Course

Forensic Sciences

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Criminology
Course code
CRIM 4480
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course explores the basic concepts and the main areas of forensic science. It will examine the use and interpretation of physical forensic evidence in court. It will evaluate the major forensic sciences currently used in criminal investigations, as well crime scene procedures. Topics examined may include anthropology, fingerprints, biology including serology and DNA, trace evidence, toxicology, firearms and tool mark evidence, questioned documents, and computer forensics.
Course content
  1. Introduction to Forensic Science
  2. Introduction to Death Investigations
  3. Identification of Human Remains
  4. Determining Time of Death  including Decompositional Stages
  5. Forensic Taphonomy
  6. The Crime Scene
  7. Fingerprints
  8. Firearms and Tool Mark Examination
  9. Forensic Biology including DNA
  10. Forensic Serology
  11. Trace Evidence
  12. Fire and Explosion Investigation
  13. Forensic Toxicology
  14. Document Examination
  15. Computer Forensics
Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following: 

  • lectures
  • audio visual aids
  • hands-on exercises
  • small group discussions
Means of assessment

Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½Policy.  The instructor will provide written course outlines with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester.  Evaluation will be based on some of the following:  exams, term paper, class participation, and assigned ‘in-class’ tasks.

An example of an evaluation scheme would be:

Midterm  25%
Term paper  25%
Participation         20%
Final exam  30%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of this course the successful student will be able to:    

  1. Explain the basic concepts and fundamental principles of forensic science
  2. Discuss some of the major rules of evidence in Canada
  3. Explain class and individual evidence and its significance
  4. Discuss the methods used to determine age, sex, and ancestry
  5. Differentiate between tentative and positive identification methods
  6. Explain the importance of ‘estimating’ time since death
  7. Evaluate the methods of estimation of time since death in the early post-mortem, later post-mortem, and days or months after death
  8. Describe the sequence of events at a crime scene including the processing of the evidence
  9. Explain the value of fingerprint evidence
  10. Explain  the legal and judicial role the coroner plays in death investigations
  11. Describe the types of examinations performed in the biology section of the crime lab
  12. Discuss the important characteristics, collection procedures, analytical tests, and limitations for each sample (hair, blood, semen, DNA, mtDNA)
  13. Explain the Locard’s Exchange Principle and how it relates to trace evidence and crime scene investigation procedures
  14. Describe the types of examinations performed in the chemistry section of the crime lab
  15. Explain the dual role of the toxicologist: analyzing and quantifying toxins and interpreting this information for the investigation
  16. Evaluate the common toxicological specimens (blood, urine, hair)
  17. Discuss the class and individual characteristics produced by the manufacture of tools that allows for the identification of a ‘tool’
  18. Explain why firearm identification is considered an extension of basic tool mark examination
  19. Describe parts of the gun that can produce both individual and class characteristics
  20. Discuss how gunshot residue analysis can be used to reconstruct a shooting
  21. Explain the three main areas of document examination
  22. Describe the comparisons and analyses the questioned document examiner performs
  23. Discuss factors that can affect handwriting comparisons
  24. Distinguish between disguise and simulation
  25. Describe how printing and typing machines, ink and paper can be evidence and discuss the analysis
  26. Discuss alterations of documents after their production
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students: 

 

 Texts will be updated periodically.  Typical examples are:

 

Saferstein, Richard.  (2018).   Criminalistics:  An Introduction to Forensic Science.  (12th edition).  Boston: Pearson Education.

Saferstein, Richard. (2017). Forensic Science: From the Crime Scene to the Crime Lab. (3rd edition). Boston: Pearson Education.

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

CRIM 1160

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see

Institution Transfer details for CRIM 4480
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU CRIM 4XXX (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG GNST 2XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CRIM 355 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU SOCI 2XXX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU CRIM 3559 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU CRIM 4XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU HUMA 4XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO ARTS_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV ARTS_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC SOSC 3XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV CRIM 4XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC SOSC 4XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Summer 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
33
Remaining seats:
2
On waitlist
3
Building
New Westminster - North Bldg.
Room
N3410
Times:
Start Time
18:30
-
End Time
21:20
Section notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.