Mathematics and Forensics

8 March, 2015
Math History - 109

In a world filled with technology, accountability, and a desire for higher quality of living; the world owes it all to math. As children grow up and are taught mathematics in countries all over the world; they are all being taught the same language. Math is the universal language of the world and math has changed the world from the time of the Egyptians to the present day era of technology. Mathematicians like Nicolaus Copernicus gave the world the truth of the universe with heliocentrism, while Isaac Newton gave the world the modern laws of physics. Mathematics has even paved its way into music with each beat of music being timed by numbers. Math is everywhere and people with brilliant minds can use mathematics to contribute to the world in very positive ways. One such way is the science of forensics. Without math, forensics could not exist. As population growth increases at an alarming rate, people have to find ways of holding people accountable for unlawful behavior. Forensic science has allowed civilization to evolve and become less barbaric and move towards factual based evidence when solving crimes against nature. Forensic science measures facts involving a crime and figure out the truth behind those measurements. Whether it is the skid marks from a vehicle collision or blood splatter analysis; mathematics is the reason why this can be done.
Forensics have paved the way to a better justice system providing factual based evidence based upon math laws that are accepted as truth. The study of ballistics and the trajectory of bullets is a crucial element in crime solving strategy. In the United States, it is everyone’s privilege to own a gun lawfully. If the majority of the people had guns, it would be important to have a way of holding citizens accountable. This is done with mathematics. Scientists today can analyze a bullet and scratches surrounding the bullet. Precise measurements allow for factual proof and by doing this the forensic scientists can determine the gun that was used at the scene of the crime ("Use of Mathematics in Forensic Science", 2012). Other ways that ballistics matter is by recreating a crime scene and measuring the trajectory of the bullet compared to that of the perpetrators height. The bullets trajectory matters greatly in crimes towards a perpetrator because if the person’s height does not fit the expected result of the equation, then most likely the person suspected will not be the culprit. Forensics uses measurement to capture fact based evidence and none of this is possible without math.
Forensic scientists are capable of so much in capturing the truth behind a situation. Processes like studying blood splatter and figuring out how to retrieve DNA without compromising evidence is very important to finding the truth of a crime. To be more specific, a forensic biologist can compare two sets of DNA samples and find the probability of which the DNA is a match or not ("Use of Mathematics in Forensic Science", 2012). Another way mathematics impacts forensics is by studying and measuring blood splatter. Precise measurements can lead scientists to figuring out where the person was standing by using trigonometry ("Use of Mathematics in Forensic Science", 2012). Scientists can use triangles to determine exactly how the person shooting the gun was standing, the angle from which the shot took place, and how far away from the person they were. Math is absolute and unchanging which gives scientists all the necessary tools to finding the truth of a situation. People can and will eventually be held accountable for wrongful crimes because, math finds the truth of the world. So far, mathematics in forensics has proved to be worthy of mention in the field of science. One field of forensics that requires extensive knowledge is finding the proportions of human remains in nature. Oftentimes people that commit heinous crimes of murder will hide the victim’s body and it can take several years before remains surface or it could take decades. If a portion of the body is found, the measurements of the bones can determine the victim’s height by measuring weight, length, and density (Datta, 2013). This is very important in determining the age group of the remains found. This can then be put in a database of missing people in the area to see if DNA can be matched with any missing victims. Remains found should be given the respect of being returned to the family and mathematics and forensics have given the right back to the victim. If math did not exist, an arm bone would look the same as any other arm bone. There would not be microscopic details available for the scientist to study, nor would there be equipment made that could help analyze the details of the bones found. Attention to detail is often the difference between finding the truth in a situation. Measuring bones in how they were struck with an object, or at time of impact can help determine the cause of injury, or narrow down the actual cause of death. A person can be shot in the chest several times and survive it but a blow to head with a frying pan might have been the actual cause of death. This can be done by studying the bones very carefully and measuring exact results. Mathematics has changed the way the world works and allows people to be given justice even after death. Upon researching the way mathematics has changed the world, it can easily be forgotten that life as the world knows it today could not exist without math. Mathematics has influenced the way the justice system is run by using factual evidence supported by science. Car accidents can be analyzed down to the skid marks of the cars involved to determine who was at fault if both or one of the victims should die. Never before has our civilization been held to a higher standard of living. In less civilized times, crimes against humanity were harder to stop as people need to see proof. With the modern sciences and math fundamentals of today, people are able to get that proof. The world can benefit from some accountability as population continues to rise.

REFERENCES

Datta, N. (2013). The Common Denominator: Math + Forensic Science = Clever Crime Detection. Retrieved from http://forensicoutreach.com/the-common-denominator-math-forensic-science-clever-crime-detection-2/
Use of Mathematics in Forensic Science. (2012). Retrieved from https://forensicinfo.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/use-of-mathematics-in-forensic-science-k-gnaneshwar/