Glossary
AAFS--American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the body that certifies criminalists.
Abductive Thinking--A type of reasoning used in devising explanations for guiding an investigation.
Abrasion--Injury to the skin that removes the epithelial layer due to friction.
Accelerant--A flammable substance, like gasoline or kerosene used to create and spread a fire.
Accident--Cause of death or injury from an unforeseen and unavoidable incident.
Adipocere--Soap like preservative substance that forms on corpses in damp areas.
Admissible--Evidence that can be admitted for considerations by the trier(s) of fact.
AFIS--Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a data base for storing and making rapid comparisons of fingerprints.
Aggravating Circumstances--Conditions that made a crime more serious, such as knowing the risk involved that may lead to injury or death.
Algor Mortis--Cooling of the body after death.
Alligatoring--A burn pattern in wood that indicates a hot fire.
Ante mortem--Prior to death
Antisocial Personality Disorder--As defined in the DSM IV it emphasizes antisocial behavior over psychopathic penalty traits.
Arson--Intentionally setting a fire in a way that destroys property in a criminal manner.
ASCLO--American Society of Crime Lab Directors, which offers guidelines on how labs should be managed.
Autoerotic Accident--A death that occurs from the hypoxia produced by masturbatory rituals.
Autopsy--The medical examination of a body to identify cause of death.
Ballistics--The science of the motion and characteristics of projectiles.
Behavioral Evidence--Forensic evidence suggestive of certain behaviors generally used for criminal profiling.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt--The degree of proof that will convince the trier of facts to a near certainty that the allegations have been established. This is the highest of the three standards of proof in a courtroom used in all criminal proceedings.
Blitz Attack--The delivery of overpowering force.
Blood Spatter Pattern Analysis--Examining how blood hits a surface to determine how the event took place to spill the blood and to assess the size and type of wound made.
Bomb--A device designed for the violent release of gases for the purpose of destruction.
Buccal Swab--Swabs taken from the mouth for collecting epithelial cells
Bullet Track--The path of a projectile as it passes through a body.
Burden of Proof--The necessity of proving a fact in dispute. According to the standard of proof required in a specific proceeding.
Cardaveric Spasm--Sudden rigidity of a group of muscles immediately following death.
Caliber--The internal diameter of a gun barrel and the bullet that it fires.
Case Linkage--Finding links among cases that had seemed unrelated such as when two men, each of whom was found murdered in a bathtub were viewed as victims of the same killer.
Cause of Death--An injury or disease that produced a condition in the body that brings about death
Chain of Custody--The method used to keep track of who is handling a piece of evidence and for what purpose.
Character Disorder--A personality disorder that manifests in habitual maladaptive patterns of behavior.
CODIS--Combined DNA Index System, the FBI data base of genetic material.
Cold Case--Unsolved case no longer under active investigation but still open
Competency--Sufficient ability to participate in proceedings such as to stand trial, to waive rights and to testify.
Contact wound--Occurs when a firearm is placed against the surface while fired it produces a ragged wound.
Combustion--A soft tissue hemorrhage from blunt trauma.
Coroner--In some jurisdictions, the person in charge of the death investigation, might be a medical examiner or an elected official.
Corpus Delicti--Essential body of facts that indicate that a crime has occurred.
Crime Scene Reconstruction--Using evidence to determine the actions involved in a crime.
Criminalistics--The science of analyzing physical evidence from a crime.
Criminal Procedure--Legal action in which a city, county, state, or federal district prosecutes an individual for breaking a law.
Criminal Profiling--The use of observation of the crime scene and pattern of crimes to determine investigatively relevant characteristics of the perpetrator it guides police in narrowing the field of suspect and devising a strategy for questioning.
Criminology--The study of criminal character and legal procedure.
Daubert Standard--A recent standard used in federal and many state courts for deciding the admissibility of scientific evidence redefining the Frye Standard.
Deductive Thinking--The type of reasoning in which a conclusion is derived strictly from the information at hand.
Deposition--The pretrial statements, given under oath by any witnesses in a proceeding.
Diminished Capacity--A psychological defense indicative of an inability to appreciate the nature of the crime or to control one's actions. Not used in all states.
Discovery--The process though which parties in dispute find out facts about the case.
Disorganized Offender--Person who commits a crime haphazardly or opportunistically using weapons at the scene and often leaving clues.
Drugfire--A computer program for matching cartridges to those used in other crimes.
Due Process--Guaranteed steps in a legal proceeding
Entomology--The study of insect life in forensics it concerns bugs found at a crime scene or on a corpse that are used for determing a postmortem interval.
Event Memory--A type of memory in which a person can recall a specific event.
Evidence--Documents, statements and all items that are included in the legal proceedings for the jury's or judges consideration in the question of guilt of innocence.
Expert Witness--A person with specialized knowledge about an area, or with a special skill that is germane to the proceedings such as hair analysis, DNA analysis or expertise in the study of mental illness. This person's role is to assist the fact finders in understanding complicated information.
Fact Finder--The person(judge) or person's(jury) who weigh the evidence in a trial to determine a verdict.
Felony--A serious crime for which the punishment in federal law is generally severe including capital punishment.
Flashover--The point at which heated smoke, fed by oxygen, bursts into flame.
Floater--A corpse found in water, surfacing because of gas from decomposition.
Frye Test--A test that governs the admissibility of scientific evidence such that evidence entered into a case must be generally accepted by the relevant scientific community.
Geographic Profiling--Using the geographical relationship among crime scenes to infer offender characteristics and place of residence.
Graphology--The art of diving traits about a person from his or her handwriting.
Gunshot Residue(GSR)--The unburned powder that follows a fired bullet its found on clothing and skin after a shooting which can provide valuable evidence for reconstruction of a crime.
High-Risk Victim--A person continually exposed to danger such as a prostitute.
Homicide Investigation Tracking System(HITS)--A database in Washington State for linking violent crimes through signature analysis.
Hypoxia--Decreased oxygen to the brain
Identification Memory--The type of memory used to pick something out such as in a line up.
Impression Evidence--anything that leaves an impression at crime scene that links someone to the crime. Including tree tracks, footprints, fingerprints, took and bite marks.
Indictment--Accusation issued by a grand jury that charges an individual with criminal misconduct.
Inductive Thinking--A type of reasoning based on probability.
Insanity--A legal term for a mental disease of defect that if present at the time of a crime absolves the person of responsibility.
Intent--Mental state ranging from purpose to awareness of consequences.
Jurisdiction--The authority to exhort power over individuals or legal matters with in a defined geographic area.
Kastle-Meyer Test--a presumptive blood test used to determine if blood is present.
Laceration--Splitting or tearing of skin from blunt-force trauma.
Levcomalachite Green--A presumptive blood test, testing for the presence of blood that isn't visible.
Ligature--A tie or binding often used in bondage or to strangle someone.
Livor Mortis--AKA Lividity.
Locard's Exchange Principe--The theory that anyone entering a crime scene leave or takes something or both.
Luminol--A chemical reagent that makes invisible blood fluorescence in darkness.
Malingering--Deliberate simulating of mental illness to obtain personal grain.
Mass Killer--Someone who kills a lot of people at the same time.
Medical Examiner--In some jurisdictions the person who runs a death investigation in other the person who does the autopsies for a death investigation.
Miranda Warring--The required statements that a police officer gives to a suspect upon arrest, informing that person of the right to remain silent and to have legal representation before questioning.
Misdemeanor--A lesser crime than a felony, generally publishable by a fine or a short jail sentence.
Mitigating Circumstances--Factors such as age, motivation duress or unstable home life that can diminish the degree of guilt in a criminal offense.
Modus Operandi(MO)--An offenders method of caring out the offense.
Multiple Personality Disorder(MPD)--Now known as dissociative identity disorder, this is a psychological condition in which people seem to have two or more distinct persons in the same body.
National enter For the Analysis of Violent Crime(NCAVC)--A subdivision of the FBI's Behavioral science until which also runs the VICAP and profiling programs.
Organized Offender--Person committing a crime in a planned premeditated manner leaving few or no clues
Palynology--The study of pollen
Pattern Evidence--Evidence that can be read from a specific type of pattern such as the impression of a shoe or the forcible contact between two surfaces including such things as shattered glass, fractures and blood spatter patterns.
Perimortem--The time interval just before a death.
Petechial Hemorrhage--Broken blood vessels in the eyes of a corpse that indicate asphyxiation possibly by strangulation or smothering.
Postmortem Interval(PMI)--The time of death as determined by several factors
Psychological Autopsy--Methods used to determine state of mind a person when a suicide is questionable
Rape Kit--A collection of instruments and evidence analysis items used to process the victim of a rape if a suspect is found some of the items are used on him
Rigor Mortis--The stiffening of the body after death.
Serial Crimes--any type of crime occurring in a pattern that indicates a single offender.
Serial Killer--Someone who kills three or more people and takes a cooling-off period in between
Signature analysis--The method used to read crime scenes that indicate a serial offender who leaves a personal marker.
Signature Crime--A crime scene that bears a personality stamp of an offender, characteristic of a need for ritual or theme. These acts are not necessary to complete the offense.
Spree Killer--Someone who murders people in a frenzied succession with no cooling-off period in between.
Staging a Crime Scene--Making a crime scene look like something other than what it is, to deflect the investigation.
Stippling--Burn marks and time hemorrhages left by the gun power that follows a bullet, also called a tattooing
Striation--The inner marking on something that can be compared with another piece for a match
Tape-Lift--An adhesive used to pick up trace evidence at a crime scene.
Testimonial Evidence--What an eyewitness says about a crime.
Trace evidence--The smallest pieces of evidence at a scene, including fiber, hair, glass garments, seeds, dust and soil.
Trophy--A personal item taken from a victim and kept by the offender as a memory and to relive the crime also alled a souvenir
Trajectory--The path of a fired projectile
Vicmology--A study of victim information to find clues about the offender's opportunity and selection process
Wick Effect--When a person's body fat feeds a smoldering flame and burns the person to ash without burning items in the immediate area.
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