Author Archives: admin

ME Time

Posted on by

Morgue

Have you noticed how detectives can call their favorite medical examiner minutes after they left a crime scene for a report? Does this timeframe seem too brief for your own story? In real life, detectives can wait a considerable time before they see anything from a medical examiner.

On September 21, 2012, The New York World posted an article about these delays in New York: “More Work, Fewer Staff Add Up to Longer Waits for Medical Examiner Reports.” For example, the Medical Examiner office needed about 46 days to provide DNA test results in sexual assault cases. Toxicology reports required about 60 days. Can’t detectives grab a bite after visiting a crime scene and then call the ME for autopsy results? Sure, but they shouldn’t expect an answer. An autopsy takes about 70 days to complete.

So, if you want to delay the appearance of test results in your story, then don’t worry about it. Any delays will just make the story more realistic.

Hunting Burglars with DNA Tests

Posted on by
DNA

Source: Office of Biological and Environmental Research of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. science.energy.gov/ber.

Forensic DNA analysis is usually cast as an important tool for the investigation of a violent crime. However, investigators also use the technology to solve property thefts.

The September-October 2012 issue of Evidence Technology Magazine features an article by Joseph Blozis on “Using DNA to Fight Property Crime.” He explains how New York City’s Biotracks program demonstrated this new use of DNA testing. The NYPD recovered DNA samples from burglary cases with no suspects and forwarded the samples to private companies for analysis. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Biological Laboratory then uploaded DNA profiles to the FBI’s CODIS system. Eventually, the efforts led to the identification of burglars in no-suspect cases and established links between apparently unrelated burglaries.

The successes of the NYPD program and similar programs in other jurisdictions have proven the value of DNA testing to solve property crimes. Finding the funds and staff to run extra DNA tests is another challenge.

Helping Your Experts

Posted on by

Testimony

 

Do you plan to write a story with a courtroom scene? Are you thinking about what your forensic science experts might say? If so, then check Ronald K. Bullis’ Forensic Magazine article, “Applying the New Science of Metaphors to Forensic Science Testimony.”

As Bullis says, to be effective in court, a forensic scientist needs more than a solid background in science; the scientist must be able to explain the science to a judge and, very possibly, a jury. “Forensic scientists are like translators,” Bullis says, “They must ‘translate’ scientific procedure and opinion in ways that both educate and persuade jurors.” Bullis argues that metaphors are the key to this translation process.

Read Bullis’ article to help your fictional scientific experts to explain science. At the same time, you’ll be helping your readers.

Blood Can Run, But It Can’t Hide

Posted on by

Camera

 

Bloodstains are really tough to eradicate. Tiny drops of spatter patiently wait on walls for luminol to uncover them. Blood seeps into carpet padding, behind baseboards, and inside of drains.

Now, forensic scientists in Australia show that even paint cannot hide bloodstains. Rachel Ehrenberg’s Science News article, “Camera Hack Can Spot Cleaned-up Crimes,” describes how infrared photography can reveal blood hidden under paint. Even six layers of black paint could not hide blood spatter. The article includes tips by a specialist in art conservation and imaging about the type of paint a murderer might use to cover a crime.