Fingerprints have been subject to examination in some form
or another since as early as the 8th century. However, after many
false starts in the western world, they didn’t gain a real foothold here until
1903, when the New York prison system began cataloging them as a means to
identify repeat offenders.
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| Clues |
Starting in the 1850s law enforcement used photographs and
later specific body measurements to attempt the same goal.
Through the centuries, law enforcement has shifted and
changed and grown and with every failed idea a new one was born. Throughout history,
and despite there often shaky beginnings, five breakthrough technologies have
made the greatest impact on criminology.
- Fingerprinting.
It seems so obvious to us now, but
from the humble beginnings of using a hand or thumb print to sign a contract in
Japan in the 8th century, identifying criminals with something as
banal as their hand or finger is still firmly in practice today.
2. Early forensic science
Like fingerprinting, the field of
forensic science is now unrecognizable from its original form. French Army
surgeon Ambroise Pare began to study violent death based on body
responses. That work was followed by The
Complete System of Police Medicine by Johann Peter Franck.
- Modern forensic science
Flash forward to the seemingly
magical machines and technologies that you see on the many criminology based TV
shows of today and it’s simply mind boggling. Forensic science of today
includes toxicology, odontology, pathology, serology, and so on. Basically a
study of any point, part, or aspect of a crime or criminal can fall under the
umbrella heading of forensic science.
- Computers to catalogue
criminals
Originally (and still to a certain
degree) databases were created as a local pool of criminals and crimes for
electronic analysis. Databases now prove invaluable to law enforcement around
the globe. The advent of the computer allowed individuals from far and wide to
access information that others had collected based on similarities. Though
still a tugging match between different organizations, the sharing of
information across regional, state, or international lines has blossomed into a
key method of cracking many cases.
5. Computers
to catch criminals
Computer forensics is a new field
of criminology. Learning, finding and following near invisible digital trails --
amid the billions that are created online every second -- means that we have
again reshaped how we identify and catch criminals.
No matter how you slice it- or
print it, or catalogue it, or input it- criminology is an incredibly exciting
arena due to its ability to remain fluid as times, and crime, change.
--This article is by guest author
Westwood College.
Westwood College offers a bachelor’s degree in
cyber security, which includes
education in computer forensics skills.
