Criminology

Criminalistics together with forensic science have come to form an important part in collection of evidence in criminal justice investigation. This is because of the accuracy and the methods that are used in collection of evidence. Although, they form an important part of evidence collection, other types cannot be ignored such as individual witnesses testifying in court. This paper is going to look at some of the methods used in forensic evidence collection and their impact on criminal justice administration.

Criminalistics and forensic
Forensic science is the use of a wide range of science information to answer questions of concern in a court or civil case. This could involve a crime or a civil action against an individual. It involves generally accepted scientific methods and norms under which facts related to an event, artifact or any other physical item are proven to be true or false.

In ancient periods, there were no consistent ways in which evidence could be collected and this helped criminals in avoiding punishment. Investigations largely relied on confessions which in most cases were forced together with testimonies from witnesses (Turvey, 2002). In roman times, criminal charges used to be presented before a panel of people in which both the accuser and the accused could tell their side of the story about a case after which they could be charged based on their argument and delivery (Testifying for a Murder Trial, 2006).

The first cases that involved the use of entomology together with medicine to resolve criminal cases were written by Song Ci in his book titled His Duan Yu which means (washing away of wrongs). It gives an account of how a certain investigator helped solve a murder case in which a sickle was used. The investigator ordered all the people around there to present their sickles in an open space. Because of the smell of blood on the sickle that was used in the murder, the flies gathered on it. This prompted the owner of the sickle to admit to have killed the victim. The investigator settled on a sickle after numerous experiments on an animal caucus using different blades to make wounds and comparing it to the wound on the victim (Evans, 2004).

Because of the importance of justice in the society, people who commit an offence should be found and be prosecuted. This is the only way through which future crimes can be prevented. When serious crimes such as murder have occurred, proving if a suspect is innocent or guilt is essential in determining if they will be prosecuted or they will be set free. An individual may have committed crime but because of lack of substantial evidence that will link the suspect to the crime, heshe may be acquitted for lack of evidence (Radzinowicz, 1962).

Because of the need to gather substantial evidence that can be used in court without fear of rejection, the need for a scientific and more accurate way of evidence collection has arose. Forensic has enabled collection of crucial evidence that has helped in solving some of the crimes that could not have been solved using traditional methods of crime investigation. The evidence collected is used to link a suspect to a given crime. Some of the samples that are collected for forensic examination from a scene of crime include blood stains or any other fluid that can be found on the victims body, finger prints, spent cartilages, foot prints, broken, glasses and any other thing that can provide evidence such as weapons that may have been left at the scene (Horswell, 2004).

Through the help of forensic science, samples recovered from a scene of crime have been able to be successfully linked to a given suspect in a particular crime providing a basis for prosecution. Gathering of evidence has been made possible through the use of various forensic techniques some of which include Forensic DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis. Through DNA analysis, samples collected from the scene of crime or the victims body such as hair and blood stain can be able to be analyzed using complex techniques such as mass spectrometry enabling precise identification of fluids collected from the crime scene. DNA profiling is also used to match information acquired from a crime scene with suspect samples.

Forensic entomology it involves the study of insects that are found on and around the remains. This helps in determining the time and the location of the remains at the time of death. It can also be used to determine if the body was moved from the original scene where the crime was committed something which was difficult using the old methods (Sachs, 2001).

Forensic geology it is concerned with the study of evidence recovered from the soil such as foot print, it also deals with minerals and petroleum products. This can help in determining what was used in committing a crime like in the case of fire if the fire was caused by a petroleum product or an electrical fault. In other cases that involve bombs, residues recovered can be able to indicate the type of bomb that was used in committing the crime and as a result, the source of that bomb can be traced and suspects apprehended and,

Forensic pathology this applies the principles of medicine together with pathology in determining the cause of deathinjury in situations involving legal proceedings. For example if a patient who had no serious illness signs when heshe was brought to hospital and then after receiving treatment, the patient dies suddenly. Forensic pathology can help produce evidence of what caused the death and if it was out of the doctors negligence, the evidence can be produced in court and the doctor prosecuted (Henry, 2004).

Compared to the traditional methods of investigation, forensic investigation has provided a better and accurate way of crime analysis. This is because of the techniques that it has invented such as DNA analysis which are able to use genetic information to link a particular suspect to a given crime. DNA can also be analyzed in cases involving paternity disputes where by it can be used to determine the real father of a child something which could not be possible with the traditional methods of investigation (Zonderman, 1999).

Through digital forensics, data such as video or recorded conversations can be recovered from these storage media and used as evidence in court. This could be more liable compared to the old techniques that involved witnesses testifying before court as one can be able to testify at the same time prove the same through the information retrieved. Some of the media devices which can be used include CCTV cameras which are fitted at strategic places and record all activities taking place in a given location. In cases of robbery, videos of suspect can be retrieved from the recorder something which could not be possible in ancient times (Cole  Dioso-Villa, 2009).

Depending on the type of crime, the importance of forensic science evidence differs. In cases which involve first hand witnesses more emphasis is put on individual witness. Witnesses provide evidence based on the things that they saw or heard. Mostly witnesses provide information on events before and after the crime. This evidence is more concrete. But in some cases such as paternity disputes, forensic evidence provides the most accurate information compared to any other. DNA analysis uses genetic information that is unique to every individual to determine the father of a given child. So in such cases forensic evidence is superior to any other (Saks  Koehler, 2008).

More emphasis together with trust should continue to be put on forensic science because of the level of accuracy attached to the evidence gathered through this method. In cases where there are no witnesses, it plays a very big role in identification of the culprit. For example if an unusual chemical is discovered in a scene of murder, it can be analyzed using forensic techniques such as forensic chemistry to identify the chemical and its origin. It may be that the chemical is a chemical that the perpetrator uses in hisher work. Therefore through identification of the chemical and its origin, step in identifying the killer could have been made.