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Article: Forensic Science
- Article from:
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law
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FORENSIC SCIENCE
The application of scientific knowledge and methodology to legal problems and criminal investigations.
Sometimes called simply forensics, forensic science encompasses many different fields of science, including anthropology, biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, medicine, pathology, phonetics, psychiatry, and toxicology.
The related term
criminalistics
refers more specifically to the scientific collection and analysis of physical evidence in criminal cases. This includes the analysis of many kinds of materials, including blood, fibers, bullets, and fingerprints. Many law enforcement agencies operate crime labs that perform scientific studies of evidence. The ...