Jayce Keller - u0923042
Forensic Anthropology
12.12.2015
Testing Toxicology for Drugs and the Effect They Have On the Brain
Forensic science has been a revelation in law enforcement. After the first American forensic lab was established in 1929 by the Los Angeles police department, using forensic sciences has been pretty much used in every major crime investigation (What is Forensic Science, p.1). What exactly is forensic science? According to an article put out by the University of Western Australia, "Forensics is the term given to an investigation of a crime using scientific means. It is also used as the name of the application of scientific knowledge to legal matters" (What is Forensic Science, p.1). Forensics is fairly open ended;
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The possible drugs that can be tested include, "anabolic steroids, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabinoids, opiates, bronchodilators, phencyclidine…" the list goes on (Shah, par. 2). Being able to test for such a wide range of drugs just through hair makes forensic drug analysis very trustworthy for evidence, and it being so easy to test hair there's no real downside. A number of chemicals and solvents are applied to hair samples in order to decontaminate from any external entity that could sway the testing. After the hair has been decontaminated, the screening process starts which is "calibrated with a tailored drug mixture and [is] validated for [20 or more] selected drugs", and this whole process "instrument run time [is] 8 minutes" (Shah, par.2). An 8 minute test that can give results for over 20 different drugs is an extremely useful test for forensic applications in both live and postmortem cases. The amount of possibilities for this method to be refined makes this test one of the best test available for impurity profiling. In a study regarding hair-based testing for drugs the Chemistry Central Journal had this to say: "[This] method is selective, sensitive and robust for the screening and confirmation of multiple drugs in a single analysis and has potential as a very useful tool for the analysis of large array of controlled …show more content…
Because injection is a very popular way to use this drug, the transfer of bodily fluids or blood becomes increasingly high which puts heroin abusers at a very high risk for contraction of HIV or HCV infection (NIH, par. 8-9). Because of this link, it turns out that drug abuse treatment is an effective way to prevent the spread of HIV and HCV. It can be conducted from hair-based testing if a person was using heroin which can aid in the diagnoses of drug abuse to determine if a person died of overdose or to determine if they contracted HIV or HCV through drug use
Forensic science is defined as the practice of utilizing scientific methodologies to clarify judicial inquiries. The field of forensic science contains a broad range of disciplines and has become a vital aspect of criminal investigations. Some forensic disciplines are laboratory-based; while others are based on an analyst’s interpretation of observable patterns (Kourtsounis, 2009). According to the Innocence project’s website; in greater than fifty percent of wrongful convictions, the use of invalidated or improper forensic techniques played a role in cases; which were later
So what exactly is forensic science? Forensic Science is “the application of scientific knowledge and methodology to legal problems and criminal investigations.” (TheFreeDictionary) It is also “a discipline that applies scientific analysis to the justice system, often to help prove the events of a crime.” (Watson) Forensic science is largely based on comparisons. Forensic scientists typically have a starting salary of $55,040, however, a graduate of the top 10% of their class can make over $83,000. (“Average Salary”) Forensic science has come a long way over the years. New technology has allowed new discoveries and advances in Forensic
This caught my attention right away and hooked me in. Along with being a topic I was quite interested in (reference to last nonfiction book report), the first two sentences got me wondering. What could be told from a murdered person’s body? I already had a lot of background information from research and watching shows on mystery and homicide but this question led to a million answers. Some answers were cause of death, manner of death. time of death, weapon used, etc, all of which were related because this was sparked from the thought of a dead person and my ideas. From this, I read on to determine what could be told from an expert’s point of view.
Forensic Science is the process of finding evidence or material connected to the crime. When a crime is committed, police officers take over and secure the scene so if needed, special investigators can search the area to collect and transport evidence to the crime lab. In addition, forensic scientists work in laboratories, courtrooms, etc. But forensic scientists do not carry a weapon or have the authority to arrest someone, even if proven guilty. They research evidence connected to a crime scene to figure out and uncover who committed the crime. It is often used in cases like airplane crashes, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, crimes committed during the war and cause of sudden death (Funkhouser). Forensic science can
Social pressures change as time passes, therefore it is interesting to see how these three texts whom differ by almost four hundred years perceive society and the effect this has on the protagonists; Shakespeare’s King Lear which was first performed in 1606 during the Jacobean era, presents a patriarchal society. Whilst, Arthur Miller uses the characters in ‘Death of a salesman’ to show the failure of the ‘American dream’ during the “golden era” of America in the late 40’s. The ‘American Dream’ was a set of ideals which suggested that anyone in the US could be successful through hard work, and had the potential to live a happy life. The sense of the deterioration in the equality of opportunities links to the fall in power and hierarchy in
Forensics has changed the way our criminal system works now. A lot of cases are being solved because of the development of forensics. Even cold cases are being brought up to the light to be investigated again and a good percentage of the cases are being solved and criminals are being brought to justice. The green river killer is one case that really got me intrigued into forensics and I got mesmerized by the techniques that are being used to catch murderers and other crimes being committed. The green river killer had an interesting childhood that led him to be a serial killer. He committed multiple murders on prostitutes and left there families with agony and pain. But advances in DNA ultimately led to his demise, police officers were able
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).
Forensic science is the use of scientific knowledge and technology to help solve criminal investigations, and provide evidence that is used in a trial. Any person who helps a lawyer or any kind of law enforcement by testing physical evidence is known as a forensic scientist (Frith 4). Forensic scientist can also be known as forensic science technicians, crime lab analyst, or other titles that may reflect a specific area (Echaore-McDavid and McDavid 28). People who are forensic scientists deal with gruesome scenes on a daily basis, and are at a higher risk of depression than most. Most people in this field love the thrill of solving crimes and catching criminals.
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. Forensics is used in place of forensic science in modern times and is considered to be an effective synonym for
The Industrial Revolution, from 1760 to 1848, introduced factory work and mass production to Britain, changing the world as we know it. But, it didn’t come without setbacks, such as child labour, unhealthy living conditions, and the terrible working conditions that they had to endure.
In 1948, the professional organization of forensic scientists in America (AAFS) was established (Lyman, 2014). Members of the AAFS include pathology and biology, toxicology, criminalistics, questioned documents, and forensic odontology, anthropology, serology, and ballistics (Lyman, 2014). The science advancement in these areas of study
Hair testing is to see if drugs are being used. Schools have been using hair drug testing since 1997 to help students stay drug free. Cocaine, marijuana, opiates , methamphetamine, Ecstasy, Eve and phencyclidine can all be found in a hair follicle during a drug test. A standard test of 1 ½ inches of head hair cut close to the scalp can take several months to detect drug use. It takes approximately 5-7 days from the time of drug use to actually grow in the hair. The amount needed is about as thick as a shoelace. A hairbrush cannot be used for hair drug testing. Hair products do not have an effect on results. When someone has hairpieces or extensions, they are required to use natural hair, nape hair, or body hair. Hair drug tests can be used
Forensic Science has contributed to our world a great deal. People often misunderstand Forensic Science and believe it is much more capable than it really is. As a matter of fact what you see on T.V. is around 80% false or over exaggerated in some way. To Start of, Criminal Investigation is the largest and most known form of Forensic Science. Some of the more known areas include; Fingerprinting, Ballistics, DNA Identification, Fiber Samples, Computer Animation, Documentation analysis, etc. To get this out of the way in the beginning, what you saw on last night’s law and order is far from the truth. Things they do in a matter of hours take months at a time, and most of the time aren’t even plausible concepts.
Forensics science has emanated a much extended way since its first recorded beginnings; around the 700s Chinese pioneers used fingerprints to create the identity of many documents and clay sculptures. Forensic Science is a field of science where an area of law enforcement and where technology, crime-solving, and science all meet. This combination of science areas helps support the theory that when two matters come across one and other, particular evidence of that meeting can later. be found and confirmed to have happened, or the Theory of Transfer.
This essay is an examination of community policing as it relates to the interests of the Virtual City Police Department. Advances in technology has changed police work, officers are incorporating technology and sophisticated investigative techniques to solve crimes. This essay will focus on the pros and cons of community policing in a modern society, where police officers must rely more on technology and forensics than citizens to solve crimes and apprehend criminals.