Customer Reviews

Crime Scene Investigation

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not much of a TV watcher but when "Cold Case Files" or something like it is on, I'm glued to the television set. I'm fascinated by the field of forensic science and just how increasingly sophisticated it gets everyday. There is no such thing as the "perfect crime" as, literally, a drop of blood or a strand of human hair will place a criminal at the scene of the crime and lead to a conviction so I don't know why criminals (murderers in particular) keep trying.

This book lays out the varied, gruesome, and hectic duties of people in the field of forensic science: From forensic pathologists to forensic dentists to botanists (who play vital roles in describing where certain plants and flowers grow just in case a murderer comes up with the brilliant idea that cactus can grow in water), various fields of expertise are explored in great detail and emphasis is placed time and again on the fact that these very different people and fields must work together as a team in order to process a crime scene effectively, conduct an autopsy correctly, and later put together an air-tight case in court.

Despite the confusing layout (why do publishers insist on putting these shaded boxes and side charts and bars on every other page? It's confusing and takes away from the message of the text), you'll come away from this book with a deeper appreciation for what these people do on a daily basis.

After seeing some of the photos in this book and digesting the depth of their responsibilities, I can really understand why some folks in law enforcement snap. It's hard to keep your emotions in check when you have to process or even look at a crime scene where, for example, a child, literally, had their head bashed in by a hammer. It's a requirement for the job in order to collect all pertinent information for the prosecutor to later use in court but it must bother many of these law enforcement officials, no matter how many years they've put in.

From arriving at the crime scene to conducting the autopsy to performing a toxicological test to getting a conviction in court, an excellent job was done in breaking forensics down by who does what.

This is a very good book for anyone looking to learn about forensic science and crime scene investigation but doesn't know that much about science. It is very informative and it has past cases and how they were solve, including the Ted Bundy case, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka and many more. I highly recommend this book.

As are many people, I am a fan of Law & Order and enjoy CSI. I also love to watch various non-fiction crime documentaries on Discovery channel and the like. The whole concept of crime scene investigation intrigued me. When I picked up this book, I realized I did not have the slightest clue how much work actually goes into an investigation.

Crime Scene Investigation is not a how to manual on how to conduct your own investigation. However, this book does give an excellent overview of how a crime scene investigation is done from beginning to end.

The book is divided into eight chapters, each chapter covering a distinct portion of the investigation. The chapters cover the crime scene, the inquiry team, the forensic team, the autopsy, weapons of the killer, psychology of crime, the arrest, and the trial. Each chapter goes into amazing detail on what occurs during that portion of the investigation. For example, in the first chapter on the crime scene, the book describes what happens once a dead body is found, who is called to investigate, what roles each person plays in the investigation, how facts such as the location of where the crime took place is established, and basic techniques used by investigators to gather information and evidence.

The book contains a number of excellent color photographs. The photographs are respectful, but some are gruesome enough where you probably do not want to be reading this book around little children. There are a number of short case studies (called case files in the book) that describe an actual case that utilizes the information the reader is currently reading about. Also in each chapter is one or two short one page biography describing a typical workday for a person involved in a crime investigation. The subject of interest in these short biographies range from criminal defense lawyer, forensic photographers, a crime reporter, criminal profiler, and people of various scientific disciplines that play a role in the investigation, including some areas I had never heard of.

Overall, the book was a fascinating wealth of information. At times the book read felt like it got bogged down in technical aspects that many people probably would not find interesting. If you are interested what goes on behind the scenes at a crime, then this is definitely worth reading.

This is a book that will enhance your ability in learning about crime scenes.

This is just an overview book, not a detailed how to do it manual. And not written by Cyril Wecht, just introduced. I felt ripped off.

CYril WEcht is the greatest speaker ever! i look up to him. If you are in the crime scene field definitley take some time to read this book!

This book is realy full of very good information for practice
Investigations on the crime scene. But there is however unlikly for eneyone to writhe a book about this matter who will fullfill
any curcumstances investigators will stand up against on any Crime Scene. So for my point of vew this is a four star book because it have very high quality information and the book is realy well up set for its purpose.

With my best regards

Jónas Wilhelmsson,