How to Catch a Suspect Red-Handed
The best evidence, it is said, is a suspect caught red (handed, obviously). Chances are there isn’t going to be an officer who just happens upon a burglar climbing out of that ground floor window every...
View ArticleYou’re a Shoe-In: Forensics and Footwear
Staying on the trail The scene: you’re the first to arrive at an alleged residential burglary. The suspect’s point of entry is obvious: a smashed patio door tells you their likely point of entry....
View ArticleFrom the Archives: A Scotland Yard Detective Visits Locard
We’re in the business of featuring truly fascinating articles, which are usually written by our in-house team of writers and sometimes very keen contributors. Every now and then, we’re fortunate enough...
View ArticleDo the “Eyes” Really Have It? Why Eyewitness Testimony Is More Fallible Than...
Eyewitness testimonies are usually the basis of our favorite crime-comedy films, perhaps no more hilariously parodied than in the Oscar-winning classic, My Cousin Vinny. While eyewitnesses may not be...
View ArticleGizmos and Gadgets: How Fingerprint Scanners Work
Each of us is born with a unique barcode: our fingerprints. A combination of genes and environment help shape the individual ridges you see encircling your fingertip. Just like the plethora of factors...
View ArticleFrom Egypt to Babylon and Beyond: Uncovering Ancient Fingerprints
We leave copies of ourselves everywhere. With every touch, we constantly litter the world with imprints of the circular ridges that decorate our fingertips. While the size of the print may change, the...
View ArticlePainful Archaeology: A Look At Handling Mass Graves
Human history is tragic. We’ve waged wars for eons, causing innocent victims to lose their lives at the hands of ignorance and power. One such war in recent memory is the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina...
View ArticleFingerprints of the Two-Thousand Year Old Man
On a microscopic level, the epidermal elevations formed in the skin at the fingertips and on the palms of every human being look like canyons – a maze of ridges and curving valleys that follow each...
View ArticlePsychoanalysing Abdelhamid Abaaoud: 4 Psychological Theories of Terrorism
Named by the media as “the mastermind” of the Paris attacks on the 13th of November 2015, 27 or 28 year-old Abdelhamid Abaaoud has been identified as an integral part of the contingent responsible for...
View ArticleDogs Like Diesel: 4 Things You Should Know About Detection and Man’s Best Friend
#JeSuisChien was a trending hashtag on Twitter for a considerable part of the day on November 18, 2015. This show of solidarity was specifically in memory of Diesel, a 7 year-old police dog who was...
View ArticleWhen DNA Isn’t Enough: Methylation, Forensics, and Twins – Part 1
DNA evidence is often considered a “home run” in forensics. If you find readable DNA at the crime scene, and it matches a suspect, a correct conviction is almost assured. A DNA sample can often point...
View ArticleWhen DNA Isn’t Enough: Methylation, Forensics, and Twins – Part 2
If you haven’t read the previous article “When DNA Isn’t Enough – Part 1”, you should before you venture down below! In this article, author Coltan Scrivner explains his own research in this field....
View Article