Forensic science, which has gained immense popularity over the years, is basically a wide field of study that aims to address questions that are useful for legal proceedings. Popularly known as forensics, forensic science may refer to either civil action or crime. However, through popular science, forensic science is presently more associated with crime investigation, being an investigative tool for prosecution to evaluate crime scenes to provide evidence or prove validity of evidence to prosecute suspects.

The word forensic was derived from the old Latin term forensic, which means forum. Criminal proceedings in ancient Rome were held before a forum, where the accused person and the complainant present their sides of the story in a speech given to the forum. The verdict is based on the argumentation of either parties and the one who delivers his case best would turn out to be the winner. In this light, the use of forensics to stand for forensic science is a somewhat of a misnomer, because forensics would plainly refer to the legal proceeding and not the science of investigation itself.

Branches of Forensic Science

Forensic science is quite a broad field that branches out to more specified techniques of investigation. Here are some of the better known branches of forensic science:

1. Forensic biology – the investigation of physiological fluids by means of DNA and serological analysis to identify individuals.

2. Forensic Toxicology – the investigation of poisons and drugs and their effects on human bodies.

3. Forensic pathology – the investigation of causes of injury or death using the disciplines of pathology and medicine within the context of forensic inquiry.

4. Forensic odontology – the investigation that takes advantage of the unique differences between teeth growth patterns to identify deceased individuals.

5. Forensic meteorology – the investigation of weather conditions on a particular site during the time of the crime or civil action being investigated.

6. Forensic archaeology – this combines forensic science with archaeological techniques of investigation. This is usually performed when victims have been buried and the investigations involve exhumation of bodies or artifacts.

7. Forensic geology – the investigation of minerals, chemicals and soils to determine significance of trace evidences.

8. Forensic Entomology – the investigation of human remains using insects found within or around the body. This helps in determining the location of death and the time as well. It is also useful in determining whether or not the body has been transported after death.

9. Forensic anthropology – the investigation of locations within the discipline of physical anthropology to identify and recover human remains in their skeleton forms.

10. Criminalistics – the combination of different applied sciences to investigate evidences using comparative analysis. This involves the examination of materials such as biological substances, tire tracks, footwear impressions, fingerprints, trace evidences, bullet marks and holes, drugs, controlled substances, and other pieces of evidence.

Tools Used in Forensic Science

To go about forensic science, investigators use several indispensable tools that help them with their job. Here are examples of such tools:

1. Fingerprinting Kit – one of the most classic tools in forensic science, this helps expose fingerprints that may be present in a crime scene or in evidences. The kit may include special inks, fingerprint powder, fingerprint brush, and lifting tape. This is crucial to help match the identities of suspects with fingerprints on evidences.

2. Ultra-violet evidence light – this helps expose the presence of bodily fluids and other iridescent material that can be used as evidence. This is similar to those devices that are used to spot counterfeit money.

3. Evidence markers – this includes marking tapes, marking cones, evidence bags and other materials used to label evidences. This is important for identifying evidences. This is needed to help investigators get cues on the positions of the evidences for better analysis of crime scenes.

4. Criminological microscopes – these are special types of microscopes that are comprised of two different microscopes that allow side-by-side analysis of specimens. Criminological microscopes are used to compare two pieces of evidence and verify or refute their common origin by looking at certain microscopic patterns. This eliminates the need for investigators to rely on their memory to compare similar pieces of evidences.

Forensic science is an important discipline as it plays several crucial roles in legal investigations. This field has definitely brought investigations to levels that were once unheard of. With such a discipline, accuracy of investigations has greatly improved. Through forensic science, people involved in legal proceedings are given more ground in seeking the truth and making crucial verdicts.