1)Introduction; Crime today is at an extreme high. However, forensic science has been there to help solve every crime committed Forensic science is the scientific method of gathering and examining information about the past. The word forensic comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum. The word forensic basically means the key to solve a crime.This is the technology used to help forensic teams to analyze and solve crimes.- This is especially important in law enforcement where forensics is done in relation to criminal or civil law,[1] but forensics are also carried out in other fields, such as astronomy, archaeology, biology and geology to investigate ancient times. Forensic Science is used to Identify Criminals Rape, murder, theft, and other crimes almost always leave a devastating mark on the victim.
. In modern forensic science, the crime laboratories include photography section, Evidence storage section, identification section, chemistry section, General examination section, Fire arms section, instrument section and crime scene search section.
2)Origins of forensic science: In 16th-century Europe, medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on the cause and manner of death. Ambroise Paré, a French army surgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs.[9][10] Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathology by studying changes that occurred in the structure of the body as the result of disease.[11]. In Warwick in 1816, a farm labourer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. There were also scattered grains of wheat and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool.[15]
3.Early methods: Many people have contributed to the start of forensic science. Edmond Locard was a physician who established “one of the first crime laboratories in 1910, in Lyon, France”(“Crime Laboratory” 909). He helped develop various methods to investigate crimes. Alphonse Bertillon developed a method of “identifying persons according to their measurements. This method is called the Bertillon method”(“Crime Laboratory” 910). However, by late 1910, fingerprinting had replaced the Bertillon system almost entirely as a more accurate method of identification. This new method was developed by Sir Francis Galton. The first crime laboratory in the United was established in Los Angeles in 1923. “Today, the nation has over 250 crime laboratories”(“Crime Laboratory” 910). Many other organizations would soon be developed. The FBI’s crime laboratory was organized in 1932. It ranks as one of the “finest in the world”(“Crime Laboratory” 910). A crime laboratory uses several different techniques to identify and analyze evidence. Such techniques include microscopic examination, chemical treatments, and the use of special instruments. The most effective type of evidence is DNA identification. It has the power to save people and to prosecute the guilty.
4.Nature

Forensic Science embraces all branches of science and applies them to the purpose of law.Originally all the techniques were borrowed from various scientific disciplines like chemistry ,medicine, surgery biology, photography. But in the past few years it has developed its own branches which are more or less exclusive domains of forensic science. More recently significantadvances have been made in serology, voice analysis, odour analysis and in studies relating to nose prints and ear patterns.
5.Anthropometry : The French police officer Alphonse Bertillon was the first to apply the anthropological technique of anthropometry to law enforcement, thereby creating an identification system based on physical measurements. Forensic anthropologists study the human skeleton in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of a decedent through various skeletal analyses that produce a biological profile. Forensic anthropologists utilize the Fordisc program to help in the interpretation of craniofacial measurements in regards to ancestry/race determination. Bertillon created many other forensics techniques, including forensic document examination, the use of galvanoplastic compounds to preserve footprints, ballistics, and the dynamometer, used to determine the degree of force used in breaking and entering. Although his central methods were soon to be supplanted by fingerprinting, "his other contributions like the mug shot and the systematization of crime-scene photography remain in place to this day."[21].
6.Forensics in the Criminal investigations: Forensic science plays an important role in the investigation of serious crimes. Forensic Science in criminal investigations and trials is mainly concerned with materials and indirectly through materials with men, places and time. Among men, the investigating officer is the most important person. In fact ,it is he whose work determines the success or failure of the application of forensic science in the processing of a criminal case.
Forensic science provides answer to the following three questions:
1. Has a crime been committed?
Consider the case of recovery of a dead body. Death could be natural accidental or homicidal.Forensic Science by ascertaining the nature of death, establishes the existence or absence of corpus delicti.
2. How and when was the crime committed?
The examination of the corpus delicti reveals the way of the crime was committed and possibly the time when it was committed.
3. Who committed the crime?
Forensic science establishes the identity of the culprit through personal clues like fingerprints, footprints, blood drops or hair. It links the criminal with the crime through objects left by him at the scene with the victim or carried from the scene and the victim.
On the other hand, if the clues recovered do not link the accused with the victim or the scene of occurrence, the innocence of the accused is established. Forensic science, thus, helps the innocent. The tools and techniques currentlyused in modern forensic science laboratories belong to both classical and modern categories. They are as follows:-
Ø Measurements
Ø Microscopy
Ø Photography
Ø Invisible rays
Ø Chromatography
Ø Electrophoresis
Ø Spectrography
Ø Laser Techniques
Ø Mass Spectrometry
Ø X- Ray diffraction analysis. 7.Fingerprints[edit] Sir William Herschel was one of the first to advocate the use of fingerprinting in the identification of criminal suspects. While working for the Indian Civil Service, he began to use thumbprints on documents as a security measure to prevent the then-rampant repudiation of signatures in 1858.[23]. A Fingerprint Bureau was established in Calcutta (Kolkata), India. A Fingerprint Bureau was established in Calcutta (Kolkata), India.Fingerprints are one of the most important things that link a suspect with a crime scene. fingerprints, palm prints and sole prints have been used as powerful identification tools by law enforcement agencies. All people have distinct friction ridges on the skin of the fingers.This patterns vary not only from one individual to another , but they are different in the same individual on each finger. Fingerprints not visible are called latent prints; so something must be done to make them visible. The most common way to make them visible is to "dust" an object with fingerprint powder. The color of the powder should contrast with the surface, such as black powder on light-colored backgrounds and white powder on dark. An alternative to using powders, is using chemicals. The most common to use are Iodine, ninhydrin, silver nitrate, or cyanoacrylate esters. The process involves fuming, spraying, brushing, or dipping the object in a solution of the chemical. Yet another way to make fingerprints visible is to use radiation. There are two kinds of radiation to use, Ultraviolet rays, and laser radiation. If a fingerprint is found at the scene of crime, it can belong to only one person. If this person happens to be be the suspect, he must account for its presence at the scene. 8.Brain fingerprints: Brain fingerprinting was invented by Lawrence Farwell. Brain Fingerprinting is a controversial forensic science technique that uses brain-reading techniques that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to determine whether specific information is stored in a subject’s brain. It does this by measuring electrical brainwave responses to words, phrases, or pictures that are presented on a computer screen. Farwell’s brain fingerprinting originally used the well known P300 brain response to detect the brain’s recognition of the known information. (Farwell & Donchin 1986, 1991; Farwell 1995a). Later Farwell discovered the MERMER ("Memory and Encoding Related Multifaceted Electroencephalographic Response"), which includes the P300 and additional features and is reported to provide a higher level of accuracy than the P300 alone. Brain fingerprinting has been applied in a number of high-profile criminal cases, including helping to catch serial killer JB Grinder (Dalbey 1999) and to exonerate innocent convict Terry Harrington after he had been falsely convicted of murder (Harrington v. State). 9.DNA profiling: DNA is the most powerful tool available for identification in forensic investigations.DNA profiling (also called DNA testing, DNA typing, or genetic fingerprinting) is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the fundamental building block of an individual's genetic makeup. Forensic DNA analysis takes advantage of the uniqueness of an individual's DNA to answer forensic questions such as paternity/maternity testing and placing a suspect at a crime scene, e.g. in a rape investigation. The DNA profiling technique was first reported in 1986[3] by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester in England. The DNA profilling process begins with a sample of an individual's DNA . other methods may need to be used to collect a sample of blood, saliva, semen, or other appropriate fluid or tissue from personal items (e.g. toothbrush, razor, etc.) or from stored samples (e.g. banked sperm or biopsy tissue). A reference sample is then analyzed to create the individual's DNA profile using one of a number of techniques, are given below: 1. RFLP analysis: restriction fragment length polymorphism, or RFLP (commonly pronounced “rif-lip”), is a technique that exploits variations in homologous DNA sequences.
2. PCR analysis: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a biochemical technology in molecular biology used to amplify a single copy or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence.
3. STR analysis: short tandem repeats (STRs), are repeating sequences of 2-5 base pairs of DNA. The system of DNA profiling used today is based on this analysis
4. AmpFLP: Amplified fragment length polymorphism was also put into practice during the early 1990s. This technique was also faster than RFLP analysis and used PCR to amplify DNA samples.
10.The important sub divisions of forensic science ;
Art forensics concerns the art authentication cases to help research the work's authenticity. Art authentication methods are used to detect and identify forgery, faking and copying of art works, e.g. paintings.
Computational forensics concerns the development of algorithms and software to assist forensic examination.
Criminalistics is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of biological evidence, trace evidence, impression evidence (such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, and tire tracks), controlled substances, ballistics, firearm and toolmark examination, and other evidence in criminal investigations. In typical circumstances evidence is processed in a Crime lab.
Digital forensics is the application of proven scientific methods and techniques in order to recover data from electronic / digital media. Digital Forensic specialists work in the field as well as in the lab.
Forensic accounting is the study and interpretation of accounting evidence.
Forensic aerial photography is the study and interpretation of aerial photographic evidence
Forensic anthropology is the application of physical anthropology in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of skeletonized human remains
Forensic archaeology is the application of a combination of archaeological techniques and forensic science, typically in law enforcement.
Forensic astronomy uses methods from astronomy to determine past celestial constellations for forensic purposes.
Forensic botany is the study of plant life in order to gain information regarding possible crimes.
Forensic chemistry is the study of detection and identification of illicit drugs, accelerants used in arson cases, explosive and gunshot residue.
Forensic dactyloscopy is the study of fingerprints.
Forensic document examination or questioned document examination answers questions about a disputed document using a variety of scientific processes and methods. Many examinations involve a comparison of the questioned document, or components of the document, with a set of known standards. The most common type of examination involves handwriting, whereby the examiner tries to address concerns about potential authorship..
Forensic engineering is the scientific examination and analysis of structures and products relating to their failure or cause of damage.
Forensic entomology deals with the examination of insects in, on and around human remains to assist in determination of time or location of death. It is also possible to determine if the body was moved after death using entomology.
Forensic geology deals with trace evidence in the form of soils, minerals and petroleum.
Forensic geophysics is the application of geophysical techniques such as radar for detecting objects hidden underground or underwater.[49]
Forensic intelligence process starts with the collection of data and ends with the integration of results within into the analysis of crimes under investigation.[50]
Forensic Interviews are conducted using the science of professionally using expertise to conduct a variety of investigative interviews with victims, witnesses, suspects or other sources to determine the facts regarding suspicions, allegations or specific incidents in either public or private sector settings.
Forensic limnology is the analysis of evidence collected from crime scenes in or around fresh-water sources. Examination of biological organisms, in particular diatoms, can be useful in connecting suspects with victims.
Forensic linguistics deals with issues in the legal system that requires linguistic expertise.
Forensic meteorology is a site-specific analysis of past weather conditions for a point of loss.
Forensic odontology is the study of the uniqueness of dentition, better known as the study of teeth.
Forensic optometry is the study of glasses and other eyewear relating to crime scenes and criminal investigations.
Forensic pathology is a field in which the principles of medicine and pathology are applied to determine a cause of death or injury in the context of a legal inquiry.
Forensic podiatry is an application of the study of feet footprint or footwear and their traces to analyze scene of crime and to establish personal identity in forensic examinations.
Forensic psychiatry is a specialized branch of psychiatry as applied to and based on scientific criminology.
Forensic psychology is the study of the mind of an individual, using forensic methods. Usually it determines the circumstances behind a criminal's behavior.
Forensic seismology is the study of techniques to distinguish the seismic signals generated by underground nuclear explosions from those generated by earthquakes.
Forensic serology is the study of the body fluids.[51]
Forensic toxicology is the study of the effect of drugs and poisons on/in the human body.
Forensic video analysis is the scientific examination, comparison and evaluation of video in legal matters.
Mobile device forensics is the scientific examination and evaluation of evidence found in mobile phones, e.g. Call History and Deleted SMS, and includes SIM Card Forensics.
Trace evidence analysis is the analysis and comparison of trace evidence including glass, paint, fibres and hair (e.g., using micro-spectrophotometry).
Wildlife Forensic Science applies a range of scientific disciplines to legal cases involving non-human biological evidence, to solve crimes such as poaching, animal abuse, and trade in endangered species.
Blood Spatter Analysis is the scientific examination of blood spatter patterns found at a crime scene to reconstruct the events of the crime.
Forensic Investigation also known as forensic audit is the examination of documents and the interviewing of people to extract evidence.
11.Forensic science and humanitarian work: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) uses forensic science for humanitarian purposes to clarify the fate of missing persons after armed conflict, disasters or migration,[66] and is one of the services related to Restoring Family Links and Missing Persons. Knowing what has happened to a missing relative can often make it easier to proceed with the grieving process and move on with life for families of missing persons.

Forensic science is used by various other organizations to clarify the fate and whereabouts of persons who have gone missing. Examples include the NGO Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, working to clarify the fate of people who disappeared during the period of the 1976–1983 military dictatorship. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) uses forensic science to find missing persons,[67] for example after the conflicts in the Balkans.[68]
12.Forensic Science And Sexual Offences Serious common sexual offences are:
· Rape
· Incest
· Unnatural offences. Some minor sexual offences are:
1. Exhibitionism
2. Sadism
3. Frottage
4. Voyeurism-Peeping Tom
Certain sexual aberrations are:
1. Masochism
2. Transvertism
3. Fetishism
In all the above cases Forensic Science play a major role in understanding the nature and gravity of the concerned crime.

13.Conclusion
The lack of understanding and critical appraisal of specialists in general, by non- specialists, is all- pervasive. The field of Forensic Science is no exception. Neither the police, nor the lawyer ,nor even the judge appreciates fully the advances or the extensive potentialities of the science. In criminal cases accused parties are convicted on the basis of testimony from forensic science experts, therefore much depends upon the reliability of evidence presented before Court of Law. It is highly recommended that law enforcement officials and the members of society they serve must assure that forensic techniques are reliable. Thus before forensic evidence is admitted in the Court, the techniques to find out that evidence must be properly studied and their accuracy must be verified. Scientific evidence is not only valuable to a successful criminal prosecution, but it may also be crucial in the eyes of many jurors. Scientists have an ethical responsibility to assist non-scientists to understand their findings and expert opinions before they are used as decision-aids within the criminal justice system. The communication of scientific expert opinion to non-scientist audiences (e.g., police, lawyers, and judges) through expert reports is an important but under-researched issue
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