Forensic Sciences
Overview
- Introduction to Forensic Science
- Introduction to Death Investigations
- Identification of Human Remains
- Determining Time of Death including Decompositional Stages
- Forensic Taphonomy
- The Crime Scene
- Fingerprints
- Firearms and Tool Mark Examination
- Forensic Biology including DNA
- Forensic Serology
- Trace Evidence
- Fire and Explosion Investigation
- Forensic Toxicology
- Document Examination
- Computer Forensics
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
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% |
At the conclusion of this course the successful student will be able to:
- Explain the basic concepts and fundamental principles of forensic science
- Discuss some of the major rules of evidence in Canada
- Explain class and individual evidence and its significance
- Discuss the methods used to determine age, sex, and ancestry
- Differentiate between tentative and positive identification methods
- Explain the importance of ‘estimating’ time since death
- Evaluate the methods of estimation of time since death in the early post-mortem, later post-mortem, and days or months after death
- Describe the sequence of events at a crime scene including the processing of the evidence
- Explain the value of fingerprint evidence
- Explain the legal and judicial role the coroner plays in death investigations
- Describe the types of examinations performed in the biology section of the crime lab
- Discuss the important characteristics, collection procedures, analytical tests, and limitations for each sample (hair, blood, semen, DNA, mtDNA)
- Explain the Locard’s Exchange Principle and how it relates to trace evidence and crime scene investigation procedures
- Describe the types of examinations performed in the chemistry section of the crime lab
- Explain the dual role of the toxicologist: analyzing and quantifying toxins and interpreting this information for the investigation
- Evaluate the common toxicological specimens (blood, urine, hair)
- Discuss the class and individual characteristics produced by the manufacture of tools that allows for the identification of a ‘tool’
- Explain why firearm identification is considered an extension of basic tool mark examination
- Describe parts of the gun that can produce both individual and class characteristics
- Discuss how gunshot residue analysis can be used to reconstruct a shooting
- Explain the three main areas of document examination
- Describe the comparisons and analyses the questioned document examiner performs
- Discuss factors that can affect handwriting comparisons
- Distinguish between disguise and simulation
- Describe how printing and typing machines, ink and paper can be evidence and discuss the analysis
- Discuss alterations of documents after their production
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
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.
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 | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
24573
|
Wed | Instructor last name
Dowdeswell
Instructor first name
Tracey
|
Course status
Waitlist
|
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.