PRINCIPLES

OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

a) Objective
b) Introduction
c) Principles of forensic science

OBJECTIVE:
At the end of this unit, you will be able to know about the basics of Forensic Science.

INTRODUCTION:
Forensic science in criminal investigation and trial is mainly concerned with
materials and indirectly through materials with men, places and time. Forensic science
embraces all branches of science and applies to purpose of law.
The laws and principles of all the sciences form the bases of forensic science. In
addition, it has developed its own principles.

Principles of Forensic Science:
The laws and principles of all the sciences form the bases of forensic science. In
addition, it has developed its own principles.
Law of individuality:
‘Every object, natural or man-made, has an individuality, which is not duplicated in
any other object. It is unique. Neither the nature has duplicated itself, nor man can.’
This principle, at first sight appears to be contrary to common belief and
observations. The grains of sand or common salt, seeds of plants or twins look exactly
alike. Yet the individuality is always there. It is due to small flaws in the materials, in
the arrangement of the crystals, due to inclusion or exclusion of some extraneous
matter or other material.
The law of individuality is of fundamental importance in forensic science. Anything
and everything involved in a crime, has individuality. Thus the culprit is unique, his
weapon of offence is unique, his modus operandi is unique, scene of crime is unique,
evidentiary clues left or picked up by the culprit are unique. The investigating officer
has to identify the uniqueness to link the crime with the criminal.
Principle of exchange:
“Whenever two entities come in contact, there is an exchange of traces mutually.”
The French scientist, Edmond Locard, first enunciated it. It is also known as Locard’s
principles.
Mutual exchange of traces takes place between the criminal, the victim and the objects
involved in the crime. If these left over traces are identified to the original source, like
the criminal or his instruments or if the picked up traces are linked with the victim, the
scene or the objects around the victim at the scene, they establish the contact and pin
the crime on to the criminal.
The principle of exchange is amply demonstrated in hit and run cases and in offences
against person, tracks and trails (scent, foot, and footwear marks and tyre marks).
Chance fingerprints, tool marks, dust, paint, soils and professional dust are other
manifestations of the same principle. The basic requirement of the principle is the
correct answer to the question ‘what the places or objects with which the criminal or
his tool actually came in contact?’ if the investigating officer is able to establish the
points of contact, he is likely to reap a rich harvest of physical clues.
 The criminal is likely to leave and carry minute traces only. It is seldom that he dares
or neglect to leave or carry gross objects or traces. On a thorough search traces
connect crime and the criminal as effectively as the gross objects, perhaps more subtly.
Law of progressive change:
‘Everything changes with the passage of time.’
Nothing is permanent, immutable or invariable. The rate of change varies
tremendously with different objects. The impact of the law on forensic science is
immense. The criminals undergo progressive changes. If he is not apprehended in
time, he becomes unrecognisable except perhaps through his fingerprints, bone
fractures or other characteristics of permanent (comparatively speaking) nature
(which are not always available) like body fluids that contain body cells, which have
unique DNA, profile.
The scene of occurrence undergoes rapid changes. The weather, the vegetable growth,
and the living beings (especially human beings) make extensive changes, in
comparatively short periods. Longer the delay in examining the scene, greater will be
the changes. After some time, the scene may become unrecognizable.
The principle, therefore, demands prompt action in all aspects of criminal
investigation.
Principles of comparison:
‘Only the likes can be compared.’
It emphasises the necessity of providing like samples and specimens for comparison
with the questioned items. When a bullet is recovered from the deceased, and the
expert opines that the bullet has been fired from a firearm like a service rifle, then
sending a shotgun or pistol for examination is futile. Comparison between an hair
sample of Negroid person with the hair sample from a white is of no use. A questioned
writing with a ball pen cannot be compared with a sample of ink pen writing.
Principle of analysis:
‘The analysis can be no better than the sample analysed.’
Improper sampling and contamination render the best analysis useless. The principle
emphasises the necessity of correct sampling and correct packing for effective use of
experts.
Law of probability:
All indications, definite or indefinite, are made, consciously or unconsciously, on the
basis of probability.
Probability is a mathematical concept. It determines the chances of occurrence of a
particular event in a particular way out of a number of ways in which the event can
take place or fail to take place with equal facility.
Facts do not lie:
‘facts do not lie, men can do’. Hence the importance of circumstantial evidence vis-à-vis
oral evidence.











CHAPTER II
SCENE OF CRIME
a) Objective
b) Introduction
c) Evaluation of scene of crime

OBJECTIVE:
At the end of this unit, you will have knowledge regarding scene of occurrence and
different methods used for investigation of scene of crime.

INTRODUCTION:
A scene of crime is a silent spectator that has witnessed the occurrence of crime.
It is the place where lies the clues that lead to the solution of an offense. Good
observation of scene of crime can lead an investigation towards a certain direction. It
helps to verify the statement of a suspect or a witness, and through the study of the
modus operandi, investigators sometimes are able to pin point the perpetrator. The
purpose of the investigation of a scene of crime is to collect the evidence to establish
the occurrence of crime, link to the perpetrator and proof of his guilt.
Evidence: In general, evidence is anything that may be presented in determining
the truth about the fact in question. Evidence is that which supplies the means of
arriving at the truth. Everything at the scene of crime that can be used to ascertain the
fact of the crime constitutes evidence. Evidence can be obtained through one or more
of the five senses; seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling or testing.
Locard's principle of exchange: 'When one object comes into contact with another,
each invariably takes with itself some of the properties of the other'. Evidence is
always present at the scene of crime of any offense. Whether or not evidence is found
is another matter. That it is not found does not prove its absence. Failure to find
evidence at the scene of crime may be due among other things to faulty protection,
careless search, inadequate search, limited facilities, or ignorance.
Scene of crime provides a wealth of information which is useful to:
1) Establish corpus delicti
2) Provide link between the criminal, the victim and the scene of occurrence
3) Evaluate the pattern of events
4) Indicates modus operand, sequence of events
5) Help reconstruction
6) Provide leads
7) Indicate number of culprits, weapons
• Crime scene: any physical location in which a crime has occurred or is
suspected of having occurred.
• Primary crime scene: the original location of a crime or accident.
• Secondary crime scene: an alternate location where additional evidence may be
found.

Evaluation:
Proper evaluation of the scene of occurrence is a time consuming job. It involves the
following:
a) PROTECTION:
The investigating officer cannot always reach the scene immediately after the
occurrence. The first police official who reaches the scene, therefore, should be careful
to preserve the evidence.
b) PHOTOGRAPHY:
The scene of crime should be photographed as a matter of routine. The photographs of
scene of rime are extremely useful. Proper photographs of the scene bring the scene in
the court room. Washed bloodstains marks of disturbance at the scene can be easily
photographed. Skid marks, tyre-marks, foot and footwear marks can also be recorded
by photography easily. The perishable evidence like wounds on a dead body, traces of
resistance, scratches, tears, swollen flesh in rape cases and strangulation marks can be
best recorded and preserved through photographs.
c) SKETCHING:
Sketches are handy in depicting a scene of occurrence. In combination with the
photographs, the sketches provide an ideal presentation of the scene. (1) They indicate
inter-distances between relevant objects. (2) They indicate relevant evidence only.
The revenue official should draw the general outline of the scene in black ink and the
investigating officer should fill in details of the evidence observed in red ink. The
sketch should be prepared at the site. The distance should be measured with tape. A
suitable scale should be used and indicated on the sketch. The direction should be
indicated. A measuring tape, a drawing board, a ruler, a set of triangles, graph and
drawing paper, pencils and an erasure should ordinarily meet all the requirements.
There are various methods of drawing sketches.
1) Co-ordinate method-
the technique is most frequently used. A focal point is chosen and two lines crossing
each other at right angle are drawn. One line (x) represents the length and the other
(y) the width of the scene to be covered. Determining the positions of the objects with
reference to their co-ordinates then fills the location of the objects.

2) Polar technique
It is used for large outdoor scenes. Here instead of drawing co-ordinates, the distances
and directions of the evidentiary objects are noted with reference to a central (focal)
point. The positions are recorded on the sketch accordingly.

d) SEARCH:
Thorough examination of the scene of occurrence requires care. The techniques vary
from one scene to another. The following ones are common:
1) Zonal method
The scene is divided into smaller, manageable portions, which are searched
individually.

2) Strip method
Officers form a line and move on side-by-side, covering the entire scene together.

3) Spiral search
The investigator begins at the epicentre of the room and moves outwards in a spiral
pattern. Or alternatively the investigator starts at the edge of the scene and spirals into
the centre.


4) Grid search
A pattern of regularly spaced horizontal and vertical lines.

e) HANDLING CLUES:
Collection: Collection of physical evidence from the crime scene. Evidence that is not
collected with the protection from spoilage or contamination may not be in a condition
to provide fruitful information. Collection of physical evidence from the crime scene
should be carried out in an organized manner so that nothing gets contaminated,
misplaced or destroyed.
The criminalist would gather all evidence like, serology (blood), physical (hair and
fibres, shoe tracks, or anything dealing with shoes), firearms, (unless the firearms expert
is present), documents (anything having to do with handwriting analysis), toxicology
(any unknown liquids), and narcotics (any narcotics that are found at the scene would
need to be tested).
Preservation: The investigating officer should take all the necessary steps to preserve
evidence from the following factors like from loss, from damage or deterioration, from
contamination, from tampering.
Packaging: Evidence is packaged to prevent destruction and contamination. Therefore,
new and sterilized containers must be used for packaging. All packaging equipment
should be kept in one case so that they remain free from contamination. Sealing of
evidence containers and packages should always be done at the crime scene. This
reduces the contamination potential and also keeps the integrity of the evidence intact
Sealing, Marking and Labeling: It is extremely necessary to seal all containers,
envelopes, packages bags, bottles, boxes etc. with proper markings and labels from
being lost, contaminated and damaged.
Chain of custody:
Chain of custody (CoC) refers to the chronological documentation, showing the seizure,
custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of evidence, physical or electronic.
Particularly important in criminal cases, the concept is also applied in civil litigation.