Introduction
The Profilers
The Crime SciencesSerial Crime
Links and Suggested ReadingsForensics:
The science that solves the crime
Introduction
The Profilers
The Crime Sciences
Serial Crime
Links and Suggested Readings
Introduction
Forensic science, or forensics, is the application of science to law by using technologies to uncover evidence. Modern forensics has a wide range of uses, but its best known, and most common, is to investigate criminal cases involving a victim. These cases can include murder, robbery, rape, arson, assault, and kidnapping, to name a few. Whatever horrendous acts one person can inflict on another, forensic science is on the case.
Forensics is also widely known in application to serial crime, crimes which follow a distinct, although not always obvious, pattern. While almost any crime, violent or nonviolent, can be a serial crime, the best known, and ironically the least common, is serial murder. Most people are familiar with Hollywood images of serial killers, psychotic yet highly intelligent men who stalk their prey like animals, and who stump the police time and time again. But thanks to the efforts of forensic science, serial criminals can now be caught much more quickly and brought to justice.