The word Forensic owes its origin to Latin word forēnsics which means "of or before the

forum" signifies belonging to court of justice or is any aspect of science, which relates it to
thelaw. Typically, it is just about any area of science, which could be called into question in
the
court of law. Forensic means FORUM i.e. ‘the public place’ or ‘marketplace’ of a city which
provides an opportunity for conducting debate or to give sympathet
ic hearing to anyone’s case.
It originated from Roman times; when a criminal charge meant presenting the case before
agroup of public individuals in the Forum. Both the person accused of the crime and the
victimwould give speeches based on their sides of the story. The individual with the best
argumentand delivery would determine the outcome of the case. This origin is the source of
the twomodern usages of the word forensic
–
as a form of legal evidence and as a category of
public presentation. In modern use, the term forensics in the place of forensic science can bec
onsidered correct, as the term forensic is effectively a synonym for legal or related to
courts.However, the term is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many
dictionariesincludes the meaning that equates the word forensics with forensic science. When
a need toidentify and compare the physical evidence was felt and certain scientists developed
therequired principles and techniques for the purpose. Then a need was felt to develop a
coherentsystem that could be practically applicable to criminal justice system as well.The
gathering and scientific analysis of evidence isfundamental to successfully solving crime.
Popular fictional character Sherlock Homes
coined by Sir Arthur Covan Doyle was, perhaps; the first person who introduced scientific cri
medetection methods to its readers. Doyle described methods of detection much before they
werediscovered and implemented by the scientists in real life. He used principles of
serology,fingerprinting, firearm identification, and questioned document examination in his
fiction.The term forensic science involves forensic (or forensis, in Latin),which means a
public discussion or debate. In a more modern context,however, forensic applies to courts or
the judicial system. Combine that with science, andforensic science means applying scientific
methods and processes to solving crimes.From the16th century, when medical practitioners
began using forensic science to writings in the late18th century that revealed the first
evidence of modern pathology, to the formation of the firstschool of forensic science in 1909;
the development of forensic science has been used touncover mysteries, solve crimes, and
convict or exonerate suspects of crime for hundreds ofyears.
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The extraordinary scientific innovations and advancements in
forensicscience have allowed it to become a highly developed science that involves a number
ofdisciplines and thousands of forensic scientists specializing in everything from DNA
and botany to dentistry and toolmarks.

NATURE AND SCOPE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

Forensic science draws upon the principles and methods of all the traditional sciences, such
as biology, physics, and chemistry. But in last few years, it has developed its own branches
likefingerprints, anthropometry, crime scene investigation, track marks, questioned
documentexamination and forensic ballistics. These are exclusive fields of Forensic Science.
Recentlysignificant advances have been made in the field of serology, voice analysis,
brainfingerprinting, criminal profiling and narco analysis test etc. The term forensic science
issometimes used as a synonym for criminalistics. Both terms cover a diverse range of
activities.Forensic science, in a broader sense, includes forensic medicine, odontology;
anthropology; psychiatry; toxicology; questioned documents examination, and firearm, tool
mark, andfingerprint examinations, as well as criminalistics. The brief detail about the major
specialtyareas included in the wider definition of forensic science is discussed as under:
•

Criminalistics
: This branch of science is mainly concerned with the recognition,identification,
individualization, and evaluation of physical evidence using themethods and techniques of
the natural sciences in issues of legal significance. Itincludes examination of trace evidence
like glass, soil, hair, fibers, blood, and physiological fluids like semen, saliva, urine etc.
and the reconstruction of events based on physical evidence analysis. Different forensic
scientists define the scopeof the field differently.
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Some include firearm and tool mark examination andquestioned documents as a part of
criminalistics. Despite the implications of thename, criminalistics activities are not limited to
criminal matters. They are used incivil law cases and in regulatory matters also. People who
are engaged incriminalistics as a profession are called criminalists. Criminalistics also
includesarson accelerant and explosive residues, drug identification and the interpretationof
different patterns and imprints. It is the broadest of the subdivisions of forensicscience.
•

Forensic Anthropology:
This branch of science is related with personalidentification based on bodily (particularly
skeletal) remains and its practitionersare known as physical anthropologists, who are
interested in handling the
forensic problems. Alphonse Bertillon was a French police officer who applied theanthropolo
gical technique of anthropometry to law enforcement creating anidentification system based
on physical measurements. Other areas of forensicanthropology include establishing
databases on relationship between bodilystructures as functions of sex, age, race, stature, and
so forth. Interpretation offootprint or shoe-print evidence might also be included to find
relationship withstature of the person.
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ForensicOdontology
Also known asforensic dentistry is the application ofdentistry to solve human identification
problems from teeth. Forensic odontologistsare dentists who specialize in the forensic aspects
of their field. They are concernedwith the identification of persons based upon their dentition,
usually in cases ofotherwise unrecognizable bodies or in mass disasters or explosion cases.
They alsoanalyze and compare bite mark evidence in several types of cases.
•

Forensic Medicine(legal medicine; medical jurisprudence):

It is the applicationof medicine and medical science to solve the legal problems. Practitioners
offorensic medicine are doctors of medicine with specialty certification in pathologyand
forensic pathology. Most of them are medical examiners. They are concernedwith
determining the cause and circumstances in cases of questioned death. Theyhave to deal with
matters relating to insurance claims, and sometimes in cases ofmedical malpractice also.

Forensic Toxicology:
This branch of science deals with the determination of toxicsubstances present in human
tissues and organs. Most of the work concerns the roleof toxic agents (chemicals or plant or
others) that might have played a role incausing or contributing to the death of a person. Also
perform qualitative andquantitative analysis of the poisonous products present in the viscera.

Firearm and Tool mark examination

: In most of the laboratories in India thefirearm and tool mark division is a part of Physical
section but in some others itvaries according to convenience and number cases referred to the
lab. Tools in theform of comparison microscope and others required for firearm
identification,comparison of markings on bullets and other projectiles, cartridge cases, and
shellcases, especially for the purpose of determining if a bullet has been fired from
a particular weapon. Tool mark examinations are concerned with the association of particular
impressions with particular tools.
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Fingerprint examination:
It is mostly performed at Finger Print Bureau, whichis mostly concerned with the
classification of fingerprints and the organization ofsets of prints into usable files.
Development of latent prints at crime scene andcomparisons of known and unknown
fingerprints are a major part of the work besides storing and building data base of criminal
finger prints.
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