Crime Lab: A Guide for Nonscientists - Hardcover

Houde, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 096582862X ISBN 13: 9780965828628

Publisher: Calico Books,U.S., 1999

Synopsis

A guide to forensic analysis describes the processes, instruments, and techniques used by criminalists as they probe for clues among fibers, footprints, and DNA

About this title

Review

Accolades for the award-winning first edition: "Dedicated to "The Juror," this illustrated tour of the criminalist's laboratory will also appeal to mystery and true crime fans and to criminal justice professionals whose specialties complement the crime lab team's skills." -Booklist "Whether readers are jurors, journalists, or mystery fans, once they've peered through the lens, they'll eagerly reach for the next slide." -Independent Publisher "In language accessible to both adults and young adults, forensic scientist John Houde takes readers behind the scenes of a criminal investigation." -The Bloomsbury Review

From the Publisher

Rave national reviews for Crime Lab book.
"Dedicated to "the juror," this illustrated tour of the criminalist's laboratory will also appeal to mystery and true crime fans and to criminal justice professionals whose specialties complement the crime lab team's skills. His subjects here include the process of gathering evidence, information blood can provide, issues a survey of the crime scene can address, problems posed by perishable evidence, the scientific equipment criminalists use, trace evidence, DNA testing, impression evidence (including ballistics), toxicology, and the credibility required for juries to accept criminalists' testimony as reliable. Houde traces a fictional crime's evidence through different parts of the crime lab; he also comments on high-visibility trials where the work of forensic scientists was subject to criticism--notably, in his discussion of "creditability," the O. J. Simpson criminal trial. Not essential, but should have some appeal for a fairly wide range of readers." --BOOKLIST January 1999 American Library Association TRUE CRIME/DETECTIVE STORIES Crime Lab invites readers to tag along with John Houde and his professional cronies as they investigate a brutal murder. This particular crime, a fictionalized composite of actual cases and circumstances, introduces readers to the range of evidence and procedures routinely encountered and performed by criminalists. "Professional criminalists," says Houde, "don't have a personal stake in winning convictions or acquittals. We only care that our interpretations of the evidence will be correct and lead the judge and jury to make the right decision." As a board certified 20-year veteran criminalist, publisher of California Association of Criminalists CACNews, and author of numerous articles on forensic science, John Houde could have easily buried the reader under mounds of scientific jargon and tech nique. Instead, he applies a mixture of history, knowledge, fact, and conjecture to potential clues prior to mounting them under a microscope. Photographs and anecdotes from similar cases illuminate each specimen while diagrams of the fictionalized crime bring them into focus. Whether readers are jurors, journalists, or mystery fans, once they've peered through the lens, they'll eagerly reach for the next slide. --INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER January/February 1999

Edition details

• Publisher: Calico Books,U.S.
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 096582862X
• ISBN 13: 9780965828628
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 206