Hair and fiber evidence

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

4 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

04/20/2009

Category :

Law & contracts

Sub category :

Criminal law

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Summary :

Hair and fiber
Analyzing hair evidence
The value of comparing hair evidence
Collecting and preserving hair evidence
Analyzing fiber evidence
Collecting and preserving fiber evidence
References

Abstract

Most trace evidence found at a crime undergoes forensic analysis for two main purposes: identification and comparison. Often tiny strange particles are found, and testing for identification purposes establishes exactly what the material is. Obviously, this is a vital step in determining if questionable substances left at a crime scene are traces of blood, illegal drugs, or if hairs collected are human or animal. Comparisons attempt to determine if the evidence found at a scene shares a common origin with that from a suspect. For example, crime-scene fibers would be compared with fibers from clothing, carpets, etc. of a suspect, to see if they match. (Lyle, 2004).The primary significance and most valuable characteristic of trace evidence is it can unknowingly be transferred from one person to another, or between a person and crime scene. During the commission of a crime, tiny particles of items such as hair, fibers, dirt, blood, skin or saliva from a perpetrator are transferred to clothing, hair, etc. of a victim, or vice-versa. This evidence is vital, as often it is the only thing that connects suspect to the crime scene and was first brought to the attention of investigators in the early 1900s, by Edmond Locard, a French police officer. This is the real cornerstone of forensics and known as Locard's Exchange Principle. (Lyle, 2004).Two types of trace evidence often recovered at crime scenes are hair and fibers. While in most cases, evidence of this nature cannot conclusively identify a particular person, it is a valuable source of associative evidence.