Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, Eighth Edition

Book Preface

The efforts of law enforcement to stay one step ahead of those who actively choose to violate the law are part of an ongoing and evolutionary process. When there are those who are creating new ways to commit the “perfect crime,” the law enforcement community must respond and scour the evidence left behind, no matter how obscure or limited it is, to find the person(s) responsible for those crimes and bring them to justice. This process frequently involves the dedicated men and women of local, state, and federal forensic laboratories. They cannot settle for the status quo but must continue to push forward in scientific endeavors to support the judicial system in its search for truth and justice.

The education of those fine forensic science professionals is also an ongoing endeavor that can take years of study and training to reach the required level of competency, which is then followed by a lifetime of continuing education to remain proficient. This text is a resource for those who have chosen their specialty within the field but still want to keep up on the advances and capabilities of the other disciplines in the forensic sciences.

With the repercussions of the congressionally directed report by the National Academy of Sciences, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, still echoing across the land, a new spotlight has been brought on those who provide forensic services for public agencies. Ensuring that the appropriate scientific techniques and principles are used to bring out the truth in criminal investigations will continue to be the task for all levels of forensic practitioners throughout the nation. Validating the science underlying those techniques will also be the responsibility of this generation’s forensic scientists. With that in mind, this text that has been a standard for years will continue to be used as a resource for those who wish to study and master the noble field of forensic science.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was honored to have Barry A. J. Fisher as the director of our Scientific Services Bureau for more than two decades. Leaders like him have helped build it into one of the largest and most respected municipal crime laboratories in the world. I am honored to once again write a foreword for this volume, the eighth edition of Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation and look forward to its contribution as a trusted resource for the criminal justice community.