Book Title:
Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science (College Edition) (9th Edition) (Hardcover)
by Richard E. Saferstein
Editorial Reviews:
Review
“Dr. Richard Saferstein’s Criminalistics continues to be the gold standard of forensic science textbooks. He is simply unrivaled in his skill at making the crime lab exciting and accessible to all readers, ranging from forensic scientists and pathologists, to attorneys and judges, to law enforcement, to students and enthusiasts of all ages.
I have, since the beginning of my career, relied upon various editions of Criminalistics, its accuracy, integrity and detail never failing me.
This compelling, latest updated edition of Criminalistics should be in every library and classroom, especially now in this era of proliferating forensic scientific advancements that make the impossible possible and mistakes unpardonable.” – Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell’s recent bestsellers include Predator, Trace and Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper – Case Closed. Her brand-new thriller At Risk will be published by Putnam in May 2006. Patricia Cornwell is Director of Applied Forensic Science at the National Forensic Academy.
From the Back Cover
Criminalistics aims at making the subject of forensic science comprehensible to a wide variety of readers who are planning on being aligned with the forensic science profession.
Written by a very well-known authority in forensic science, this text introduces the non-scientific student to the field of forensic science. Through applications to criminal investigations, clear explanations of the techniques, and the abilities and limitations of modern crime labs, Criminalistics covers the comprehensive realm of forensics.
The text strives to make the technology of the modern crime laboratory clear to the non-scientist. Combining case stories with applicable technology, Criminalistics captures the excitement of forensic science investigations.
Book Description
The most current technologies, techniques, practices, and procedures highlight this book.
Topics covered include: the crime scene, physical evidence, physical properties, organic analysis, inorganic analysis, the microscope, hairs, fibers, and paint, drugs, forensic toxicology, forensic aspects of arson and explosion investigations, forensic serology, DNA, fingerprints, firearms, tool marks and other impressions, document and voice examination, and forensic science on the Internet.
An excellent reference resource for members of the forensic science field, as well as others involved in criminal justice.
Book Info
Takes a look at the role of science in the criminal justice system. Focuses on the up-to-date technologies police rely on to apprehend criminal perpetrators and to link them through trace evidence to crime scenes. New edition covers the latest DNA typing procedures. DLC: Criminal investigation.
The publisher, Prentice-Hall Career and Technology
Authoritative and up-to-date, this exploration of the applications of forensic science to criminal investigation explains the techniques, skills, and limitations of the modern crime laboratory – for those new to the forensic sciences.
About the Author
Richard Saferstein, Ph.D., retired in 1991 after serving 21 years as the Chief Forensic Scientist of the New Jersey State Police Laboratory, one of the largest crime laboratories in the United States. He currently acts as a consultant for attorneys and the media in the area of forensic science. During the O. J. Simpson criminal trial, Dr. Saferstein provided extensive commentary on forensic aspects of the case for the Rivera Live show, the E! television network, ABC radio, and various radio talk shows.
Dr. Saferstein holds degrees from the City College of New York and earned his doctorate degree in chemistry in 1970 from the City University of New York. From 1972 to 1991, he taught an introductory forensic science course in the criminal justice programs at the College of New Jersey and Ocean County College. These teaching experiences played an influential role in Dr. Saferstein’s authorship in 1977 of the widely used introductory textbook Criminalastics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, currently in this 9th edition. Saferstein’s basic philosophy in writing Criminalistics is to make forensic science understandable and meaningful to the nonscience reader, while giving the reader an appreciation for the scientific principles that underlie the subject.
Dr. Saferstein currently teaches a course on the role of the expert witness in the courtroom at the law school of Widener University in Wilmington, Delaware. He has authored or co-authored more than 35 technical papers covering a variety of forensic topics. Dr. Saferstein has co-authored Lab Manual for Criminalistics (Prentice Hall, 2004) to be used in conjunction with this text. He has also edited the widely used professional reference books Forensic Science Handbook, Volume I, second edition (Prentice Hall, 2002) and Forensic Science Handbook, Volumes II and III (Prentice Hall, 1988, 1993). Dr. Saferstein is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American-Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Forensic Science Society of England, the Canadian Society of Forensic Scientists, the International Association for Identification, the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists, the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists, the Northwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, and the Society of Forensic Toxicologists.