Statistics and the Evaluation of Evidence for Forensic Scientists (Statistics in Practice) [Hardcover]

C. G. G. Aitken (Author), Prof Franco Taroni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0470843675 | ISBN-13: 978-0470843673 | Edition: 2

The first edition of Statistics and the Evaluation of Evidence for Forensic Scientists established itself as a highly regarded authority on this area.  Fully revised and updated, the second edition provides significant new material on areas of current interest including:

• Glass Interpretation
• Fibres Interpretation
• Bayes’ Nets

The title presents comprehensive coverage of the statistical evaluation of forensic evidence.  It is written with the assumption of a modest mathematical background and is illustrated throughout with up-to-date examples from a forensic science background. 

The clarity of exposition makes this book ideal for all forensic scientists, lawyers and other professionals in related fields interested in the quantitative assessment and evaluation of evidence.

'There can be no doubt that the appreciation of some evidence in a court of law has been greatly enhanced by the sound use of statistical ideas and one can be confident that the next decade will see further developments, during which time this book will admirably serve those who have cause to use statistics in forensic science.'

D.V. Lindley

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…wholly admirable…the benefits of using sensible notation to understand how to combine different types of evidence shine through.” (Significance – magazine of the Royal Statistical Society, March 2005)

"We wish to congratulate Profs Aitken and Taroni on their scholarly and valuable contribution to the field." (Law, Probability and Risk, 2006)

From the Publisher

Using interesting practical data based on examples from a forensic science background, the author illustrates the statistical concepts and methods of relevance to forensic scientists and related professionals. Assuming only a modest mathematical background the author covers transfer evidence, the likelihood ratio and the interpretation of quantitative results (the `prosecutor's and the defender's fallacies'). Also included is an examination of DNA profiling evidence. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 540 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (September 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470843675
• ISBN-13: 978-0470843673
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,485,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Statistics as evidence in the law, February 25, 2010

By 

Michael R. Chernick "statman31147" (Holland PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Statistics and the Evaluation of Evidence for Forensic Scientists (Statistics in Practice) (Hardcover)

With the introduction of DNA evidence, litigation on discriminatory practices and lawsuits against manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies that using clinical trial and reliability data the use of statisticians a expert witnesses has grown. Now the statistical profession is being used in the courts as much as the psychiatric profession. I have even recently been deposed as an expert witness in a medical device lawsuit. This book has become the classic in forensic science since its publication in 1995. As Lindley points out in forward, the first edition gave a thorough accounting of the field as it existed in 1995. But with so many advances by 2004 when this second edition came out the book grew dramatically in size. It is now over 500 pages including the indices. The references to the literature is also quite thorough. Both the frequentist and Bayesian approaches are describe but there is far more reliance on the Bayesian approach. Law cases are presented as examples and common fallacies are discussed.

This is a very sophisticated approach to legal questions and it includes two rather long but important chaptes on the evaluation of evidence (chapter 3) and the interpretationof the evidence (chapter 7). Special topics include transfer evidence (chapter 8), fibres (chapter 12) and DNA profiling (chapter 130. Methodology chapters also appear, sampling (chapter 6), multivariate analysis (chapter 11)and Bayesian networks (chapter 14).

This is a great reference book for statisticians and forensic scientists. I think trial judges in both civil and criminal cases should get familiar with this book.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money, October 5, 2011

By 

Forensic21 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Statistics and the Evaluation of Evidence for Forensic Scientists (Statistics in Practice) (Paperback)

This book has no example problems and way too much verbiage. The book does not relate much to forensic science.