How Technological Advancements Have Influenced Forensic Investigators

Electronic evidence is very fragile because it can be destroyed or altered very easily, therefore it is imperative that investigators follow very careful all the procedural steps when collecting electronic evidence (Diversified Forensics). Before any electronic evidence is gathered investigators should determine whether there is probable cause that a crime has been committed, or if the crime was committed somewhere else the investigator should determine whether the electronic evidence will aid the investigation process to prove or disapprove the crime, if a warrant is needed it must be obtained prior to collecting the evidence (Diversified Forensics). Hard drives, computers, and other electronic devices must be turned off, unplug all cables,

Forensic science is a field of criminology that utilizes scientific methods to gather and examine evidence in order to prove or disprove a crime. Forensic science involves gathering fingerprints, palm prints, footprints, tooth bite prints, blood, and hair and fiber samples and bunch of other things in order to investigate a crime scene. Ballistics techniques are employed to make out weapons in addition to voice identification methods used to recognize criminals (Nickell &Fischer, 1999).

Digital crime has been on the increase due to the increasing use of computer and internet. This has led the investigators with another method of fighting this crime. This is Computer Forensics, a process of going into computer hard drive and capturing basic information the user believed it has been erased.

Data is crucial to the success of any company and they are now increasing their efforts in soliciting and retrieving customer data to learn more about their client's preferences, likes, and dislikes. This, among other factors has attributed to a growing field of data science where data scientists learn to collect crucial data. While there are many types of data, this paper will primarily focus on digital data and how digital scientists can retrieve these data to support provide information for the crown or for the defense. This area has received more attention because criminals such as terrorists have realized the effectiveness of using digital devices to aid in their criminal endeavors (Reith, Carr & Gunsch, 2002, p.2). To combat this, law enforcement agencies are now relying on digital scientists to preserve, collect, analysis and interpret "digital evidence derived from digital sources" (Vincze, 2016, p.184) to help prevent cybercrime and prosecute (or exonerate) suspects. The purpose of this paper is then to illustrate why digital forensic is crucial to addressing the new dangers presented in our society by analyzing the strengths and demonstrating why the weaknesses of the field

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a 25 year old African American named Tom Robinson was wrongly accused of rape by a white 19 year old woman named Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell accused Tom Robinson of rape to cowardly cover her attempt of seducing Tom. What Mayella did, kissing a black man, was an act of breaking a taboo topic by a society of a small Alabaman town in the 1930s. The defendant, Tom Robinson, was sentenced according to the testimonies of the plaintiffs, Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob Ewell. There was no scientific evidence used in the portrayal of Tom Robinson’s trial and the juries convicted the innocent defendant on the biases base on his skin color and immense social pressure. Most of human race can agree, living in 2014, that many things have come a long way from where it started especially in the field of forensic science. Forensic science is the science of “associating people, places, and things involved in criminal activities” (Houck 4), using those for the purpose of the justice system and to provide unprejudiced evidence to be used in the courts of law. Forensic science began much farther than its early recordings in the 700s, and back up even to 44 BC around the time Julius Caesar was murdered. Forensic medical evidence used in the Federal Court System has advanced remarkably since its portrayal at Tom Robinson’s trial in To Kill a Mockingbird and that if Tom Robinson was trialed today, it would have much a

From data acquisition, the investigator should move to the process of extracting data. He or she should use special computer forensics software tools to extract important data from various computer devices and networks. The process of extracting data requires the investigator to be knowledgeable about where to search data in the system and the kind of questions to ask (Rogers, 2003). After extracting data, the investigator proceeds to the process of data analysis. By this time, the investigator will probably be having thousands of files. He or she should use computer forensic tools and techniques to analyze the files in order to generate data which is more relevant and concise (Rogers, 2003). The last step of the process of computer forensics involves reporting the analyzed data. The investigators should ensure that the data, which is supposed to be reported, is complete, understandable, and defendable. This will ensure that the final data presented is credible (Rogers, 2003).

In 2015, about 1,190,704 crimes estimated, of murders was 15,696 with fire arms and an estimated 90,185 rapes. What if you cross under the barrier tape to find a male victim of a suicide investigation? The body is sitting silently on the couch in his living room. Empty cans of liquor spread around the body and a knife are settled on the victim’s lap. While examining the body, you discover a stab wound under the cartilage of his rib and cut beneath the throat. An officer asks “Do you think it is right to assume he committed suicide?” A forensic scientist would say no, they can perform examinations to reasonably prove this suicide was staged with the evidence available and uncover more like a puzzle. Crime and mysteries are reoccurring

This manual is to assist forensic technicians who may be responsible for preserving electronic crime scene and recognizing, collecting, preserving, and storing digital evidence. When dealing with digital evidence, these principles apply: The process of collecting, securing, and transporting digital evidence should not change the evidence in anyway. Only trained forensic technicians specifically for digital evidence should conduct the analysis. Everything done during the search, seizure, transportation and the storage of the digital evidence should be documented, preserved and ready for review.

If this study was conducted today I believe that the conclusions would be somewhat the same as the findings back then. With the technological advancements of cell phones, Global Positioning Systems, the 911 system and computers today, police response times have been greatly reduced. This allows for the greater possibility of capturing an offender at or nearby the scene. This also allows for not only police response times to be decreased but also response times for other first responders that provide lifesaving first aid. With the advancements in forensics the greater chance of catching a criminal after the fact has been greatly improved which allows for the police to be more reactive when a crime has finally been discovered. With police departments designing precincts in a more efficient manner and utilizing Intelligence Led Policing, Predictive Policing or Compstat to properly allocate resources provides for preventative patrols to be accomplished while also being able to be reactive in nature.

Technology is used in this world by many people. They use it to perform research, communicate, teach, perform medical procedures, commit a crime, and so forth. Since it can be used for various reasons, it can be also be used against a person in a court of law as evidence in a case. As technology advances and more people use technology for their own purposes, cybercrime also increases in society.

Forensic science is a broad term that refers to the use of science or technology in a court room environment. Forensic science plays an important role in modern popular culture; the police procedural is highly dependent upon cutting-edge forensic science. Moreover, many people are aware of the impact of DNA testing on the modern criminal justice landscape. However, forensic science actually predates many modern scientific advances; almost as long as there have been controversies, there has been some type of forensic science.

Dedicated system forensics specialists have trained intensively in investigating digital incidents to determine magnitude of the situation. Since digital crimes are committed on devices over multiple computing platforms, it is essential for forensic specialist to have a broad knowledge on which tools and techniques yield best results. The information collected from devices may serve as useful evidence in a legal matter; you never want the gathering of data to be an issue during the trial proceedings. Dedicated system forensic specialists understand the advantage in preparing a chain of custody report; it documents who oversaw data recovery or imaging, when & where collection took place and how & who stored data, which all add evidentiary value to findings. Individuals not skilled in the digital investigative process may inadvertently contaminate, overlook or destroy evidences, or simply forget to document the collection process. The smallest omission & fallacy in evidence collection or documentation can cause finds to

Forensic science involves the use of science to solve criminal and civil crimes but mostly lies on the side of criminal investigations. It makes it possible to identify the criminals based on the DNA traces they leave behind. It involves analyses of blood, DNA and other evidences and later on uses the findings as evidence in the court of law. It helps in solving the various crimes in the world and this has been the greatest contributor to the growth of the sector. Cases that were previously considered impossible due to lack of evidenced tracing to the victim can now be solved using forensic science evidences. The essay aims at analyzing the different aspects of forensic science that are used in the process of solving criminal activities. It will also look at the different cases that forensic science was used to solve crimes in a court of law.

Picking a career is a hard task. You base your choice on your interests, location and income. When having to choose from the Criminal justice system I took into account the rights of each career, technology used in the field and the ethical standards of each career. Legal searches can only happen with certain protocols to protect the criminal’s rights. Each job has different protocols. Technology is helping solve more cases and is keeping people safer. When it comes to ethics, there is a set of codes and standards that they have to follow but what about the things that are not specified in those codes?

Currently, technology has proven to helpful tool in criminal investigation. This report analyses and discuss recent research on how ICT(Technology) helps in homicide investigation. A case study will portray how the use of evolving technology has helped in homicide investigation. The discussion focuses on influence of some of the main technology and tools used and its setbacks in modern day homicide investigations; Tools like Fingerprinting, Digital evidence (e.g. surveillance), DNA analysis, 3D reconstructions are examined and outlined in the report while portraying their effectiveness and legal setbacks.