sexual assaults are excluded from this category, as well as robbery and attempted robbery. The severity of assaults ranges from minor threats to nearly fatal incidents.

Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)

An automated system for searching fingerprint files and transmitting fingerprint images. AFIS computer equipment can scan fingerprint impressions (or utilize electronically transmitted fingerprint images) and automatically extract and digitize ridge details and other identifying characteristics in sufficient detail to enable the computer’s searching and matching components to distinguish a single fingerprint from thousands or even millions of fingerprints previously scanned and stored in digital form in the computer’s memory. The process eliminates the manual searching of fingerprint files and increases the speed and accuracy of ten-print processing (arrest fingerprint cards and noncriminal justice applicant fingerprint cards). AFIS equipment also can be used to identify individuals from “latent” (crime scene) fingerprints, with even fragmentary prints of single fingers in some cases. Digital fingerprint images generated by AFIS equipment can be transmitted electronically to remote sites, eliminating the necessity of mailing fingerprint cards and providing remote access to AFIS fingerprint files.

Burglary/trespassing

Includes unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of places, including a permanent residence, other residence (e.g., a hotel room or vacation residence), or other structure (e.g., a garage or shed). Includes victimizations where the offender stole, attempted to steal, or did not attempt to steal. Does not include trespassing on land.Burglary – Includes only crimes where the offender committed or attempted a theft.Trespassing – Includes crimes where the offender did not commit or attempt a theft. Does not include trespassing on land.

Capital punishment

Capital punishment refers to the process of sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes (capital crimes) and carrying out that sentence. The specific offenses and circumstances that determine if a crime is eligible for a death sentence are defined by statute and are prescribed by Congress or any state legislature.

Cause of death

A description of the specific factors leading to the termination of the biological functions that sustain life.

Chemical agents

A chemical compound that has deleterious effects on human health. There are a number of different types of chemical agents, and a range of uses for these compounds, from crowd control to chemical warfare.

Commercial crimes

Crimes against commercial establishments of any type are not included in the survey. Commercial establishments include stores, restaurants, businesses, service stations, medical offices or hospitals, or other similar establishments. For victimizations occurring in commercial establishments, the crime is included or not included depending on whether the survey respondent was threatened or harmed in some way or personal property was taken.

Community policing

A philosophy promoting organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques between the police and the community. These strategies proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues, such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.

Computer virus

A hidden fragment of computer code which propagates by inserting itself into or modifying other programs. Includes viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Excludes spyware, adware, and other malware.

Consent search

Search made by United States law enforcement personnel based on the consent of the individual whose person or property is being searched. No warrant or probable cause is required to perform a search if a person with the proper authority permits, approves, or agrees to a search. A consent search requires the individual whose person or property is being searched to freely and voluntarily waive his or her Fourth Amendment rights, granting the officer permission to perform the search.

Crime category

Refers to personal victimizations (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault, and personal theft/larceny) or property victimizations (burglary, trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other theft).

Victimizations and incidents are classified based on detailed characteristics of the event provided by the respondent. Neither victims nor interviewers classify crimes at the time of interview. During data processing, a computer program classifies each event into one type of crime, based on the entries on a number of items on the survey questionnaire. This ensures that similar events will be classified using a standard procedure. The glossary definition for each crime indicates the major characteristics required to be so classified. If an event can be classified as more than one type of crime, a hierarchy is used that classifies the crime according to the most serious event that occurred. The hierarchy from highest to lowest is rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, burglary/trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and theft.

Custody

Prisoners held in the physical custody of state or federal prisons or local jails, regardless of sentence length or authority that has jurisdiction. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must physically hold that person in one of its facilities. A locality, state, or the BOP may hold inmates over whom a different government maintains jurisdiction.

Death row

Death row refers to incarcerated persons who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution (as in “inmates on death row”). Historically, death row was a slang term that referred to the area of a prison in which prisoners who were under a sentence of death were housed. Usage of the term continues despite the fact that many states do not maintain a separate unit or facility for condemned inmates.

Defendant

Any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute.

Discharge

Individuals exiting parole supervision. Successful discharges include persons who have completed the term of conditional supervision. Unsuccessful discharges include revocations of parole, returns to prison or jail, and absconders. Parolees who are transferred to other jurisdictions and those who die while under supervision are not included in the calculation of success/failure rates.

Domestic violence

Refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence courts
Address criminal cases that involve offenses against persons who are related in some way, most often through intimate partnership or family relationship. They include integrated domestic violence courts, which handle both domestic violence and family issues

Drug offenses

Drug trafficking—Includes trafficking, sales, distribution, possession with intent to distribute or sell, manufacturing, and smuggling of controlled substances. It does not include possession of controlled substances.Other drug offenses—Includes possession of controlled substances, prescription violations, possession of drug paraphernalia, and other drug law violations.

Drug possession

Includes possession of an illegal drug, but excludes possession with intent to sell.

Drug trafficking

Includes manufacturing, distributing, selling, smuggling, and possession with intent to sell.

Federal arrest-related death

A death that occurs when the event causing the death (e.g., gunshot wound, self- inflicted injury, cardiac arrest, fall from a height, drowning) occurs while the decedent’s freedom to leave is restricted by federal law enforcement personnel acting in an official capacity. Arrest-related deaths include—any death attributed to any use of force by federal law enforcement personnel
any death that occurred while the decedent’s freedom to leave was restricted by federal law enforcement prior to, during, or following an arrest—
while detained for questioning or investigation (e.g., Terry stop)
during the process of apprehension (e.g., pursuit of criminal suspect or standoff with law enforcement)
while in the custody of, or shortly after restraint by, law enforcement (even if the decedent was not formally under arrest)
during transport to or from law enforcement, detention, incarceration, or medical facilities
any death while the decedent was confined in a temporary holding facility designed to hold detainees for no longer than 72 hours (e.g., booking center, holding area, or staging location)
any death that occurred during an interaction with federal law enforcement personnel during response to medical or mental-health assistance (e.g., response to suicidal persons).

US Federal prisons

Prison facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Prisoners housed in these facilities are under the legal authority of the federal government. This excludes private facilities under exclusive contract with BOP.

Felony

An offense, as murder or burglary, of graver character than those called misdemeanors, especially those commonly punished in the U.S. by imprisonment for more than a year.

Financial fraud

In the National Crime Victimization Survey’s Supplemental Fraud Survey, financial fraud is defined as acts that “intentionally and knowingly deceive the victim by misrepresenting, concealing, or omitting facts about promised goods, services, or other benefits and consequences that are nonexistent, unnecessary, never intended to be provided, or deliberately distorted for the purpose of monetary gain.”

Fraud

The intentional misrepresentation of information or identity to deceive others, the unlawful use of a credit or debit card or ATM, or the use of electronic means to transmit deceptive information, in order to obtain money or other things of value. Fraud may be committed by someone inside or outside the business. Includes instances in which a computer was used to defraud the business of money, property, financial documents, insurance policies, deeds, use of rental cars, or various services by forgery, misrepresented identity, credit card or wire fraud. Excludes incidents of embezzlement.

Hispanic

A person who describes himself or herself as Mexican American, Chicano, Mexican, Mexicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or from some other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

Homicide

Killing of a human being by another human being. The Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD) program gathers data on homicides that occur during an arrest process regardless of whether the homicide was attributed to law enforcement personnel or a civilian. Homicides by law enforcement personnel were included in the ARD collection because they resulted from a direct use of force by law enforcement officers. However, not all homicides by law enforcement personnel involve shooting deaths. Other types of homicides by law enforcement officers included deaths attributed to asphyxia during restraint, injuries sustained during an altercation, and the use of technologies, such as chemical agents and conducted energy devices.

Household income

The total income of the household head and all members of the household for the 12 months preceding the interview. Includes wages, salaries, net income from businesses or farms, pensions, interest, dividends, rent, and any other form of monetary income. Income was imputed beginning in 2015, so no cases have unknown income in 2015 and later.

The data visualization tool uses this coding for household income:

Less than $7,500
$7,500 to $14,999
$15,000 to $24,999
$25,000 to $34,999
$35,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000 or more

Injury

A measure of whether bodily hurt or damage was sustained by a victim as a result of criminal victimization. This applies only to personal victimization where there was contact between the victim and the offender. The types of injuries suffered are used to distinguish between serious and minor assaults. Serious injuries include knife or gunshot wounds, broken bones, loss of teeth, and loss of consciousness. A completed rape is classified as a serious injury. Minor injuries include bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches, and swelling. Other injuries that cannot be identified as serious or minor are distinguished by the amount of hospitalization required. Injuries suffered from an attack during a crime incident include any and all physical (bodily) damage experienced by the victim (e.g., broken bones, bruises, cuts, and internal injuries). Emotional and psychological trauma are not included.

Jail

Confinement facility usually administered by a local law enforcement agency that is intended for adults, but sometimes holds juveniles, for confinement before and after adjudication. Such facilities include jails and city or county correctional centers; special jail facilities, such as medical treatment or release centers; halfway houses; work farms; and temporary holding or lockup facilities that are part of the jail’s combined function. Inmates sentenced to jail facilities usually have a sentence of 1 year or less. Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Alaska, and Hawaii operate integrated systems, which combine prisons and jails.

Larceny

The unlawful taking of property other than a motor vehicle from the possession of another, by stealth, without force or deceit. Includes pocket picking, nonforcible purse snatching, shoplifting, and thefts from motor vehicles. Excludes receiving and/or reselling stolen property (fencing) and thefts through fraud or deceit.

Malpractice

Failure of a professional person, as a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows.

Marital status

Every person is assigned to one of the following classifications: (1) married, which includes persons in common-law unions and those who are currently living apart for reasons other than marital discord (e.g., employment or military service); (2) separated or divorced, which includes married persons who are legally separated and those who are not living together because of marital discord; (3) widowed; and (4) never married, which includes persons whose marriages have been annulled and those who are living together and not in a common-law union.

National Crime Information Center (NCIC)

An automated database of criminal justice and justice-related records maintained by the FBI. The database includes the “hot files” of wanted and missing persons, stolen vehicles, and identifiable stolen property, including firearms. Access to NCIC files is through central control terminal operators in each state that are connected to NCIC via dedicated telecommunications lines maintained by the FBI. Local agencies and officers on the beat can access the state control terminal via the state law enforcement network. Inquiries are based on name and other nonfingerprint identification. Most criminal history inquiries of the Interstate Identification Index (III) system are made via the NCIC telecommunications system. NCIC data may be provided only for criminal justice and other specifically authorized purposes. For criminal history searches, this includes criminal justice employment, employment by federally chartered or insured banking institutions or securities firms, and use by state and local governments for purposes of employment and licensing pursuant to a state statute approved by the U.S. Attorney General. Inquiries regarding presale firearm checks are included as criminal justice uses.

Offense

A crime. When referring to personal crimes, the term can be used to refer to both victimizations and incidents.

Offender-The perpetrator of a crime. This term usually applies to crimes involving contact between the victim and the offender.

Outcomes of investigations

Substantiated allegation means the event was investigated and determined to have occurred, based on a preponderance of the evidence (28 C.F.R. §115.72).

Unfounded allegation means the investigation determined that the event did not occur.

Unsubstantiated allegation means the investigation concluded that evidence was insufficient to determine whether or not the event occurred.

Personal crimes

Rape, sexual assault, personal robbery, assault, purse snatching, and pocket picking. This category includes both attempted and completed crimes.

Place of occurrence of crime

The location at which a crime occurred, as specified by the victim. Survey measures of crimes occurring in commercial establishments, in restaurants, in nightclubs, on public transportation, and at other similar places include only those crimes involving NCVS measured crimes against persons, not the establishments. Crimes against commercial establishments and other places are not measured by the survey.

Prison

Compared to jail facilities, prisons are longer-term facilities owned by a state or by the federal government. Prisons typically hold felons and persons with sentences of more than a year; however, the sentence length may vary by state. Six states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Alaska, and Hawaii) have an integrated correctional system that combines jails and prisons. There are a small number of private prisons, which are facilities run by private prison corporations whose services and beds are contracted out by state or federal governments.

Property offenses

Burglary—Includes only crimes where the offender committed or attempted a theft.

Trespassing—Includes crimes where the offender did not commit or attempt a theft. Does not include trespassing on land.

Larceny/theft—Includes grand theft, grand larceny, and any other felony theft, including burglary from an automobile, theft of rental property, and mail theft. It does not include motor vehicle theft, receiving or buying stolen property, fraud, forgery, or deceit.

Motor vehicle theft—Includes auto theft, conversion of an automobile, receiving and transferring an automobile, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, and larceny or taking of an automobile.

Forgery—Includes forging of a driver’s license, official seals, notes, money orders, credit or access cards or names of such cards or any other documents with fraudulent intent, uttering a forged instrument, counterfeiting, and forgery.

Fraud—Includes possession and passing of worthless checks or money orders, possession of false documents or identification, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretenses, credit card fraud, welfare fraud, Medicare fraud, insurance claim fraud, fraud, swindling, stealing a thing of value by deceit, and larceny by check.

Other property offenses—Includes receiving or buying stolen property, arson, reckless burning, damage to property, criminal mischief, vandalism, criminal trespassing, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful entry for which the interest is unknown.

Robbery

Completed or attempted theft, directly from a person, of property or cash by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury.

Completed/property taken – The successful taking of property from a person by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury.

Completed with injury – The successful taking of property from a person, accompanied by an attack, with or without a weapon, resulting in injury.

Completed without injury – The successful taking of property from a person by force or threat of force, with or without a weapon, but not resulting in injury.

Attempted to take property – The attempt to take property from a person by force or threat of force without success, with or without a weapon, and with or without injury.

Attempted without injury – The attempt to take property from a person by force or threat of force without success, with or without a weapon, but not resulting in injury.

Attempted with injury – The attempt to take property from a person without success, accompanied by an attack, with or without a weapon, resulting in injury.

Simple assault

Attack without a weapon resulting either in no injury, minor injury (e.g., bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches, or swelling), or an undetermined injury requiring fewer than two days of hospitalization. Also includes attempted assault without a weapon.

With minor injury – An attack without a weapon resulting in injuries such as bruises, black eyes, cuts, or an undetermined injury requiring fewer than two days of hospitalization.

Without injury – An attempted assault without a weapon but not resulting in injury.

Theft

Completed or attempted theft of property or cash without personal contact. Incidents involving theft of property from within the sample household are classified as theft if the offender has a legal right to be in the house (e.g., a maid, delivery person, or guest). If the offender has no legal right to be in the house, the incident is classified as a burglary.

Completed theft – To successfully take without permission property or cash without personal contact between the victim and offender.Attempted theft – To unsuccessfully attempt to take property or cash without personal contact.

Theft of intellectual property

The illegal obtaining of copyrighted or patented material, trade secrets, or trademarks (including designs, plans, blueprints, codes, computer programs, software, formulas, recipes, graphics) usually by electronic copying. Excludes theft of personal or financial data such as credit card or social security numbers, names and dates of birth, financial account information, or any other type of information.

Theft of personal or financial data

The illegal obtaining of information that potentially allows someone to use or create accounts under another name (individual, business, or some other entity). Personal information includes names, dates of birth, social security numbers, or other personal information. Financial information includes credit, debit, or ATM card account or PIN numbers. Excludes theft of intellectual property such as copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. Excludes theft of any other type of information.

Torts

A wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another’s person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.

Types of financial release

Surety bond—Bail bond company signs a promissory note to the court for the full bail amount and charges the defendant a fee for the service (usually 10% of the full bail amount). If the defendant fails to appear, the bond company is liable to the court for the full bail amount. Frequently the bond company requires collateral from the defendant in addition to the fee.Deposit bond—Defendant deposits a percentage (usually 10%) of the full bail amount with the court. The percentage of the bail is returned after the disposition of the case, but the court often retains a small portion for administrative costs. If the defendant fails to appear in court, he or she is liable to the court for the full bail amount.

Full cash bond—The defendant posts the full bail amount in cash with the court. If the defendant makes all court appearances, the cash is returned. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond is forfeited.

Property bond—Involves an agreement made by a defendant as a condition of pretrial release requiring that property valued at the full bail amount be posted as an assurance of his or her appearance in court. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the property is forfeited. Also known as “collateral bond.”

Victim-offender relationship

A classification of a crime victim’s relationship to the offender for crimes involving direct contact between the two. For the analysis tool, this applies to crimes that involve contact between the victim and the offender (personal victimization); this distinction is not made for property victimization.

The data visualization tool uses this coding for victim-offender relationship:

Intimate Partners (i.e., current or former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends)
Other relatives (i.e., parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, brothers, sisters, and other relatives)
Well-known/casual acquaintances (i.e., friends or former friends, roommates or boarders, schoolmates, neighbors, people at work, and other known nonrelatives)
Strangers (i.e., anyone not previously known by the victim)
Don’t know relationship
Don’t know number of offenders