Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations (Hardcover)

~ Jason H. Byrd (Editor), James L. Castner (Editor) "Arthropods are those invertebrate animals with jointed legs, including the insects, arachnids, centipedes, millipedes, and crustaceans..." (more)
Key Phrases: British Columbia, North America, Police Department Crime Scene Unit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

…extraordinarily useful for law enforcement personnel, medical examiners, and coroners, and for trial testimony and deposition.
William F. Hamilton, M.D., Medical Examiner, District 8, State of Florida

…extraordinarily useful for law enforcement personnel, medical examiners, and coroners, and for trial testimony and deposition.
William F. Hamilton, M.D., Medical Examiner, District 8, State of Florida

Product Description

Insects and other arthropods found at a death scene can provide corroborating evidence regarding both the time and place of death as well as possible antimortem and postmortem treatment of the victim. Nevertheless, most forensic investigators are not specially trained in entomology, and until now, no entomology reference has fully explored these subjects. Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations usurps this void, instructing even individuals without a background in entomology on what to search for when recovering entomological evidence at a crime scene.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: CRC; 1 edition (September 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849381207
• ISBN-13: 978-0849381201
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #927,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Missing a "key" point..., July 15, 2002

By A Customer

While this book does address a variety of necessary topics and its overall praise is well-deserved there is a gap, which means there is still a need for a textbook in forensic entomology.

For a book of this nature one would expect to be able to identify insects of forensic importance. The numerous color photos are nice to look at, but in most cases do not allow species determination at the adult level (don't even bother asking about immature idenitification!). Short species accounts are given, but much more valuable would have been the inclusion of keys (as in K. Smith's treatment of the European forensic fauna). Unfortunately this means that you have to buy another text in order to identify any specimens that you collect. You will likely have to go the Manual of Nearctic Diptera in order to identify genera of Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Phorids...

In summary, even if you buy this book you'll still need to consult a forensic entomologist and as such, I'd recommend dropping the words "Forensic Entomology" from the title. This book is written for those who do not have formal training in entomology or even a science background (i.e. arthropod, botantist, and invertebrate are all defined in the glossary).

For the authors I would highly recommend adding keys in order to increase the value of this work. Please, for the entomologists' sake place them in an appendix, but do include them. Another suggestion would be to expand the taxa covered in Table 9.1 (insect development times) and move it to the appendix. Thanks!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Overview of Forensic Entomology, September 25, 2000

By A Customer

This work is extraordinarily useful to any death investigation professional. It provides an extensive overview of all aspects of forensic entomology with chapter contributions from the leading forensic entomologists in the United States and Canada. It is expertly written so that the investigator with no formal entomological training can easily understand the context of the book, while still on a level that other formally trained entomologists will find very useful. It is richly illustrated with over 150 color photos of insects of forensic importance. This allows investigators to immediately recognize forensic insects at the scene so that collection can be assured. This book is certain to become an invaluable reference for anyone in the field of forensic entomology, or those involved in the collection of entomological evidence from a death scene. It is a perfect complement to the other works published on the subject by K.G.V. Smith and E.P. Catts.

5.0 out of 5 stars Crime Scene Investigator, October 21, 2009

By	4n6student (Fort Myers, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations, Second Edition (Hardcover)

I recently purchased this book as a reference source for the collection of entomological specimens at crime scenes. This book is well written and contains excellent information regarding the collection process and establishing the post-mortem interval. Anyone who deals with processes and/or investigating crime scenes should purchase this book for their permanent library.