Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science

In this new edition of Criminalistics, the noted forensic scientist Richard Saferstein brings the reader into the crime lab for a first hand look at the role of science in the criminal justice system. The application of science to criminal investigation is described in a style that is easily comprehensible to a reader who has no background skills in science. Through actual case histories and with the aid of over 200 illustrations, the reader will explore the impact forensic science has had on the "crimes of the century" - The Lindbergh kidnapping and O.J. Simpson criminal investigation - as well as other noted criminal cases. Criminalistics focuses its attention on the up-to-date technologies police rely on to apprehend criminal perpetrators and to link them through trace evidence to crime scenes. This new edition emphasizes the latest DNA typing procedures, new advances in crime scene investigation, the digital imaging enhancement of fingerprints, computerized ballistic examination, drug and alcohol analyses, as well as arson and explosion detection technologies. A major portion of the text is devoted to how common items of physical evidence are located at crime scenes and how they are processed in the crime lab.