Written by a renowned authority on forensic science, this book introduces the non-scientific reader to the field of forensic science through an exploration of its applications to criminal investigations, with clear explanations of the techniques, abilities, and limitations of the modern crime laboratory. The most current technologies, techniques, practices, and procedures highlight this book. Actual cases, including a new case study on the role of DNA evidence in the investigation of the World Trade Center crime scene, enable readers to see the integral role of forensic science in criminal investigations. Topics covered include: the crime scene, physical evidence, physical properties, organic analysis, inorganic analysis, the microscope, hairs, fibers, and paint, drugs, forensic toxicology, forensic aspects of arson and explosion investigations, forensic serology, DNA, fingerprints, firearms, toolmarks and other impressions, document and voice examination, and forensic science on the Internet. An excellent reference resource for members of the forensic science field, as well as others involved in criminal justice.
Richard Saferstein, Ph.D., retired in 1991 after serving 21 years as the Chief Forensic Scientist of the New Jersey State Police Laboratory, one of the largest crime laboratories in the United States. He currently acts as a consultant for attorneys and the media in the area of forensic science. During the O. J. Simpson criminal trial, Dr. Saferstein provided extensive commentary on forensic aspects of the case for the Rivera Live show, the E! television network, ABC radio, and various radio talk shows. Dr. Saferstein holds degrees from the City College of New York and earned his doctorate degree in chemistry in 1970 from the City University of New York. From 1972 to 1991, he taught an introductory forensic science course in the criminal justice programs at the College of New Jersey and Ocean County College. These teaching experiences played an influential role in Dr. Saferstein's authorship in 1977 of the widely used introductory textbook Criminalastics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, currently in this eighth edition. Saferstein's basic philosophy in writing Criminalistics is to make forensic science understandable and meaningful to the nonscience reader, while giving the reader an appreciation for the scientific principles that underlie the subject.
Dr. Saferstein currently teaches a course on the role of the expert witness in the courtroom at the law school of Widener University in Wilmington, Delaware. He has authored or co-authored more than 35 technical papers covering a variety of forensic topics. Dr. Saferstein has co-authored Lab Manual for Criminalistics (Prentice Hall, 2004) to be used in conjunction with this text. He has also edited the widely used professional reference books Forensic Science Handbook, Volume I, second edition (Prentice Hall, 2002) and Forensic Science Handbook, Volumes II and III (Prentice Hall, 1988, 1993). Dr. Saferstein is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American-Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Forensic Science Society of England, the Canadian Society of Forensic Scientists, the International Association for Identification, the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists, the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists, the Northwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, and the Society of Forensic Toxicologists.
