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Book Details
The Science of Crime Scenes, Second Edition offers a science-based approach to crime scenes, emphasizing that understanding is more important than simply knowing. Without sacrificing technical details, the book adds significantly to the philosophy and theory of crime scene science. This new edition addresses the science behind the scenes and demonstrates the latest methods and technologies with updated figures and images. It covers the philosophy of the crime scene, the personnel involved at a scene (including the media), the detection of criminal traces and their reconstruction, and special crime scenes, such as mass disasters and terroristic events.
Written by an international trio of authors with decades of crime scene experience, this book is the next generation of crime scene textbooks. This volume will serve both as a textbook for forensic programs, and as an excellent reference for forensic practitioners and crime scene technicians with science backgrounds.
Key Features
- Includes in-depth coverage of disasters and mass murder, terror crime scenes and CBRN (Chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear) – topics not covered in any other text
- Includes an instructor site with lecture slides, images and links to resources for teaching and training
About the author
By Max M. Houck, Vice President, Forensic and Intelligence Services, LLC, Virginia, USA; Frank Crispino, Chemistry-Biology Department, University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada and Terry McAdam, Laboratory Manager, Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory, Seattle, Washington, USASECTION 1: THE SCIENCE OF CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATIONChapter 1.0: The “Forensic Mindset¿Chapter 1.1: From Scene to Laboratory to CourtChapter 2.0: What Is a Crime Scene?Chapter 2.1: Crime Scene Intelligence: Connecting People, Places, and Things
SECTION 2: PERSONNEL AND PROCEDURESChapter 3.0: PersonnelChapter 3.1: First Responder on the SceneChapter 3.2: The Investigator in ChargeChapter 3.3: The Forensic Team: Officers, Scientists, and SpecialistsChapter 3.4: Nonforensic Personnel: Superiors, Officials, and the MediaChapter 4.0: General Crime Scene ProcedureChapter 4.1: “Freezing¿ the Scene and the Three R’s (Recognize, Recover, and Record)Chapter 4.2: The Chain of CustodyChapter 4.3: Recording the Scene: Sketching, Photography, and Video
SECTION 3: DETECTION AND RECONSTRUCTIONChapter 5.0: Searching for Evidence: RecoveryChapter 5.1: DetectingChapter 5.2: CollectionChapter 5.3: Preserving Chapter 5.4: Submitting Evidence to the LaboratoryChapter 6.0: Evidence Types and EnhancementChapter 6.1: Chemical EvidenceChapter 6.2: Biological EvidenceChapter 6.3: Impression EvidenceChapter 6.4: Other Types of EvidenceChapter 7.0: Crime Scene ReconstructionChapter 7.1: An Archaeological Approach Of Artifacts and EvidenceChapter 7.2: Bloodstain Pattern AnalysisChapter 7.3: Photogrammetry and 3D Reconstruction
SECTION 4: SPECIAL CRIME SCENESChapter 8.0: Special Crime ScenesChapter 8.1: Disaster and Mass FatalitiesChapter 8.2: Terrorist Crime ScenesChapter 8.3: CBRN Crime ScenesChapter 8.4: Underwater and Underground Crime Scenes
Title Reviews
"This is a valuable resource text for anyone training crime scene investigators or in being one. It is wonderfully comprehensive in its treatment of the discipline from basic critical logic and management through the intimidating complexities of today’s crime scene processing. [...] It would be suggested reading for all laboratory forensic scientists who should want to know what the bits and pieces they are analyzing in the laboratory really mean in the context of crime scene investigation and crime reconstruction."—CSEye
"…crime scene investigators will learn that returning to this book after each crime scene will lead to steady improvement of their skills from initial contact with a crime through testimony in court. The Science of Crime Scene is the first successful crime scene investigation manual for the information age."—Karl Williams, Chief Medical Examiners, Office of the Allegheny County Medical Examiner, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA "The second edition of The Science of Crime Scenes is not only excellent text for forensic scientists and crime scene investigators, but also a great reference book for the detective, prosecutor, and defense attorney. As the end user of the forensic sciences, I must understand what is possible (and not) as well as the mindset that is behind the work. This book provides that and more, and will be a well highlighted occupant of my bookshelf."– James Trainum (Criminal Case Consultant, Homicide Detective (Retired)
- Houck and Siegel, Fundamentals of Forensic Science 3e, Aug 2015, 9780128000373, $99.95
- Robinson, Crime Scene Photography 2e, Feb 2010, 9780123757289, $116.00
- Christensen et al, Forensic Anthropology, Jan 2014, 9780124186712, $89.95
Forensic program students, forensic practitioners and crime scene technicians with science backgrounds, and those interested in the science of crime scenes (sibling forensic science programs, such as anthropology and digital evidence)





























