Forensic Criminology

Abstract

The objective of this textbook is to provide readers with the basic tenets and core disciplinary relationships within 'Forensic Criminology': the scientific study of crime and criminals for the purposes of addressing investigative and legal issues. The vast majority of criminology literature is statistical and theoretical in nature. It deals with groups of offenders and broad crime theory as opposed to applied case examination. This textbook is intended to educate students in an applied fashion regarding the nature and extent of forensic casework that is supported by, dependent on, and interactive with research, theory, and knowledge derived from criminology. It is also intended to act as a preliminary guide for criminologist practitioners working with and within related criminal justice professions - particularly when they are involved with assisting investigations, administrative inquiries, legal proceedings or providing expert findings or testimony under oath. It is offered as an applied scientific subdiscipline within the domain of general criminology, as well as a roadmap to the forensic realm for the uninitiated. Forensic criminology exists as a discipline within criminology separate from any legal system that may employ its practitioners. It is a science, it is a behavioral science, and it is a forensic science. The underlying theories and methods are not meant to be constructs developed in the courts of law but rather in the courts of science (Thornton, 1994). Like any other scientific practice, it exists beyond legal or national borders as a realm unto itself as it must to be a true discipline. While the scope of its practice and admissibility by different courts around the world can and does vary, the core of forensic criminology and its best practices do not change.