The field of forensic science has come a long way since its recorded beginnings in the 700s, when the Chinese used fingerprints to establish the identity of documents and clay sculptures.
Many of us are familiar with forensic science in modern popular culture with numerous police procedural dramas based on crime scene investigations, but it plays a critical part in the criminal justice system - it is where science, technology, crime solving, and justice meet.
Did you know?
The first documented autopsy was performed by the physician Antistius on the slain body of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. He examined Caesar's body and discovered that, of his 23 stab wounds, only one of them proved fatal.
In 1248, the Chinese book, Hsi Duan Yu (the Washing Away of Wrongs), described how to distinguish drowning from strangulation. It was the first recorded application of medical knowledge to the solution of crime. Then in 1784, we see one of the first documented uses of physical matching. In this case, John Toms in Lancaster was convicted for the murder of Edward Culshaw with a pistol. The conviction was based on the torn edge of a wad of newspaper in a pistol that matched a piece remaining in Toms’ pocket.
The human factor
Forensic science continues to develop and mature, but a human brain is required to decipher and rationalise the evidence. The early forensic scientists were self-taught - there were no university courses or formal training. But since training and research in Universities commenced in the 1930s it has come a long way, and the importance of a sustainable system for training and continuing professional development in forensic science services is paramount to the high-quality provision of these services.
It’s more than just criminal forensic science...
Forensic science is wide-reaching. As well as affecting criminal investigation and prosecution, it is also used in civil litigation, legal reform, the investigation of insurance claims, national disaster planning and preparedness, security, and the advancement of technology.
Cranfield University is co-leading a new international project to examine the role of culture and archives in enhancing possibilities for peace and preventing conflict in communities around the world. Imagining Futures through Un/Archived Pasts is a four-year, £2 million project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.It will establish an interdisciplinary network to connect creators and institutions in Africa, the Middle East, North America and Europe. The project will look at the key question of who decides what should continue to be remembered into the future and how.
Cranfield Forensic Institute has also validated the authenticity of a jacket worn by Sir Thomas Noel Harris, Brigade-Major at the Battle of Waterloo, 1815, by bringing together the results of a forensic examination and the known history of the jacket and its wearer.
Forensic science is evolving, and so is Cranfield
Work has begun on a new forensic science ‘centre of excellence’ at Cranfield University. Once fully completed, the facilities at Cranfield Forensic Institute will be among some of the very best in the world in their specialist fields of crime scene investigation, digital forensic investigation, and non-destructive analysis.
The construction of the facilities has been made possible with £3.6 million of funding from SEMLEP through the Local Growth Fund, alongside investment from Cranfield University. The new facilities are considered vital in boosting the role science plays in the criminal justice system, enabling the transfer of the latest leading academic knowledge to criminal investigators and training the next generation of forensic scientists.
In October 2020, we welcomed the first cohort of students to the CFI at Cranfield campus to take advantage of some of the new technologies. Students and staff will have access to new facilities such as a virtual reality autopsy table, digital forensics laboratory, crime scene investigation rooms and a simulated mass grave excavation site.
You will see in the images that students will get to experience multiple clinical examples of autopsies and manipulate them as three-dimensional images, allowing sectioning and density differentiation. This equipment will play a big part in our forensic anthropology teaching, led by Dr Nick Marquez-Grant.
For those who are more interested in ballistics there are two new comparison microscopes. This equipment allows scratches caused by a weapon on rounds to be compared, linking a weapon to a scene or victim. They will be central to our forensic ballistics teaching and research. Additionally, the new equipment will be used for MSc theses, where our students specialise in individual research projects under a staff supervisor.
As well as our MSc programmes we also offer a range of Continuing Professional Development courses in forensic-related disciplines, such as archaeology, ballistics, explosives and material science. To find out more about our short courses, please visit our website.
