Detect new prospects
Reading in the daily newspapers about nabbing criminals through modern methods of DNA testing and finger printing has aroused the interest of many a potential Sherlock Holmes. Many a youngster today enjoys watching programmes like Cold Files and Detectives on Discovery channel, finding out how much easier it is to collect evidence about a crime today. Today, police officers and intelligence agents are utilising the expertise of forensic scientists with the latest investigative techniques to provide invaluable evidence of a crime.
Forensic science is the application of scientific principles for the investigation of crime. In criminal cases, forensic scientists are often involved in the search for and examination of physical traces, which might be useful for establishing or excluding an association between someone, suspected of committing a crime and the scene of the crime or victim. Such traces commonly include blood and other body fluids, hairs, textile fibres from clothing etc, materials used in buildings such as paint and glass, footwear, tool and tyre marks, flammable substances used to start fires and so on.
Sometimes, the scientist will visit the scene itself to advise about likely sequence of events, any indicators as to who the culprit might be, and to join in the initial search for evidence.
Recently, in the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, it was the presence of hair fibres and some bloodstains found at the house, and tested in a forensic lab, that nailed down the culprit. Other forensic scientists analyse suspected drugs of abuse, specimens from people thought to have taken them or to have been driving after drinking too much alcohol, or to have been poisoned. Yet others specialise in firearms, explosives, or documents whose authenticity is questioned.