AJ 012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Forensic Identification, Moe Williams, Trace Evidence

• School: Pasadena City College
• Department: Administration of Justice
• Course: AJ 012
• Professor: yang

Document Summary

Forensic identification- process of linking a piece of physical trace evidence to an individual. Biometrics- identification of an individual based on measurable anatomical traits. Source attribution- where two samples come from a common source. Individualization- the conclusion that a trace found at the crime scene came from this source. Excluded- if the sample has inconsistent features that the suspect has. Inconclusive- if the sample is incomplete, contaminated, etc. Qualitative statement- approach that is a relatively subjective statement to communicate the strength of a match. Simple match- merely states that the trace and the source share certain characteristics. Match plus statistics- incorporates statistics that place the match in context. Individualization- says that the match is so detailed and perfect that it could only come from one person. Reliability- refers to the consistency or repeatability of a measure. Test-retest reliability- is high if a measure yields the same results over time.