Forensics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Forensics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Douglas P. Lyle
Released June 2019
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119608967

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Book description

Forensics For Dummies (9781119608967) was previously published as Forensics For Dummies (9781119181651). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

 

Understand the real-life science behind crime scene investigation

Forensics For Dummies takes you inside the world of crime scene investigation to give you the low down on this exciting field. Written by a doctor and former Law & Order consultant, this guide will have you solving crimes along with your favorite TV shows in no time. From fingerprints and fibers to blood and ballistics, you'll walk through the processes that yield significant information from the smallest clues. You'll learn how Hollywood gets it wrong, and how real-world forensics experts work every day in fields as diverse as biology, psychology, anthropology, medicine, information technology, and more. If you're interested in a forensics career, you'll find out how to break in—and the education you'll need to do the type of forensics work that interests you the most. Written for the true forensics fan, this book doesn't shy away from the details; you'll learn what goes on at the morgue as you determine cause of death, and you'll climb into the mind of a killer as you learn how forensic psychologists narrow down the suspect list.

Crime shows are entertaining, but the reality is that most forensics cases aren't wrapped up in an hour. This book shows you how it's really done, and the amazing technology and brilliant people that do it every day.

  • Learn who does what, when they do it, and how it's done
  • Discover the many fields involved in crime scene investigation
  • Understand what really happens inside a forensics lab
  • Examine famous forensics cases more intriguing than any TV show

Forensic scientists work in a variety of environments and in many different capacities. If you think television makes it look interesting, just wait until you learn what it's really like! Forensics For Dummies takes you on a tour of the real-world science behind solving the case.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  3. Part 1: Cracking Open the Case
    1. Chapter 1: Understanding the World of Forensic Science
      1. Defining Forensics: The Science of Catching Criminals
      2. Getting the Big Picture: Forensic Science in Action
      3. Investigating the Crime Lab
      4. Peeking Inside the Criminalist’s Toolbox
      5. The Cornerstone of Forensic Science: Locard’s Exchange Principle
    2. Chapter 2: Getting to Know the Forensics Team
      1. Gathering the Evidence: The Criminalist at Work
      2. From Analyzing Blood to Identifying Bugs: Forensic Science Specialists
      3. Forensic Investigation’s Head Honcho: The Medical Examiner
      4. Dealing with the Dead: The Coroner’s Technician
      5. Testifying as an Expert
    3. Chapter 3: Collecting and Protecting the Evidence
      1. Assessing the Scene of the Crime
      2. Classifying the Evidence
      3. Locating the Evidence
      4. Collecting and Preserving the Evidence
      5. Locating a Missing Corpse
    4. Chapter 4: Delving into the Criminal Mind
      1. Defining the Role of the Forensic Psychiatric Professional
      2. Assessing the Brain
      3. Dealing with Deception
      4. Assessing Competence and Sanity
      5. Tracking Serial Offenders
      6. Profiling the Perpetrator
      7. Linking Criminals and Crime Scenes
  4. Part 2: Analyzing the Evidence
    1. Chapter 5: Fingerprints: Your Personal Signature
      1. Getting a Grip on Fingerprints
      2. Making Matching Easier: Classifying Prints
      3. Locating Those Sneaky Prints
    2. Chapter 6: Painting A Gruesome Picture: Bloodstain Analysis
      1. Understanding Blood’s Character
      2. Analyzing Bloodstain Patterns
      3. Putting It All Together: A Hypothetical Case
    3. Chapter 7: Leaving Impressive Impressions: Shoes, Tires, and Tools
      1. Stepping Out: Shoeprints as Evidence
      2. Tracking Down Tires
      3. Prying Clues from Tool Marks
      4. Finding Facts in Fabrics
    4. Chapter 8: Burning Down the House: Is It Arson?
      1. Striking the Match: Looking into Fire-Starters
      2. Determining Where and How the Fire Started
      3. Heating Things Up: Accelerants
      4. Investigating Homicidal Fires
      5. Evaluating Explosive Situations
  5. Part 3: Examining the Body
    1. Chapter 9: Determining the Cause and Manner of Death: Forensic Autopsies
      1. Defining Death and Declaring It as Such
      2. Shadowing the Forensic Pathologist
      3. Performing an Autopsy
      4. Filing the Official Autopsy Report
    2. Chapter 10: Identifying Unknown Victims
      1. Identifying the Body
      2. Using DNA To Make the ID
      3. Dem Bones, Dem Bones: Working with Skeletons
      4. Reconstructing Faces
      5. Comparing Photographs
    3. Chapter 11: Estimating the Time of Death
      1. Defining Time of Death
      2. Examining the Body to Estimate Time of Death
      3. Gathering Other Clues
    4. Chapter 12: Ouch! That Hurts: Traumatic Injuries and Deaths
      1. Unleashing the Power of Guns and Gun Evidence
      2. Slicing, Dicing, and Stabbing
      3. Taking the Hit: Blunt-Force Trauma
      4. A Shocking Situation: Electrocution
      5. The R Word: Dealing with Rape
    5. Chapter 13: Gasping for Air: Asphyxia
      1. Understanding Asphyxia
      2. Gasping for Oxygen: Suffocation
      3. Grasping Strangulation
      4. Inhaling Deadly Air: Toxic Gases
      5. Drowning: Water, Water Everywhere
  6. Part 4: Utilizing the Crime Lab
    1. Chapter 14: Analyzing Blood and Other Bodily Fluids: Serology
      1. Blood: Life’s Most Precious Fluid
      2. Identifying a Bloodstain’s Source
      3. Testing for Paternity
      4. Looking at Other Bodily Fluids
    2. Chapter 15: Looking Deep Inside: DNA Analysis
      1. Opening an Instruction Manual for Your Cells
      2. Fingering Criminals Using DNA Fingerprints
      3. Understanding the DNA Fingerprinting Process
      4. Using DNA to Determine Lineage
    3. Chapter 16: Testing for Drugs and Poisons: The Toxicology Lab
      1. Understanding Poisons
      2. Defining Toxicology
      3. Seeking Toxins
      4. Examining the Testing Procedures
      5. Looking at Common Drugs
      6. Checking Out Familiar Poisons
    4. Chapter 17: Picking Apart Trace Evidence
      1. Defining Trace Evidence
      2. Understanding Analytical Instruments
      3. Splitting Hairs: Linking Crime to Coiffure
      4. Fiddling with Fibers
      5. Cracking the Mysteries of Glass
      6. Puttering with Paints
      7. Getting Down and Dirty: Soils and Plants
    5. Chapter 18: Bang! Bang!: Analyzing Firearms Evidence
      1. Figuring Out Firearms
      2. Extracting Info from Ammo
      3. Getting Groovy: Comparing Rifling Patterns
      4. The Proof’s in the Powder: Gunshot Residues
    6. Chapter 19: Questioning the Validity of Documents
      1. Analyzing Handwriting
      2. Exposing Alterations
      3. Looking for Indentions
      4. Examining Papers and Inks
      5. Dissecting Typewriters and Photocopiers
  7. Part 5: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 20: Ten Famous Forensic Cases
      1. Using a Homemade Ladder: The Lindbergh Kidnapping
      2. Sacco and Vanzetti and Sacco’s Gun
      3. Ted Bundy’s Bite Marks
      4. Stella Nickell’s Trail of Fingerprints
      5. Finding Fibers on Jeffrey MacDonald
      6. Georgi Markov and the Lethal Umbrella
      7. The Hendricks Family’s Last Meal
      8. Picturing John List
      9. Being Anastasia Romanov
      10. Faking Hitler’s Diaries
    2. Chapter 21: Ten Ways Hollywood Gets It Wrong
      1. The Quick Death
      2. The Pretty Death
      3. The Bleeding Corpse
      4. The Exact Time of Death
      5. The One-Punch Knockout
      6. The Disappearing Black Eye
      7. The Fast-Acting Poison
      8. The Untraceable Poison
      9. The Instant Athlete
      10. The High-Tech Lab
    3. Chapter 22: Ten Great Forensic Careers
      1. Criminalist
      2. Crime Scene Investigator
      3. Forensic Investigator
      4. Forensic Pathologist
      5. Forensic Pathology Technician
      6. Forensic Anthropologist
      7. Forensic Toxicologist
      8. Fingerprint Examiner
      9. Forensic Document Examiner
      10. Forensic DNA Analyst
  8. Index
  9. About the Author
  10. Connect with Dummies
  11. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Forensics For Dummies, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Douglas P. Lyle
  • Release date: June 2019
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119608967