There is a use for nearly any kind of proof in a criminal investigation, and there is a role to be played even by wristbands in forensics. Though the study of forensic medicine is nothing like what is shown in popular television dramas, every scrap of material evidence is something that can point towards a possible suspect. Therefore, even a piece of clothing as small as a wristband can help to prove guilt or innocence.
Locard’s exchange principle states that whenever there is a contact between two objects, something will be left behind. Both surfaces will have some change due to the contact, and will have some evidence left behind because of it. Edmond Locard, for whom the idea is named for, wrote that there were countless types of evidence that could be left behind.
Of course, if an errant wristband is found at the scene of a crime, it might end up speaking volumes about the person who left it. Hair or skin could both be left on one that a victim was wearing, and suggest something about the perpetrator of a crime. However, this isn’t the only way they might be used.
Fibers from a piece of cloth used in a wristband might end up somewhere, and they can be connected with the item they came from. This can mean the difference between two different verdicts. With forensics being such a dynamic field, these seemingly minute articles can become the hinges on which the door of justice swings. Read the rest of this entry »
A forensic psychologist is any psychologist who offers an expert psychological opinion in a way that it impacts one of the adversarial arenas, typically the courts. Many people think of forensic psychologists as focussing on criminal matters. This is certainly not always the case. A forensic psychologist is any psychologist who by virtue of training or experience may assist a court or other fact finder in arriving at a just or correct decision. For example a forensic psychologist may assist in a wide variety of civil matters. Civil matters include but are not limited to lawsuits or insurance claims where emotional suffering is a part of the claim, determination of competency of an aged or ill person to make decisions, whether a death was an accident or a “disguised suicide” in an insurance claim case, or in a wide variety of other areas. Becoming a forensic psychologist will first require you to get a doctorate in psychology, often (but not necessarily) in clinical or counseling psychology. It will probably take you about seven years after the undergraduate degree to get this doctorate, though some people may take a little less time. Competition is stiff to enter these doctoral programs, so study hard! One way the person who is already a psychologist becomes a forensic psychologist is by doing additional informal study after receiving the doctoral degree. She or he does this by attending seminars, consulting with senior colleagues, or returning to the university to take additional course work. Simultaneously, psychologists often undertake their first cases in the forensic area. When done well the ethical psychologist takes care to consult closely with colleagues in the early years. 