Criminal investigation is an important aspect to our world; about every minute another crime is committed in America. With so much negative behavior, there needs to be a positive control that keeps criminals off the streets. The process that begins at the crime scene all the way to the prosecution of the criminals includes the scientific method and critical thinking. They use it in the analysis of evidence and the prosecution of the suspects. Along with these skills being useful to investigators, they are also just as useful to the common citizen as well. Knowing how to critical think through every day dilemmas can make those situations easier to handle and can help one come to a better solution. As well as being able to design a plan of action …show more content…
It is a logical route to take when criticizing, problem solving, evaluating and interpreting in any setting. One would use their critical thinking skills to walk them through a scientific hypothesis or to thoroughly think through the necessary way to approach the problem that was presented to them. To be able to critical think, one must be informed, open and fair minded, honest, and determined to find a solution to their problem (2011). Critical thinking is such a big part to criminal investigation. Being able to find a “needle in a haystack”, one person out of billions, that committed a crime is amazing and involves very intelligent critical thinkers.
Criminal investigation using fingerprint analysis is just one specific example of the application of both the scientific method and critical thinking. Investigating a crime scene starts with looking for physical evidence and looking at the evidence found to try and determine what may have happened there. Evidence can either save or hurt a suspect, it can set them free or put them in handcuffs. Investigators look for any type of physical evidence such as blood spatter, weapon, footprints, tire prints, or for this example, a potential
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The best place for a fingerprint to be taken from would be smooth surfaces such as glass, enamel, and glossy papers. To remove the fingerprint from the surface one can either use black powder on lighter backgrounds or white powder on darker backgrounds. The brushes can’t be hard, only camel hair, ostrich feather, or a nylon brush can be used because those brushed don’t distort the print. Another way to take the print from the scene is a chemical path, most common chemicals including iodine, ninhydrin, silver nitrate, or cyanoacrylate esters. To apply these chemicals to the print one can either brush, spray, fume or dip the print in the substance. The last way to remove a fingerprint is using radiation (ultraviolet and laser). All of these methods are commonly used and will accurately display the fingerprint. (Osterburg, J. W., & Ward, R. H. (1992). Criminal Investigation (4thth ed., pp. 56-68). N.p.: Anderson
Having the ability to identify types of prints and surfaces, and the corresponding techniques to develop the prints, has helped crime scene investigators identify criminals and victims of scenes, and aided in the prosecution of defendants in the criminal justice system. Although the history and techniques go far beyond what was discussed in these few pages, it is important as a law enforcement officer or investigator to understand the very basics of how fingerprint identification began, and the simple techniques used to develop them today.
The author Vincent Ruggiero defines critical thinking in his book Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking, as a “search for answers, a quest.” It is the idea that one does not accept claims, ideas, and arguments blindly, but questions and researches these things before making a decision on them. From what I learned in class, critical thinking is the concept of accepting that there are other people and cultures in this world that may have different opinions. It is being able to react rationally to these different opinions.
The criminal justice system has changed a lot since the good old days of the Wild West when pretty much anything was legal. Criminals were dealt with in any fashion the law enforcement saw fit. The science of catching criminals has evolved since these days. We are better at catching criminals than ever and we owe this advancement to forensic science. The development of forensic science has given us the important techniques of fingerprinting and DNA analysis. We can use these techniques to catch criminals, prove people's innocence, and keep track of inmates after they have been paroled. There are many different ways of solving crimes using forensic evidence. One of these ways is using blood spatter analysis; this is where the distribution and pattern of bloodstains is studied to find the nature of the event that caused the blood spatter. Many things go into the determination of the cause including: the effects of various types of physical forces on blood, the interaction between blood and the surfaces on which it falls, the location of the person shedding the blood, the location and actions of the assailant, and the movement of them both during the incident. Another common type of forensic evidence is trace evidence. This is commonly recovered from any number of items at a crime scene. These items can include carpet fibers, clothing fibers, or hair found in or around the crime scene. Hairs recovered from crime scenes can be used as an important source of DNA. Examination of material recovered from a victim's or suspect's clothing can allow association to be made between the victim and other people, places, or things involved in the investigation. DNA analysis is the most important part of forensic science. DNA evidence can come in many forms at the crime scene. Some of these forms include hair; bodily fluids recovered at the crime scene or on the victim's body, skin under the victim's fingernails, blood, and many others. This DNA can be the basis of someone's guilt or innocence; it has decided many cases in the twentieth century. As the times continue to change and the criminals get smarter we will always need to find new ways to catch them. Forensic science is the most advanced method yet, but is only the beginning. As the field of science grows so will the abilities of the
The three different main types of fingerprints are Loops, Arches, and Whorls (Jackson 1). Henry Faulds is known as the Father of Fingerprints and developing fingerprints (Jackson 1). His discovery of fingerprints has made a huge impact not only in his time but, in Modern Crime Scene Investigation (Jackson 1). Without fingerprinting, it would be very difficult to convict criminals of crimes and very hard to try to process information. Crime Scene Investigators make a huge impact in Forensic Science. We need CSI workers, without them people could only imagine what crime would be like not only in our community, but in our
Critical thinking provides an opportunity to explore the positive and negative sides of an argument for and against an idea, theory or notion. Reasoning and perception is attuned to personal impression and provides outcome to belief and opinion.
The scientific method is the analyzation of evidence, to examine a case from every angle possible, to not give up on an investigation until all of the angles are covered and to not allow personal emotions create a bias in their mind (Osterburg 2010). A scientific method example would be when an investigator arrives to a crime scene, they would first search the area for clues and see if something doesn’t seem right. Next they would have to search for different forms of evidence, most important would be trace evidence because it can provide DNA evidence which can also link a suspect to the crime. There are many more ways evidence and other clues can be harvested from a crime scene but it is up to the investigator to use their knowledge and help find the person responsible for the crime
The easiest way to figure out who was at the crime scene is by taking fingerprints. Good impressions such as fingerprints can be the most valuable pieces of evidence in a forensic investigation. Impressions help link a person to a crime scene or crime as well can provide information on any weapon that could've been used at the scene. An educated technician would compare and search fingerprints manually and on AFIS computer system for classification, comparison and identification. "Analyzing evidence is not a quick or simple process.
Crime investigators have the job to solve crime and find the suspect responsible. Sometimes the offense is very difficult to solve, but with the right pieces of evidence and tools, the investigation can be answered a little more easily. The use of fingerprints is a main tool used at crime scenes. Investigators find these at the actual crime scene and analyze them at the lab to determine whom the prints belong to. Each person has an individual print which is why this is a very useful piece of evidence. Sir Francis Galton found that the prints could be categorized into different types as well as different groups. The research of fingerprints from decades before has shaped the way detectives identify suspects and victims.
Questions are something that must be asked and can be very important when reading a literary work, watching a movie, or just simply trying to understand the habits of people today. Asking questions opens up the human brain to dig farther and deeper into the meaning of why someone did something in a specific way and what purpose it has that something must be done in that way. Critical thinking is asking question and trying to hypothesize on what the answer to that question might be. Critically thinking is a healthy aspect of opening up the brain and will improve one’s thought process on how to apply critical thinking in situations where it is dependent, like a future
This uniqueness allows fingerprints to be used in all sorts of ways, including for background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and of course, in criminal situations. Fingerprint analysis has been used to identify suspects and solve crimes for more than 100 years, and it remains an extremely valuable tool for law enforcement. One of the most important uses for fingerprints is to help investigators link one crime scene to another involving
investigators take from the crime scene. With scientific methods it helps investigators to produce a
Critical thinking means accurate thinking in the search of appropriate and dependable knowledge about the world. Another way to describe it is sensible, insightful, responsible, and skillful thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. Critical thinking is not being able to process information well enough to know to stop for red lights or whether you established the right change at the supermarket.
Critical thinking allows for individual assessments of topics and can be applied to any question posed in any situation. It allows for individuals to think for themselves and evaluate situations on their own to determine the final outcome. In behavioral science and in respect to social work, critical thinking is imperative in order for case workers to make the best decision in any given situation dealing with human interactions and human behavior. This is witnessed in Evidence Based Practice (EBP) and can be further applied in Person-In-Environment (PIE) theory.
Critical thinking is a process of applying various skills to analyze information. Critical thinking uses rationality to distinguish between emotion and fact. This paper will discuss the definition of critical thinking, and the skills it takes to think critically. It will also provide an example of critical thinking applied to my current working environment. Finally this paper will discuss the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes.
It helps create a connection between ideas and help identify or even evaluate arguments. Critical thinking is important in psychology because it requires to ask thought provoking questions, examine the evidence and define the problem. These three criterias are very important part of the critical thinking and it also reflects on the way we think or understand. The brain works in many direction to understand the potential of each way of thinking and improve the thought process and its outcomes. Critical thinking can help me make better decisions and choices and help me with general self awareness. Especially, If I want to be a child’s psychologist then I can teach them to think about the consequences, extending their thoughts to what possibly could 've happened. To think critically in the strong sense requires that I develop fair mindedness while learning basic critical thinking