Witness Experiment

In our class we were given a sheet that held instructions to this activity. The first thing was to work in threes and cut out 3 pictures of the same sized faces in a magazine. Cut out all the important facial features and memorize the face you have picked, cut out, and ensemble. Mix up the 3 faces together than use at least time as possible and remembering the facial features re-ensemble your face from memory. This was a good experiment and excersice because if we witness a crime on the street one day, many days after the fact we will still be able to accurately report specific details.

     

Create a Profile

In our class at our tables we were handed 5 envelopes. All of them were clues to a crime, the envelopes included Hair/ fiber, lipstick, a torn up letter, and fingerprints.

Clue 1
 4 fingerprints= 3 ulnar loops and 1 plain whorl
Prints were from the left hand.


Clue 2
 Hair sample that was a long thin strand of possibly dyed,caucasion hair.

Clue 3
A torn up letter reading " You will never find her " in cursive.
So from this we know that the victim is a female and she is missing.


Clue 4
Hair sample that was short and thick and dark. Could be Asain hair or synthetic hair.


Clue 5
A stain that was not easy to tell what it was by just looking at it. It was pink in color,couldve been lipstick, blood, or a red drink.


We know that 2 people were involved and that a female is missing. We need to further find out who it was and why.

Drug Analysis

In this lab we had 3 replicas/simulated drugs. *Meth, Cocaine and LSD. We worked in groups of four, first we took the "drug" and mixed it with water than put it in a petri dish. After that we tested the substances for their pH and their specific "drug" indicator.

Drug #	Color and pH	Cocaine	LSD
1	Orange and Yellowish   pH6	-	-
2	Blue           pH10	+	-
3	Orange      pH3	-	+
4	Green and Yellowish  pH7	+	-
5	Yellow       pH7	-	-
6	Orange      pH3	-	+

 "Cocaine"   




*Meth was not able to be tested

Lipstick

In my class we were given little squares of sheets of paper. We had a choice of alot of lipsticks. We applied a  lipstick to our lips and kissed the white sheet of paper. We than analyzed our lip prints to point out any obvious and distinguished marks, than we observed and recorded .

Footprint

In our class we had dirt collected outside. We recorded the temperature and weather conditions and when it last rained.  We worked in groups of 3 and one person went at a time. Coincidentally, everyone in my group has converse all-stars so we did not have to analyze the difference between the various brands. We determined from the footprint any distinguishing features, the brand, the length and width, the direction (north, south etc.) and the individual characters. We than came up to a conclusion on how female and male is different.

  

Handwriting Analysis

1.       History of handwriting analysis

           

Hundreds of years ago, Aristotle noticed the close relationship between handwriting and personality. The Chinese discovered the relationship between character and handwriting. Alfred Binet, confirmed that certain character traits are reflected in handwriting. It is said that handwriting is a very individual trademark of personality. No two people have exactly the same handwriting goes the same with fingerprints. A person's signature is like his own seal and cannot be reproduced by any other individual.

    

http://www.google.com/search?rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&hl=en&q=alfred%20binet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

2. List of 12 handwriting characteristics

1. Line quality: Do the letters flow or are they written with very intent strokes?

2. Spacing of words and letters: What is the average space between words and letters?

3. Ratio of height, width, and size of letters: Are the letters consistent in height, width, and size?

4. Lifting pen: Does the author lift his or her pen to stop writing a word and start a new word?

5. Connecting strokes: How are capital letters connected to lower-case letters?

6. Strokes to begin and end: Where does the letter begin and end on a page?

7. Unusual letter formation: Are any letters written with unusual slants or angles? Are some letters printed rather than in cursive?

8. Pen pressure: How much pen pressure is applied on upward and downward strokes?

9. Slant: Do letters slant to the left or right? If a  slant is pronounced, a protractor may be used to determine the degree.

10. Baseline habits: Does the author write on the line or does the writing go above or below the line?

11. Fancy writing habits; Are there any unusual curls or loops or unique styles?

12. Placement of diacritics: How does the author cross the t's or dot the i's?

http://mzielonkaforensics.blogspot.com/2009/08/twelve-basic-characteristics-for.html

3. Have pictures and analysis of a handwriting analysis template.  State how the free handing forgery and tracing forgery differ using the 12 handwriting characters. In other words, how would you tell that they are forgeries? Which do you think is easier as a forgery technique: free handing or tracing?

Usually you can easily tell the difference between tracing  and freehand forgeries,  because the hand no longer glides naturally because it is studied intently on following g the lines so perfectly that they make broken lines and an uneven flow of the ink. Even retouched lines may be made to back track to correct a wrongdoing. The shades may be different because they may have spent a more amount of time on the one letter being cautious. Contrary, free handing may have the flow but it is way harder to completely implicate it. I believe the easier one is tracing.

The top two are from the same person and are forged while the ones on the bottom are the forged ones.

4. Reflect on the check forgery activity explain the steps/ process of your check forgery? Did you and your group identify the proper person/ persons who did the forgeries? Which characteristics were the most distinguishing in your analysis?

In the check forgery activity we had a template of our printed and cursive sentences. We used every word in the alphabet. We than obtained fake checks and filled them out signing our alias names. We ripped them up and passed them to the next table. Using the sheet with our handwriting we used those to try to find out whose check we had. My group did successfully found out the person. With mine the “y” s was very distinctive.

http://www.handwritinganalysis.ca/Articles/Forgery-By-Tracing.html

5. Research a famous forgery case and explain how forensic handwriting analysis was used to expose the forgery.

There was a diary supposedly found in a metal lined container that was found in a fiery plane crash and they were accounts that were made to seem made by Hitler. Millions believed this and they were later found out to be a hoax because the historical accounts conflicted with the accounts made in the diaries. They made experts test the handwriting and after many rigorous tests they found it out to be an elaborate forgery. 

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/scams/hitler_diaries/2.html

In my reflection :

       In my class we had a template, we wrote a sentence in print and in cursive. We than had 2 different people forge our handwriting by free hand and tracing. Using the 12 charasteristics we analyzed the difference in our handwriting.

Hair/Fiber Analysis

History of Hair and Fiver analysis

Hair analysis was probably first introduced in France in 1857.  In the early 1900's microscopic examination of hair was a common practice. A single hair can tell us the race, sex, and the age of its owner. Hair and fiber can be found in cars, on the victim, on the clothes of the suspect.  Hair is made of generally Keratin.  By studying the fibers found, scientists can predict that the suspect was wearing at the time of the crime.

Major Types of Fiber

Polyester, Rayon, Cotton, Silk, Wool.

Hair and fiber collection techniques

The hair must be cut from the scalp if taken from the victim and or suspect.  Than it could be drug tested or checked to see if the hair has been dyed. Fibers are stuck onto sticky tape and labeled and sealed in separate envelopes than sent to a lab.

How do scientist analyze and use the data?

Scientist collects the data and studies them under microscopes to see the race, sex and maybe even age of the hairs owner. They can check to see if the hair was dyed so if the suspect tried to go incognito. They may also test it for drugs such as marijuana because hair absorbs airborne particles. They can use the hair and trace t back to the crime scene or transportation to or from a crime scene.

Reliability

If the tests on the hair are done thousands of times and proved constantly, than there is a match.

Famous case

John Joubert, Nebraska Boy Snatcher- John has an extremely rare rope and they found the same fibers from the rope on one of the boys he murdered linking it back to him. He confessed and was found guilty.

In my refelction:
   In our class we were given various samples of hair. We categorized them by analyzing them under microscopes. We made charts of our observations and recorded.

Fingerprinting

History of finger prints

-In prehistoric times fingerprints were used in transactions

-In 1686 the different types of fingerprints were discovered

-In 1880 Dr. Faulds discovered that fingerprints can be used as identification and classification. In 1903 New York state prison used the first systematic fingerprinting use for criminals.

http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html\

There are 3 different types of fingerprints. Those can be classified as direct, latent, and plastic.

Direct-Direct prints are whats found and are completel visible because it is blood or dirt residue. they can be colleted by tape.

Latent-   Latent prints are not immediately visible. They are formed from the sweat from our bodies. . They can easily be made visible by simply dusting, fuming or using various chemical reagents.

Plastic - A plastic print is an impression left in a material that holds the shape of the ridges in their fingertips.  Examples of plastic prints are candle wax, putty or clay. Such prints are already visible and need no additional materials to make them more visible.

http://belladia.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cc08553ef0133ed135080970b-800wi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerprint#Patent_prints

 Getting a fingerprint isn’t always easy, especially if it is on one of these surfaces; nonabsorbent, porous, hard, and smooth surfaces. These are the different techniques to getting prints from these surfaces.

Fingerprints that are made on hard and nonabsorbent surfaces for example, glass. They are surfaced with powers. But on the other hand a porous surface, such as cloth and paper are made visible by the use of a chemical such as Iodine when used in fuming.

http://www.bxscience.edu/publications/forensics/articles/fingerprinting/f-fing03.htm

The basic shapes and patterns of fingerprints are Arches, loops and swirls.

There are tented arches, swirls or whorls, ulnar and radial loop just to name a few.

 tented arches  whorl

http://www.odec.ca/projects/2004/fren4j0/public_html/fingerprint_patterns_files/image003.GIF

http://www.academyofhandanalysis.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/whorl.jpg

You lift fingerprints by first if you need to powder them is to do so. Next you would take your tape and once you lift that place it against a black or white sheet which ever applies to you. If there is a fingerprint on a gun, or in a car per say those fingerprints and be recovered by the process of fuming. You encase whatever you want the fingerprint on in a room or encasement which is being filled with gas which could be iodine. Within a matter of time your prints will appear.

http://www.bxscience.edu/publications/forensics/articles/fingerprinting/f-fing03.htm

In my reflection:
  We got oils on our finger thasn pressed firmly on glass or another flat surface. We used powder to recover the the prints, than we pressed tape firmly against it to lift the fingerprint. Lastly, we placed it on a light surface so we can see the dark print.