Overview
The second in a three-volume series, this popular and widely circulated professional handbook describes the theories and practices of today's criminalistics, and covers a wide range of subject areas relevant to the services rendered by crime laboratories and related facilities. Presents authoritative reviews from recognized forensic criminologists and forensic scientists well-versed in their chosen areas of expertise. Considers a specific examination technique for a wide-range of evidence prevalent in the modern crime laboratory, e.g., DNA, hair, paint, soil, glass, petroleum products, explosives, alcohol in blood and breath, and questioned documents. Describes the theory, operation, and forensic utilization of such modern analytical instruments as mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, high-performance liquid chromatography, and the visible microspectrophotometer. Emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between forensic science and criminal law as it examines the role and conduct of the expert witness, rules of evidence, and the legal requirements governing the admissibility of scientifically evaluated evidence. For professionals in forensic science and criminology.
Synopsis
Concentrating on the application of scientific principals in the crime lab, this volume addresses the legal aspects of forensic science, the applications of current technologies, and the examination of specific substances. Individual chapters cover high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, microscopy, visible microscopial spectrophotometry, and the examination of glass, hair, paint, soil, blood, and documents. The contributors are forensic scientists, research chemists, toxicologists, microscopists, and scholars of criminalistics associated with universities, law enforcement agencies, and consulting firms. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)