By Kanica Soni
WHAT IS FORENSIC SCIENCE
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system in essence to produce evidence in controversial cases, this may be in relation to a crime or to a civil action. But besides its relevance to the underlying legal system, more generally forensics encompasses the accepted scholarly or scientific methodology and norms under which the facts regarding an event, or an artifact, or some other physical item (such as a corpse, or cadaver, for example) are to the broader notion of authentication whereby an interest outside of a legal form exists in determining whether an object is in fact what it purports to be, or is alleged as being.
The word “forensic” comes from the Latin adjective “forensis” meaning of or before the forum. During the time of the Romans, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their side of the story. The individual with the best argument and delivery would determine the outcome of the case. Basically, the person with the sharpest forensic skills would win. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word "forensic" - as a form of legal evidence and as a category of public presentation.
The major branch yet a generalized on is that of criminalistics it is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of biological evidence, trace evidence, impression evidence (such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, and tire tracks), controlled substances, ballistics, firearm and tool mark examination, and other evidence in criminal investigations. Typically, evidence is processed in a crime lab. Besides this there are more specialized fields under forensics like that of Entymology, Anthropology, Archeology, and others.
A very important factor in Forensics is that of the legal system of the respective companies.
(Ref: Wikipedia)
THE UPCOMING FIELD OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
Behind the Closed Doors of a Mind...
"Forensic Psychology - To not only know how "madmen" think but to step into their world, if only to bring it to a halt. "
The art of forensics also is in trying to know the core cause of crimes, and why they are at a higher rate in some places and why they are lower in other, a key in that is to find the cause of it in the first place.
Looking at developing countries, people either steal because they are kleptomaniac for those who are well off, on the other hand, there are those who need the money for subsistence; the case is a little difference in the developed nations that even tend to provide for subsistence requirements for the unemployed; there the reason for the high rates of crime then become a part of the arena of forensic psychology. Although the evidence that this field of study provides is controversial and not admissible in some courts of law, it does in certain cases aids the investigation with certain types of information that tells the investigating officers the kind of person they are looking for. Infact, such profiling has often aided in getting a criminal behind bars, and after that gathering the evidence to prove the crimes is relatively simpler.
Hence as the world moves on the use of such abstract new fields of study often come to the aid of sciences such as this that help understanding the minds of those who are beyond stealing or killing for a logical purpose like self defense. The below phrase aptly describes how factors like raging hormones or an undiagnosed psychological disorder proceeds to manifest itself in the mind of an individual as it thrives:
"It was an urge. ... A strong urge, and the longer I let it go the stronger it got, to where I was taking risks to go out and kill people risks that normally, according to my little rules of operation, I wouldn't take because they could lead to arrest." —Edmund Kemper.
Many a time if the cause of a series of murders committed may not be merely psychological, the reason may be the way a person deals with stress.
The method of profiling as such may very well be debatable considering the fact that there is no particular method that is/ has been established universally. In studying various trends a psychologist can by studying past history and a variety of cases find the common causes to murders. In doing so presenting a motive to a court of law becomes easier to find, when they too are opening up to the possibilities of an innate psychological tendency that could be the cause of a person to act violently, other than the usual cause that was accepted i.e. a motive to act in that way like that of money or revenge.
In the present world I think the value of such evaluations and profiling done be forensic psychologists is becoming more and more essential especially with the rise of terrorism. Profiling a terrorist and finding a cause to the violence is essential in trying to eliminate it. Likewise this theory is applicable not only to terrorists, it is also applicable in mass murderers, further more an offshoot of the application of this theory is that in the case of serial murderers a prediction can be made as to when and how a criminal may strike for his/her next offence. This is a key that can save lives and help capture dangerous men/women that pose a threat to society.
Copyright © Kanica Soni 2008 owned by Kanica Soni . All Right Reserved
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