From ballistics and fingerprints to DNA, forensicscience pulls information from various types of evidence to help solve crimes. You've seen it done on TV and in the movies, now learn some of the science behind solving crimes.
, an interdisciplinary team sought to determine how often analysts were incorrect or contradicted each other. They recruited 75 practicing analysts who reviewed 192 bloodstain patterns.
In samples with known causes, the participants had an 11.2 percent error rate. They also contradicted each other 7.8 percent of the time. The authors concluded the error and contradiction rates could be lessened if the BPA discipline streamlined its terminology and limited semantic disagreements, which they warned could have serious consequences in the real world.With this method, investigators identify a fingerprint or partial fingerprint left at a crime scene or on a murder weapon.
The FBI found the print matched with a lawyer in Oregon whose full set was on record due to his past military history. But at the time of the bombing, the lawyer said he didn’t have a valid U.S. passport and hadn’t left the country since the early 1990s. The FBI later had to apologize for an erroneous accusation, and the forensic field began questioning the accuracy of fingerprint analysis.
In the 2016 PCAST report, the council noted the FBI had conducted empirical studies since the bombing to improve reliability. The report concluded that the method had become “foundationally valid” but warned that juries must be informed that false positives occur. In one study they cited, there was one error per 306 cases, but it was as high as 1 in 18 in another study.At crime scenes, investigators might encounter more than one DNA profile.
The PCAST report noted the growing interest in “touch DNA” but found that multiple-source DNA was most reliable when limited to two profiles. The council warned that DNA analysis of “complex mixtures” was not yet foundationally valid and could lead to erroneous results.American university student Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of her roommate in Italy. Knox was later exonerated.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Slain Woman With Scorpion Tattoo ID’d After 30 YearsFor three decades she was known only as the woman with the scorpion tattoo. Now, her identity has been revealed.
Read more »
Ai Weiwei recreates Monet's water lilies using 650,000 Lego piecesWhen Ai Weiwei opens his next show, visitors will encounter a familiar scene at London's Design Museum: the famed water lilies of French painter Claude Monet. But there's a twist.
Read more »
Ohio City Neighbors Appeal BZA Decision to Approve Homeless Youth Drop-In CenterOhio City neighbors appeal BZA decision to approve homeless youth drop-in center, contending, without evidence, it would increase noise, traffic and crime
Read more »
Picking Up the Pieces After Fire Tears Through Chestnut Hill Catholic SchoolThe morning after a fire caused the roof of a Catholic school in Philly's Chestnut Hill neighborhood to cave in, students and their families were trying to pick up the pieces. One girl told BSheehanTV she was happy to be reunited with her beloved 'Dolly.'
Read more »
Recent Fireballs Over California Were Pieces of Discarded ISS AntennaNo, it's not aliens. It's never aliens. And in this case, the flying objects were of distinct terrestrial origin.
Read more »
'Star Trek: Picard' Season 3 Episode 6 Recap: The Pieces Are Falling Into PlaceIn StarTrekPicard Season 3, Episode 6, Picard finds a reluctant ally in an old friend as Jack's situation grows dire. Our recap:
Read more »