Training will always vary, according to the individual employer and area of specialism.

However, it is likely that most graduate entrants would undergo a programme of on-the-job training and development, which is likely to involve short, residential courses.

Employers are likely to provide a programme of training for each new intake of employees.

The technical areas covered may include -

laboratory skills and proficiency tests
blood pattern analysis
statement writing

The more general skills areas in which new entrants may receive training include -

health and safety
court room and presentation skills
project management

External Courses

Typically, the majority of external courses are usually provided by the relevant sector organisations.

The actual course content will depend on the trainee’s preferred discipline.

Naturally, with the changing nature of forensic science, keeping up to date with research will be a vital part of continuing professional development.

Passive bloodstains - these stains are created by the force of gravity.

Pool Pattern – A bloodstain pattern which is typically formed when a source of blood is stationary for a length of time.

Passive Drop – Bloodstain drop(s) which are created, or formed, by the force of gravity acting alone.

Drip Pattern – This is a bloodstain pattern which is created by blood dripping into blood.

Flow Pattern – A change in the shape and direction of a bloodstain, due to the influence of gravity or movement of the object.

DNA profiling as carried out in Forensic Science does not examine the complete DNA of an individual but certain specific areas only.

As far as these are concerned only identical twins will have the same DNA profile.

Egg >>> Larvae >>> Pupae >>> Blowfly

The most common fly to be found in forensic homicide investigations is the blowfly.

Blowflies can often appear on a body around one hour after death, in order to lay their eggs in a moist area.

Soon afterwards, the eggs will then hatch into larvae - usually reaching a length of around half an inch.

Some 6-10 days later the larvae, having fed, grown and repeatedly molted, will turn into pupaes.

Approximately 12 days later adult blowflies emerges, and thus the cycle continues.

Entomology

A forensic scientist can therefore rely upon the lifecycle of the blowfly, to a degree, to provide valuable information about a crime scene.

The drawback, however, is that data can be rendered inaccurate due to the interference and effects of climate conditions, weather, temperature, location, etc.

Most of the time, however, entomology, in conjunction with autopsy reports and crime scene temperatures, can yield a great deal of useful information.

Human DNA consists of 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 different pairs.

Half of these chromosomes come from our mothers and half from our fathers.

Of the 23 pairs, one defines the sex of a baby. If a father passes on an ‘X’ chromosome then a child will be female, a ‘Y’ chromosome would result in a son.

In situations where a body has been deposited somewhere where insects have access, different types of insect will be attracted to the corpse, depending upon the degree of decomposition.

Therefore, identifying the type of insect present can lead to an estimation of the passage of time since death occurred.

In the UK there are a number of different paths that a budding forensic scientist could follow, including university study at both B.Sc. and M.Sc. level.

Like many careers today, however, practical work is at least as important as academic study, meaning that on the job training at a forensic science laboratory is often necessary.

These include the following -

1. Linking a suspect to a crime scene
2. Establishing paternity or maternity
3. Proving a sibling or half sibling relationship
4. Determining genealogical roots or ethnic origin

The DNA testing methods employed vary and depend largely upon the types of results being looked for as well as the types of samples that are available.

Complex

The entire DNA chain is far too long to examine completely - human DNA, for example, has about 3.3 billion base pairs. However, most of the DNA sequence is common between humans. Therefore, only the smaller, variable part, is used within the testing framework.

The earliest forms of DNA testing required a sample of blood the size of a coin. As processes have evolved and developed over time the required sample size has shrunk considerably, such that a DNA sample can now be taken from traces of saliva on the back of a postage stamp that has been licked.

Before a DNA comparison can take place the DNA must be isolated and purified from the host sample, i.e. removed from the surrounding cell into which it has been placed. This is achieved by disolving the cell walls with a detergent, digesting proteins in the cell with enzymes. Following this the DNA can be purified, concentrated and tested.

Short Tandem Repeats (STR)

The most common DNA testing method today is STR - short tandem repeats.

Human DNA comprises several regions of repeated sequences. These are always located at the same place in each chain, however, they vary from individual to individual. Short tandem repeats are repeated sequences of two to five base pairs in length. Their use in DNA profiling has proven to be excellent with chances of misidentification being one in the billions.

The CODIS database set up by the FBI holds thirteen standard locations of the DNA chain per individual to aid in identification.

Incidentally, DNA testing is not as quick or as straightforward as the forensic shows on television portray it to be - testing typically takes as long as three to five days.

The macabre case of serial killer ‘Jack the Ripper’, whom it is believed murdered at least five prostitutes in the 1880s, has fascinated and intrigued people for more than 120 years.

With the passage of time, memories and evidence have faded or disappeared.

After 120 years can forensics be employed to help solve the case?

In what will probably be the first of several posts, I will look here at the application of forensic linguistics to the ‘Ripper’ murders -

Dr Christopher Davies And The Forensic Science Service

The identity of Jack The Ripper has been questioned ever since his killing spree in the 1880s.

There has been much specualtion, and many different names put forward over the years, all seemingly with good reason. However, the true identity of the killer has never been proven beyond doubt, though the Forensic Science Service has now provided some interesting new evidence, thanks to its specialist skills.

An expert, Dr Christopher Davies, conducted handwriting analysis on annotations in a book (an autobiography entitled ‘The Lighter Side of my Official Life’, written by Dr Robert Anderson, the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police at the time of the crime).

The book, which is believed to have been owned by the Chief Inspector who investigated the original case, Donald Swanson, contains notes naming Kosminski as the Ripper.

Chief Inspector Swanson

Chief Inspector Swanson noted that the reason the only witness to one of the crimes would not speak out against the alleged Ripper was because ‘The suspect was also a Jew, and also because his evidence would convict the suspect, and witness would be the means of murderer being hanged which he did not wish to be left on his mind.’

The book was loaned to the Metropolitan Police Crime Museum in London in July 2006.

Dr Davies, who is based at the Forensic Science Service’s Lambeth Laboratory, was then asked for his expert opinion as to whether the writing actually did belong to Chief Inspector Swanson.

This was determined by comparing it to that in a memoranda he was known to have written.

Linguistic Comparison

Dr Davies compared the two samples of writing for their general style, the size, spacing, fluency and proportions and found there was a high probability that they were written by the same person – Donald Swanson.

The report containing his findings will now be kept along with the annotated book at the Crime Museum.

Dr Davies hopes that his findings will give those interested in the Ripper mystery something new to debate upon -

“What was interesting about analysing the book was that it had been annotated twice in two different pencils at different times, which does raise the question of how reliable the second set of notes were as they were made some years later.

There are enough similarities between the writing in the book and that found in the ledger to suggest that it probably was Swanson’s writing, although in the second, later set, there are small differences.

These could be attributed to the ageing process and either a mental or physical deterioration, but we cannot be completely certain that is the explanation.

The added complication is that people in the Victorian era tended to have very similar writing anyway as they were all taught the same copybook, so the kind of small differences I observed may just have been the small differences between different authors.

It is most likely to be Swanson, but I’m sure the report will be cause for lively debate amongst those interested in the case.”

Alan McCormick, Curator of the Crime Museum, said -

“The evidence provided by Dr Davies makes for fascinating reading and really helps us to judge the significance of the annotations in the book naming Kosminski as Jack the Ripper.

I’m delighted he has agreed to let us keep the report at the Crime Museum permanently and I’m sure copies of it will be requested time and time again from the Forensic Science Service.”

Your Views

Has the application of forensic linguistics to the Ripper case given us answers or simply asked for questions?

Can such modern techniques be applied to such an old case with any certainty or reliability?

Could Kosminski really have been Jack The Ripper?

What do you think?

Typically, the purpose of such an investigation is to analyse and discover any available, deleted, or ‘hidden’ data that can then be subsequently used as evidence in legal proceedings.

Additionally, computer forensic techniques can be employed in some cases of hardware failure.

As with all technology, computer forensics is a fast-moving discipline in which new hardware, tools and software are consistently being developed.

This means, generally, that it is becoming increasingly simpler for computer forensic experts to find & restore more evidence and/or data, not only faster, but also with far more accuracy.

Anti-Forensics

Obviously, technological advances also mean that forensic countermeasures are also improving at a similar rate, leading to some interesting challenges.

Digital Evidence

The advent of computer forensics has significantly changed the way in which digital evidence is gathered and used as evidence of a crime, and is performed via advanced techniques and technologies.

A computer forensic expert will use their knowledge of these techniques to aid in the discovery of evidence from an electronic storage device, possibly for either proving or disproving a crime.

Such data can be derived from a wide variety of electronic devices, such as flash drives, discs, tapes, handheld computers, PDAs, memory sticks, emails, logs, or even hidden or deleted files.

Tracking

The average computer user probably thinks that the simple act of deleting a file or item of internet history will remove it completely from the their system.

Reality, however, is somewhat different - deleting a file simply removes it’s marker from the ‘index’ of a hard drive - the actual file will remain on the computer, in whole or in part, until it has been completely overwritten by new data, as can been seen in this video of Encase.

A computer forensic expert has the tools and knowledge required to find such deleted files and to reconstitute them to varying degrees, such that they could be used as admissible evidence.

Enron

The Enron scandal placed computer forensics firmly on the map as it arguably remains the biggest computer forensics investigation ever.

In recent years, computer forensics has become a standard part of many types of litigation, especially litigations of a corporate nature in which there are large amounts of data.

Data Security

In this digital age, data security is a growing issue for the corporate world, covering topics such as internet policies (and the consequences of violating them), and the signing of compliance documents by employees.

Perhaps the best way in which businesses can monitor their own computer systems, in a proactive way, in order to avoid legal consequences in future is to utilise some level of computer forensics.

Simply by making employees aware that such a facility exists could prove a sufficient deterrent to any wrong doing.

Growing Niche

With the huge increase in the use of computers, both in the business sector and in the home, and the increasing number of hi-tech crimes, computer forensics is certainly a growing niche within the litigation support sector.

Unlike many other jobs within the information technology sector, computer forensic work is highly unlikely to be outsourced to other, cheaper, countries, due to the confidentiality of the data which is involved.