The century of a detective - Essay Example

Id: Unit: Lecturer: The century of a detective is a book by Ju?rgen Thorwald which was written in 1965. The book contains well researched workthat covers a lot on forensic science. The book gives important information regarding forensic science especially the history of it. Some of the covered works in the book are Alphonese Bertillon, Scotland Yard, Doctor Crippen, Bernard Spilsbury and valentine day massacre among others. On the work by Alphonese Bertillon, the book looks at his contribution to Anthropometry. His contribution served as a great step in forensic science. The criminals could be identified by mug shot which is still used today in crime scene photography. The book is a great help in studying and applying forensic science. The book then gives details on how discovery of fingerprinting led to reduction of use in Bertillon work. Before the discovery of Bertillon system, the system used by Scotland Yard was chaotic. Use of finger prints in crime identification later overtook use anthropometry in forensics due to accuracy. One of the approaches that make the book resourceful is use of history to explain the development of forensic science. Another area that the book looks at is forensic medicine dealing with how a body decomposes toxicology and ballistics. One of the most compelling disciplines of forensic science that I found interesting was anthropometry. This was a discovery made by Bertillon who was an assistant clerk in the criminal records office of the Paris police department. His work mostly involved transferring criminal background data from various sources into standard forms. One of the problems that were in the system was that the arrestee physical descriptions were too vague. The offenders could use means of contorting their faces in an attempt to hide the identity. This is when he started to think of using measurement to classify a criminal. According to the book, no two human beings are alike physically in their measurements traits. The skeletal development even in identical twins differs to some degree. This leads to the success of Anthropometry. The idea by Bertillon was based on the fact that the skeletal structure of a living person is fixed from the age of twenty up to death. Personnel who deals with anthropometry is well trained in biological variability, racial morphology and human osteology. The Anthropometric characteristics of an individual are related to sex, shape and form. Using this science of identification, the forensic expert is able to have a concise identity of the offender. The system allows the forensic expert to differentiate the degree of similarity or difference between the offenders. In some instances, anthropometry is used in identifying unknown variables. This occurs when examining the skeletal remains of a person. The forensic expert can estimate the age, sex, body build and ethnicity of a dead person based on the remains. Some of these details help in investigating the cause of death as deformities and fractures can also be accounted among others. One of the fields that have been closely associated with anthropometry is archeological science. This is due to the analysis that is done on the human body skeletal system. One of the most important knowledge that a forensic scientist must have is good skeletal biology. This helps in skeletal reconstruction in post mortem examination. Using the details collected from the examination and reconstruction, it becomes possible to know the cause of death. The field of anthropometry can be divided into to somatometry and osteometry. Somatometry deals with measurements taken from a living body and cadaver which include head to face. This is a vital tool in anthropometry as it is used in morphological variation. The branch is used in determining the age among the individuals. Osteometry includes measurements from the skeleton and its parts. Forensic scientists use this method in taking the measurements of the skeletal bones which includes the skull. This is the method has been successfully used in determining age, race and sex of individuals in forensic science. The success of anthropometry is mainly due to its high use in identifying suspects as well as acting as a unique identifier. This is a discovery that helped shape forensic science in a great way. Through measurement identification, it is possible to identify offenders who have been arrested before. This is one of the inventions that helped shape the criminal identification. Previously, the police would spend much time looking for the criminals who were already in the prison. The mug shots that were taken prior to adoption of Bertillonage system were not efficient and led to chaos. In most cases, it was possible for a criminal to have two personalities which made it hard to identify them. Those who adopted the identification system were able to fully identify criminals. The book gives details on the use of fingerprints as a means of identification. Dr. Galton who was related to Charles Darwin is much credited with the use of fingerprints as means of identification. Though this was not a new topic according to the book, he promoted its use in Britain through lecturing in 1880’s. He was able to publish a book which gave details on how fingerprints can be used in identification purposes. He referred to the use of fingerprints by the Indian locals though he asserted that they did not realize the importance of friction ridge identification. The system later gained wide acceptance throughout Europe and started to spread in other parts of the country. The book has detailed how the use of fingerprints in the forensic science has led to the advancement of criminal identification and replacement of the anthropometry in forensics. This is because fingerprints identification offers a better way of identifying a suspect compared to anthropometry. Galton had studied several fields and was a knowledgeable man. In his anthropological studies, he was able to note that human fingerprints varied according to individuals. He did research and was able to become the first person to identify that fingerprints were unique and could help in identification. He published several scholarly articles which served as a basis for research in finger prints use in forensic science. One aspect that led to Galton success in the field of forensics is the fact that he believed intelligence could be measured scientifically. His work in intelligence was enormous. Fingerprints are at the moment an important identification tool for forensics. In a person lifetime, the fingerprint does not change. This is a fact that Galton relied with together with the fact that no two finger prints looks alike. In his findings, Galton was able to show the three types of fingerprints that are most common. According to Galton, the most common types of finger prints are loop, whorl and arch. These are classifications that were adopted by the forensics and are still in use today. The work of Galton started to gain prominence as a criminal identification method. Sir Edward who was a British o0fficial in India started to utilize the system in India to identify criminals. This method was later adopted by many other countries with the United States Army using it in 1905. According to book, the work of Galton helped a lot in shaping the forensic science as it is today. This work replaced anthropometry in crime scene identifications. The book has taken into account the contribution of other persons in the development of the fingerprint use for identification. The author looks as the aspects in which the fields of forensic science have changed due to work of individuals. Contributions from various persons have made it possible to have efficient crime detection in forensics. The book by Ju?rgen Thorwald, The century of a detective is a masterpiece in the crime science. The author has explored the development of the field from the initial chaotic system to the present organised position. The authors have given details concerning several major milestones to the effective forensic science. The author has done adequate research regarding the matter using the relevant materials which gives his work more credibility. This is evidenced by use of statistical data and facts in describing the events and discoveries. Use of facts in the book can help the users to fully understand the evolution of the forensic science. The book can be of great help to those learning forensic science as well as the basis for understanding the field. Thorwald covers most of the important parts in forensics. These parts are a problem of identification, forensic medicine, toxicology and ballistics. In the problem identification, he has given relevant details regarding Bertillon system and finger printing. The part on forensic medicine has also been well covered. This part deals with a good and reliable examination on the process of body decomposition (Thorwald 1-175). Reference Thorwald, Jurgen, The Century of the Detective. NY: Harcourt Brace & World, Inc., 1965 1-175. Read More