Alongside forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists are the most sought after forensic scientists on the job market currently. Open positions are most commonly found in government institutions, universities, as well the private sector, like consulting firms. Currently, the U.S. is faced with a shortage of licensed forensic anthropologists, a job on demand.i Forensic Anthropologist Job Description A forensic anthropologist is a [...]
Forensic entomology is the use and study of insects, and arthropod biology, that inhabit decomposing remains in order to aid legal investigations in criminal matters. Typically, forensic entomology is associated with death investigations, however it’s also applied to civil and other criminal components, non-related to homicides. Thus, forensic entomology can be broken down into three general areas of interest: medicolegal, [...]
A forensic sketch artist is a trained individual who interviews witness from a crime scene or the victims themselves in order to gather information about the physical appearance of the offender, after which he proceeds to draw his portrait. These portraits have often been invaluable to law enforcement efforts worldwide, helping identify hardened criminals and putting them to justice before they had [...]
The illegal harvesting of wood resource is a major global problem, which affects the economy, local fauna, and most importantly our climate. In developing countries where poverty is rampant, this practice is even more present. Since they can’t afford to pay for legally harvested wood resources or don’t have a natural gas link in their homes, most residents take it [...]
In the past, we’ve written rather extensively on what forensic pathology entails and what requirements should a individual looking to become a forensic pathologist fulfill. Like any field of science, however, many times it’s advised to turn to its roots, see how it was first described and what we can learn from its history. Forensic pathology is probably the most [...]
Confessions are considered a highly important piece of evidence in any court of law in the world, however, in the US at least, it’s not enough to grant a conviction. If someone admits to a crime, you’d think that would be enough – it’s not. Independent evidence which corroborates the confessions are required, for a sound verdict to be announced. Apparently however, confessions aren’t [...]
Forensic taphonomy is a new, emerging field, which originated as a subfield of forensic anthropology. The word ‘taphonomy’ derives from ancient Greek, where ‘tapho’ is ‘burial’ and ‘nomos’ is ‘laws’, so it is the study of the laws of burial. It emerged as a science in the 1940s, as a support for paleontology to explain how and why animals become [...]
If you’d look at today’s movies, you’d be tempted to think that every big city has at least one superhero taking care of it and fighting of bad guys. But if you look at the facts, there really aren’t any heroes to go around; except for Seattle. Seattle has its own self proclaimed super hero: Phoenix Jones. Phoenix Jones doesn’t [...]
As climate change events intensify, leading to an increase of flooding, hurricanes and other cataclysmic related phenomena, the industry of forensic meteorology can only grow. Forensic meteorology is the process of reconstructing weather events occuring at a certain time and location. This is achieved by retrieving and analyzing archived meteorological data (local reports, radio and satellite imaging, eye-witness reports) and re-creating a time line [...]
AI2-3D is a Canadian firm which specializes in crime scene reconstructions and 3D forensic animated visualization. Using modern technology like laser scanning and photogrammetry, the company has helped forensic scientists, crime scene investigators, lawyers or detectives to visually piece together information for over 60 cases worldwide. If you’re a fan of the popular TV shows CSI or Law and Order, [...]