CRIME BUSTING
Breakthroughs in Forensic Science

Written by Jenny Ward
240 pages
Published by Blandford Press
ISBN 0 1737 2639 3

 

In the last two hundred years the scales of justice have benefited from the contribution of a new ally in the fight against crime .... science. Previously felons and miscreants had to be caught in the act or leave the most obvious clues, but in the early 19th century, medical jurisprudence began to play a role.

 

With improvements to the microscope mid-century, other scientific developments gathered pace. Dental and fingerprint analysis permitted the identification of specific individuals. Ballistic examination meant that spent bullets could be tracked back to the gun which fired them. Toxicological tests were refined to the point where the domestic poisoner almost gave up this dangerous pastime. Minuscule fragments of clothing, skin paint or even glass could be studied to place a suspect at the scene of the crime, and most recently DNA has provided the forensic expert with the ultimate, irrefutable tag...........OR HAS IT?