In chemistry, strides are always being made to make
technology better, faster, smaller, and stronger. Analytical chemistry can tell
us so much about the world we live in across a variety of different fields. Due to the heavy hollywoodization of the forensic science in television crime dramas, people have unrealistic expectations of the field.
This was deemed the "CSI effect," defined by criminologist Monica
Robbers as "the phenomenon in which jurors hold unrealistic expectations
of forensic evidence and investigation techniques...” The backlash of this
effect is huge in the justice system. On TV analytical results take minutes to
run, as a result the general population have unrealistic expectations. They
want lab results and an arrest to be made within days. In the real world, these
results may take weeks to acquire. The effects in the court room are
detrimental as well. A study in 2008 showed that about 60% of defense lawyers
and nearly 70% of judges believed that jurors had unrealistic expectations of
forensic science. People are wanting stronger forensic evidence to make a conviction. What may have been a
quick conviction in the old days is now much more likely to become an
acquittal. This created a need to improve technology in the forensic science field.
A recent
technological advancement may just live up to jurors expectations. Fingerprints have always been evidence of great interest for obvious reasons. With
the use of time-of-flight secondary ion imaging mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS),
fingerprints can be age dated. This would help determine the relevance of a
fingerprint that was found at the crime scene. A development of this nature
would be a game changer in the court room. TOF-SIMS is used to analyze the
surface of solid materials. This method works by looking at the surface
diffusion of biomolecules in the fingerprint over time. Researchers looked at
fingerprints 1, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours after they had been deposited onto a surface. In the early hours after the fingerprint
are deposited, the ridge patterns are extremely clear. At this time, molecules,
such as palmitic acid, are still along the edge of the ridges, the valleys are
unoccupied. After 24 hours the ridge patterns begin to lose their clarity as
the molecules diffuse into the valley regions. It is possible to estimate the
time it takes for these acids to reach position x. As a result, researchers were able
to look at a fingerprint sample and estimate how old it was.
Age dating of fingerprints could be a monumental advancement in forensic science. However, this new advancement has limits. Currently, the method of age dating of fingerprints is only
useful for prints that are less than 92 hours old, but their next goal in their
research is to expand this timeline to up to 240 hours.
Chelle,
ReplyDeleteI think your blog is very well done. Perhaps I'm a little biased, but I have so far enjoyed both of your posts very much. You have great use of font size, effects, photos, etc., have chosen interesting topics, and you are a very good writer to boot! It's fascinating that laboratories can now estimate exactly how "old" a fingerprint is.
Also, does it annoy you to watch crime shows and catch all of their little (or big) inaccuracies as much as it does me? (;