Forensics

Forensic professionals, often working through heavy caseloads, require quick and easy access to reliable sources of information to help interpret toxicology results. While several in-depth resources are available, they are often large, cumbersome, and contain more information than is needed. The Handbook of Forensic Toxicology for Medical Examinersis a concise handbook referencing the most common toxic substances and their levels of toxicity, making it an ideal text for quick confirmation in the field or in the lab. The book begins by explaining the proper selection and submission of specimens for toxicological analysis. It describes the various types of specimens and identifies the cases for which these specimens would be most useful, providing instruction on proper collection. The author then explains the methodology involved in performing the specific tests. Nearly 300 Toxic Substances Discussed The main section of the text consists of an alphabetical listing of nearly 300 toxic substances, including drugs of abuse, poisons, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter medications. For each entry, the book provides the common brand names; classification; half life; volume of distribution; usual dosage; tables of toxicity in various samples, including blood, urine, and tissues; and other important information based on the extensive experience of the author. The text is heavily referenced with materials that are useful for preparation of courtroom testimony, and it contains supplemental appendices with information on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, drugs that prolong the QT interval, pharmacogenetics, normal laboratory values, and conversion charts. Convenient Format The busy forensic professional needs a concise handbook that provides critical information quickly without the need to wade through extraneous and inconsequential material. This volume offers an easy-to-use format that allows quick access to the most pertinent information, saving time and increasing accuracy.

Extracted from the Drug Abuse Handbook, 2ndedition, to give you just the information you need at an affordable price. Postmortem Toxicology of Abused Drugsconsiders the role of toxicology in the investigation of homicide, suicide, accident, natural death, and overdose. It gives practical insights and case reviews on conducting toxicology tests and completing toxicology reports. It explains chain of custody; specimen collection and security; sampling of blood, urine, bile, and vitreous humor; and the selection of post-mortem specimens. Analyzing various testing procedures, the book covers simple chemical tests, microdiffusion tests, chromatography, spectroscopy, and more. It also discusses methods and strategies for analysis; and covers quality assurance protocols and controls. To help avoid common pitfalls, the text demonstrates the proper interpretation of postmortem drug levels based on knowledge of pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and pharmacogenetics; post-mortem redistribution and diffusion; and other considerations such as synergistic toxicity, and drug instability. Heavily referenced and containing several tables, figures, and useful appendices, this book is a handy reference for forensic scientists and medical examiners involved with death investigation.

Following the well-received first edition, the Drug Abuse Handbook, Second Editionis a thorough compendium of the knowledge of the pharmacological, medical, and legal aspects of drugs. The book examines criminalistics, pathology, pharmacokinetics, neurochemistry, treatment, as well as drugs and drug testing in the workplace and in sports, and the ethical, legal, and practical issues involved. Dr. Karch gathers contributions from 80 leading experts in their respective fields to update and revise this second edition with more than 40 percent new material. New topics include genetic testing in drug death investigation, the neurochemistry of nicotine and designer amphetamines, genetic doping in sports, and the implications of the Daubert ruling on the admissibility of scientific evidence in federal court. Packed with the latest information in an easily accessible format, the book includes tables of all Scheduled Drugs, methods of Drug Quantitative Analysis, and a glossary of forensic toxicology terms. Vivid pictures and diagrams illustrate the pathological effects of drugs and the chemical make-up and breakdown of abused drugs. It includes more than 6000 references to the best sources in medicine, pharmacology, and the law. This book addresses specific problems in drug testing, drug-related medical emergencies, and the physical, neurochemical, and sociological phenomenon of addiction. With unparalleled detail and the highest level of authoritative information, The Drug Abuse Handbook, Second Edition is the definitive resource for drug related issues.

Molecular Forensics offers a comprehensive coverage of the increasingly important role that molecular analysis plays within forensic science. Starting with a broad introduction of modern forensic molecular technologies, the text covers key issues from the initial scenes of crime sampling to the use of evidential material in the prosecution of legal cases. The book also explores the questions raised by the growing debate on the applications of national DNA databases and the resulting challenges of developing, maintaining and curating such vast data structures. The broader range of applications to non-human cases is also discussed, as are the statistical pitfalls of using so-called unique data such as DNA profiles, and the ethical considerations of national DNA databases. An invaluable reference for students taking courses within the Forensic and Biomedical sciences, and also useful for practitioners in the field looking for a broad overview of the subject. Provides a comprehensive overview of modern forensic molecular technologies. Explores the growing debate on the applications of national DNA databases. Discusses the initial phases of investigation to the conclusion of cases involving molecular forensic analysis.

Current Methods in Forensic Gunshot Residue Analysis will deal with ma jor areas of gunshot residue analysis such as current and future metho ds of analysis, collection techniques, interpretation of evidence as w ell as expert testimony and report writing. This text is a necessity for any forensic scientist conducting this type of analysis and all ot her law enforcement personnel, academia, and lawyers involved in the i nvestigation and prosecution of violent crimes involving firearms.

Written by a very well-known authority in forensic science, this book introduces the non-scientific reader to the field of forensic science.  Through applications to criminal investigations, clear explanations of the techniques, and the abilities and limitations of modern crime labs,Criminalisticscovers the comprehensive realm of forensics.  The book strives to make the technology of the modern crime laboratory clear to the non-scientist.  Combining case stories with applicable technology,Criminalisticscaptures the excitement of forensic science investigations.Familiarizes readers with the most current technologies in forensic analysis.KEYAims at making the subject of forensic science comprehensible to a wide variety of readers who are planning on being aligned with the forensic science profession. 

Firearms and their associated ammunition, spent bullets, and spent cartridge cases provide useful information for identifying suspects, terrorist groups, and the criminal history of a weapon. Unfortunately, despite the numerous detailed books on the physical aspects of firearms, very little has been published on the chemical aspects, and what has been published is sparse and fragmented. Compiling information from the available literature and supplementing gaps with private communications and personal observations and research, Chemical Analysis of Firearms, Ammunition, and Gunshot Residuesummarizes the history of firearms and ammunition as it relates to the development of modern weapons. It details chemical aspects of forensic firearms casework with particular emphasis on the detection of gunshot residues (GSR) on a suspect’s skin and clothing surfaces. Drawing on the extensive experience of the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory (NIFSL) which processed a large firearms caseload during the region’s recent violent past, this book records the statistics gathered and the scientific methods developed to meet the demands of law enforcement and courts of law. It describes the analysis and methodology developed to routinely examine samples from terrorist suspects for both firearms and explosives residues. Providing crucial, hard-to-find data for forensic laboratories and forensic chemists with little or no prior knowledge of firearms, this seminal work presents a wide range of firearms chemistry information and outlines the creation of a statistical database to aid investigations. Dr. James Smyth Wallaceis a retired U.K. forensic scientist and a 25 year veteran of the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory. He is the author/co-author of 14 scientific papers, as well as a forensic science textbook. He is a member of the Forensic Science Society and retains an active interest in forensic chemistry, particularly in the area of trace evidence detection.

Digital forensics deals with the acquisition, preservation, examination, analysis and presentation of electronic evidence. Networked computing, wireless communications and portable electronic devices have expanded the role of digital forensics beyond traditional computer crime investigations. Practically every crime now involves some aspect of digital evidence; digital forensics provides the techniques and tools to articulate this evidence. Digital forensics also has myriad intelligence applications. Furthermore, it has a vital role in information assurance – investigations of security breaches yield valuable information that can be used to design more secure systems.Advances in Digital Forensics describes original research results and innovative applications in the emerging discipline of digital forensics. In addition, it highlights some of the major technical and legal issues related to digital evidence and electronic crime investigations. The areas of coverage include: themes and issues in digital forensics, investigative techniques, network forensics, portable electronic device forensics, linux and file system forensics, and applications and techniques.

<b>An explanation of the basic principles of data</b></p><p>This book explains the basic principles of data as building blocks of electronic evidential matter, which are used in a cyber forensics investigations. The entire text is written with no reference to a particular operation system or environment, thus it is applicable to all work environments, cyber investigation scenarios, and technologies.  The text is written in a step-by-step manner, beginning with the elementary building blocks of data progressing upwards to the representation and storage of information.  It inlcudes practical examples and illustrations throughout to guide the reader.</p>

The Forensic Chemistry Handbook provides both practicing forensic scientists and beginners with a concise, but not trivial introduction to various topics covered by the discipline of forensic chemistry. It supplies references to more authoritative books and journals in the literature and provides answers to specific questions or problems pertaining to subjects such as the analysis of: blood, semen, saliva, urine, DNA, explosives, drugs, accelerants, etc. The approach is practical in its orientation, keeping in mind the needs of the user.

Covers preliminary test and chromatographic methods in forensic drug testing. Reviews identification methods such as molecular spectrophotometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometry. Discusses the fundamental relationship between instrumentation and drug analysis. Evaluates the characteristics and pretreatment approaches for common sample categories. Presents in-depth test result interpretation on issues commonly encountered in workplace drug urinalysis. Analyzes and compares performance characteristics of immunoassays commonly used for workplace drug urinalysis.

Forensic Pharmacology offers a unique and comprehensible account of pharmacological methods and knowledge, and how to use them to solve problems in crimes from drunken driving to murder. It also deals with negligence in giving drugs, and adverse reactions to drugs. The text is enlivened bycases from the literature and from the authors' experience. Appendices give detailed examples of pharmacological problems and their solutions; tables and equations for alcohol calculations; and data for medicines encountered in forensic work. Experts do not always understand what lawyers want of them, and lawyers fail to appreciate that experts in medicine and pharmacology may not be experts in the law. The section entitled 'legal considerations' was written by a barrister with wide experience of using expert evidence and explainsclearly the legal principles. It also contains some helpful hints on how to deal with court procedure and adversarial lawyers.

In Criminal Poisoning: An Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys, Second Edition, forensic scientist John Trestrail offers a pioneering survey of all that is known about the use of poison as a weapon in murder. Topics range from the use of poisons in history and literature to convicting the poisoner in court, and include a review of the different types of poisons, techniques for crime scene investigation, and the critical essentials of the forensic autopsy.

A Companion to Forensic Anthropology presents the most comprehensive assessment of the philosophy, goals, and practice of forensic anthropology currently available, with chapters by renowned international scholars and experts. Presents the most comprehensive assessment of the philosophy, goals, and practice of forensic anthropology available, with chapters by a wide range of renowned international scholars and experts Highlights the latest advances in forensic anthropology research, as well as the most effective practices and techniques used by professional forensic anthropologists in the field Illustrates the development of skeletal biological profiles and offers important new evidence on statistical validation of these analytical methods. Evaluates the goals and methods of forensic archaeology, including the preservation of context at surface-scattered remains, buried bodies and fatal fire scenes, and recovery and identification issues related to large-scale mass disaster scenes and mass grave excavation.