Those Forensicy Latin Terms
Basic Forensic Terms
MENTAL GAMES
THE LAB
FORENSIC BRANCHES & OCCUPATIONS
FINGERPRINTS
MORE FORENSIC TERMS
100
This is what forensics refers to...
LAW
100
A person who has committed a crime or other harmful action
PERPETRATOR
100
Memory is not literal. It's...
CONSTRUCTIVE
100
The full name of the molecule that contains the genetic information that makes up an organism's development and function
Deoxyribonucleic acid
100
A professional who is trained to collect, preserve, and process evidence at the scene of a crime.
CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR
100
PLAIN ARCH
100
A person who helps another commit a crime.
ACCOMPLICE
200
The application of scientific methods to legal matters, such as criminal or civil cases.
FORENSICS
200
A person's account of what they witnessed at an event, such as a crime or accident, that could later be used or given in a court of law.
EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY
200
Interpreting information perceived from the senses.
PERCEPTION
200
POSTMORTEM
AFTER DEATH
200
This occupation specializes in examining people who have died suddenly, unexpectedly, or violently
FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
200
This occupation/scientist derives from Greek 'odonto', and Gk 'logia'
CENTRAL POCKET WHORL
200
Tangible items like biological material, fibers, hairs, and latent fingerprints collected at a crime scene or accident.
EVIDENCE
300
What are the 4 Mortises
PALLOR, RIGOR, LIVOR, AND ALGOR MORTIS
300
A claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, especially a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.
ALIBI
300
PAREIDOLIA
300
A substance that can start or change the rate of a chemical reaction without becoming part of the reaction itself
CATALYST
300
A scientist who studies the harmful effects of chemicals and other substances on living organisms and the environment
TOXICOLOGIST
300
TENTED ARCH
300
A person who is believed to have committed a crime and is under suspicion due to physical evidence
SUSPECT
400
The post-mortem stiffening of muscles caused by the depletion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from the muscles.
RIGOR MORTIS
400
A detailed examination of a body for the purpose of determining how an individual died
AUTOPSY
400
A psychological phenomenon that causes people to see or hear meaning in random or ambiguous patterns or images.
PAREIDOLIA
400
What are the four steps of CSI Protocol?
Interview, Examine, Document, Process
400
The use of science by the justice system to resolve civil disputes, enforce criminal laws, and protect public health.
Hint: 2 words
Forensic Science
400
DOUBLE LOOP WHORL
400
The reason why a person committed a crime.
MOTIVE
500
A sign of death that occurs when blood pools in the lower parts of the body after a person dies, causing the skin to appear purplish red
LIVOR MORTIS
500
A common phenomenon that describes how people are better at recognizing faces of their own race than faces of other races.
CROSS-RACE EFFECT PHENOMENA
500
When an individual inaccurately recounts memories or events that are untrue or chronologically out of sequence but does so because of added (wrong info) without the intent to deceive
CONFABULATION
500
A chemical test used to determine if a substance may contain blood
KASTLE MEYER TEST
500
The study of friction ridge structures on the skin and their use for personal identification
RIDGEOLOGY
500
What type of loop enters and exits toward the thumb?
RADIAL LOOP
500
The two main parts of a fingerprint.
RIDGES AND VALLEYS
600
The gradual cooling of the body after death, as it reaches the same temperature as its surroundings
ALGOR MORTIS
600
A hidden impression of a person's fingerprint or palm print that has been transferred to another surface using specific chemicals or patterns.
LATENT PRINT
600
A psychological phenomenon that occurs when misleading information distorts a person's memory of an event. It can have serious implications for the accuracy of eyewitness testimony because it can lead to wrongful convictions.
THE MISINFORMATION EFFECT
600
Determines a person's DNA profile by establishing how many times a DNA sequence, appears in a chromosomal location.
STR or SHORT TANDEM REPEAT UNIT
600
The Three Branches of Forensics
FIELD, LABORATORY, & MEDICAL
600
ACCIDENTAL WHORL
600
The information a person provides in court.
TESTIMONY
700
A criminal's distinct pattern of behavior or method of operation can be used to identify them as the perpetrator of multiple crimes.
MODUS OPERANDI OR M.O.
700
It occurs when a person convicted of a crime is officially cleared based on new evidence of innocence.
EXONERATION
700
A belief or an idea that many people believe to be true, but which is because it is based on incorrect information or reasoning
FALLACY
700
OBJECTS or MATERIALS that have retained the characteristics of other objects through direct CONTACT.
IMPRESSION EVIDENCE
700
the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like
BALLISTICS
700
What are the points in a fingerprint where ridges end or split? They are a key feature used in fingerprint identification.
MINUTIAE POINTS
700
What is a set of guidelines or procedures that govern the process of collecting and analyzing evidence called?
PROTOCOL
800
A Latin phrase referring to an individual or group's habitual way of operating that forms a discernible pattern.
MODUS OPERANDI
800
A principle that states a perpetrator will inevitably leave something at the crime scene and take something with him/her.
LOCARD'S EXCHANGE PRINCIPLE
800
Perceptions are constructions - something that our minds manufacture- & they are influenced by opinions, beliefs, etc. We believe they are true, but...
PERCEPTUAL FALLACY
800
What is the loop called when it enters and exits toward the pinky finger?
ULNAR LOOP
800
A Greek word that describes the investigation of the ridges of the inner surfaces of the hand and foot.
Dactyloscopy
800
What is the most common type of fingerprint?
ULNAR LOOPS (94% of loops are ulnar) followed by RADIAL LOOPS
800
The process of documenting and maintaining the chronological history of evidence.
Chain of Custody