Catching History’s Criminals

Surgeon and writer Gabriel Weston discovers the changes that have occurred in the field of forensic science throughout history, and how the processes have adapted to keep up with the latest developments in technology.

Catching History’s Criminals, a new programme airing over the next three weeks, will take a look at the field of forensic science and its developments.

When a murder is committed, the police are first tasked with the difficult job of identifying the victim. With some bodies completely unrecognisable, whether due to fire, acid or decomposition, often the only way of determining the identity of a victim is to look at their DNA.

Ms. Weston will investigate the struggles that forensic scientists face to complete their job, by studying four real-life breakthrough cases, each using new skills to determine victims and
criminals.

In the first episode, she will study how a victim or murderer can be identified through bite marks and dental methods, a method that was first used at Harvard Medical School in 1949. The program will also study the invention of DNA profiling, speaking to Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the geneticist behind the technique.

Something that seems so insignificant at the scene of a death, such as an insect, has also been used to determine knowledge about murder cases by forensic scientists. The analysis of insects found near a murder victim can determine the time of death, and was used in a 1935 murder investigation in Moffat. The killer and the victims were determined by analysing insects found along with some unidentifiable body parts in a river.

Ms. Weston will also look to forensic science techniques that will be available for use in the future. A sample of her DNA is sent to a group of scientists in Belgium. They are able to construct a projected image of her face just by analysing some of her genes. Although they can’t account for external factors, such as weight gain or scars, they are able to produce a good likeness of her, with the correct position of her features.

The second episode will look to examining the cases in which only a small amount of evidence is available to be analysed – this often ties in with murderers who believe that they have committed ‘the perfect crime’.

With the techniques available in science, these days it is near enough impossible to commit a crime without leaving a trace of who you are. Fingerprints, hair, fibres and blood can all point to a criminal, and cases which were solved with thanks to the smallest amount of evidence are featured.

People’s locations can also be analysed without the use of CCTV footage, as evidenced by the fact that scientists are now able to determine exactly where someone has walked, over land the size of Scotland, just by analysing soil on the sole of a suspect’s shoe.

The final episode of the series will determine how forensic science can lead the police to a murder weapon, which is a vital piece of evidence in any investigation, as they can hold many clues that point to the killer.

If you are interested in learning more about how Forensic Science and its individual techniques are used in building a profile of a criminal or is used in the initial investigation then why not study with NCC?

NCC Home Learning provides dedicated Forensic Science Diplomas at two levels – Level 3 and Level 4, which explore different areas of criminal investigation and helps the learner gain an insight into just how these techniques are applied in the real world.

Catching History’s Criminals airs on BBC 4 tonight at 9pm.