Charles R. Swanson,
University of Georgia
Neil C. Chamelin,
Assistant State Attorney, Second Judicial Circuit
Leonard Territo,
University of South Florida- Tampa
| AAMVANET | Maintained by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a computerized network linking state and Canadian province agencies on matters of highway usage and safety.
|
 |
|
|
| accelerant | In fire starting, any flammable fluid or compound that speeds the progress of a fire. Also calledbooster.
|
|
|
|
| action stereotyping | Based on typical actions, stereotyping in which an officer expects that a certain type of event will unfold in a particular way; can result in the officer's failure to see the event the way it actually occurs.
|
|
|
|
| active system (theft deterrent) | A type of vehicle antitheft device which requires that the driver do something to activate and deactivate the system every time the vehicle is parked or driven.
|
|
|
|
| administrative log | A written record of the actions taken by the crime scene coordinator, including assignments and release of the scene.
|
|
|
|
| admissibility | A legal criterion used to determine whether an item of evidence can be presented in court; requires that the evidence have relevance, materiality, and competence.
|
|
|
|
| admission | A person's acknowledgment of certain facts or circumstances that tend to incriminate him or her with respect to a crime but are not complete enough to constitute a confession.
|
|
|
|
| affidavit | A sworn, written statement of the information known to an officer that serves as the basis for the issuance of an arrest warrant.
|
|
|
|
| affirmation | The process in which a witness acknowledges that he or she understands and undertakes the obligation of an oath (i.e., to tell the truth with a realization of the penalties for perjury); a means of establishing a witness's competence.
|
|
|
|
| AFIS | *I**see */I**Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
|
|
|
|
| agrichemical | Any of various chemical products used on farms; includes pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides.
|
|
|
|
| agroterrorism | The use of biological agents as weapons against the agricultural and food supply industries.
|
|
|
|
| AIDS | *I**see */I**human immunodeficiency virus.
|
|
|
|
| algor mortis | The decrease in body temperature that occurs after death.
|
|
|
|
| alligatoring | The checking of charred wood, which gives it the appearance of alligator skin.
|
|
|
|
| ALS | *I**see */I**alternative light systems.
|
|
|
|
| alternative light systems (ALSs) | Portable lasers and handheld ultraviolet lighting used to locate physical evidence at the crime scene; particularly helpful in locating trace evidence.
|
|
|
|
| amateur burglars | Burglars who operate on the basis of impulse or opportunity, with no planning; often use sheer force to enter, ransack the premises for anything of value, and may become violent if detected and commit secondary crimes (e.g., murder, rape).
|
|
|
|
| ambush | A robbery that involves virtually no planning and depends on surprise and the use of force against victims; usually produces a small score.
|
|
|
|
| American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) | An international society devoted to maintaining the highest standards of practice at crime laboratories; conducts an accreditation program for laboratories and education programs for lab personnel.
|
|
|
|
| amido black | A dye that is sensitive to blood and thus is used in developing fingerprints contaminated with blood.
|
|
|
|
| amphetamines | Stimulants that increase blood pressure and heart, respiratory, and metabolic rates; produce decreased appetite, hyperalert senses, and a general state of stress that last a prolonged period.
|
|
|
|
| anthrax | An acute infectious desease with three forms (cutaneous, intestinal, and inhalation), which differ in means of transmission, symptoms, and lethality; also, a biological agent.
|
|
|
|
| anthropometry | Developed by Alphonse Bertillon in the late nineteenth century, the study and comparison of body measurements as a means of criminal identification.
|
|
|
|
| archaeological looting | The illegal, unscientific removal of archaeological resources from public, tribal, or private land.
|
|
|
|
| arrest | The process of taking a person into legal custody to answer a criminal charge.
|
|
|
|
| arrest warrant | A judicial order commanding that a particular person be arrested and brought before a court to answer a criminal charge.
|
|
|
|
| assignment sheets | Written reports completed by persons assigned tasks at a crime scene that document what they have done and found.
|
|
|
|
| associative evidence | Bidirectional evidence that connects the perpetrator to the scene or victim or connects the scene or victim to the perpetrator.
|
|
|
|
| attack code | A malicious software program intended to impair or destroy the functioning of a computer or a network resource.
|
|
|
|
| autoerotic death | Death from accidental asphyxiation as a result of masochistic activities of the deceased. Also calledsexual asphyxia.
|
|
|
|
| Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) | A computerized system, maintained by the FBI, that stores and compares millions of fingerprints and is used to find matches for identification purposes.
|
|
|
|
| autopsy | The medical examination of a body to determine the time of and cause of death; required in all cases of violent or suspicious death.
|
|
|
|
| avionics | The electronic equipment (e.g., radio, navigation) on an aircraft.
|
|
|
|
| back doors | Code breaks used in debugging a computer program that are designed to evade normal security procedures; targeted by exploit programs as a means of illegal access to files.
|
|
|
|
| barbiturates | Short-, intermediate-, and long-lasting depressants (e.g., secobarbital, amobarbital) strongly associated with the tendency for abrupt withdrawal to cause convulsions and death; nicknamed after the capsule or pill color or the manufacturer's name.
|
|
|
|
| basic yellow 40 | Used after superglue fuming, a dye that causes latent prints to fluoresce under alternative lighting.
|
|
|
|
| battered-child syndrome | The clinical term for the injuries sustained by a physically abused child.
|
|
|
|
| behavioral evidence analysis (BEA) | A deductive method of criminal profiling in which characteristics of the perpetrator are determined from evidence at the crime scene.
|
|
|
|
| be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) | Part of the preliminary investigation, a notification broadcast to officers that contains detailed information on suspects and their vehicles.
|
|
|
|
| Biggers-Brathwaite Factors Test | A test that balances the reliability of eyewitness identification (as determined by five factors specified by the Supreme Court) with the corrupting effect of any suggestive procedures; enables a highly reliable identification to be used in court even if something jeopardized the fairness of the identification procedure.
|
|
|
|
| biological agents | Certain microorganisms and toxins produced by organisms (e.g., smallpox, anthrax, plague, botulism) that cause human illness or death and could be used as terrorist weapons; typically slower acting than chemical agents.
|
|
|
|
| bobbies | A colloquial term used in reference to British police constables; derived by the public from the first name of Sir Robert Peel, whose efforts led to the creation of the first metropolitan police force in London.
|
|
|
|
| body language | Gestures, demeanor, facial expressions, and other nonverbal signals that convey, usually involuntarily, a person's attitudes, impressions, truthfulness, and so on.
|
|
|
|
| BOLO | see be-on-the-lookout.
|
|
|
|
| bone rustlers | Unauthorized fossil hunters, who loot public and private lands.
|
|
|
|
| booster bag | Used by shoplifters, a large shopping bag lined with an inner bag of tin foil and duct tape; renders useless the electronic security tags on items placed within it.
|
|
|
|
| boosters | seecommercial shoplifters.
|
|
|
|
| bore | The diameter of a gun barrel's interior between its opposing high sides.
|
|
|
|
| Bow Street Runners | Established by Henry Fielding in 1748, a group of volunteer, nonuniformed homeowners who helped catch thieves in London by rushing to crime scenes and beginning investigations, thus acting as the first modern detective force. By 1785, some were paid government detectives.
|
|
|
|
| brands | On livestock, registered combinations of numbers, letters, marks, and shapes that establish unique identifications.
|
|
|
|
| burden of going forward | In a criminal trial, the responsibility of the defense to present enough evidence to create a reasonable doubt of guilt in the jurors' minds; an optional burden, as the defense is not required to present any evidence.
|
|
|
|
| burden of proof | In a criminal trial, the requirement that the prosecution establish the defendant's guilt beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt.
|
|
|
|
| burglary | The crime of breaking and entering a house or other building belonging to another with the intent to commit a crime therein.
|
|
|
|
| burglary tools | Tools used in the commission of burglary; often are ordinary household tools, but may be modified for increased effectiveness in breaking and entering.
|
|
|
|
| burn indicators | Any effects of heat or partial burning that indicate a fire's rate of development, points of origin, temperature, duration, and time of occurrence and the presence of flammable liquids.
|
|
|
|
| cadaver dogs | Trained dogs, sensitive to the odor of decomposing human remains, that assist in locating bodies buried in the ground or submerged in water.
|
|
|
|
| cadaveric spasm | The instantaneous tightening of an extremity or other part of the body at the time of death. Also calleddeath grip.
|
|
|
|
| caliber | The diameter of a bullet; somewhat larger than the bore of the weapon from which the bullet is fired.
|
|
|
|
| cargo theft | The theft of items from or in commercial motor vehicles.
|
|
|
|
| carjacking | The crime of taking a motor vehicle from the motorist or passenger, or from his or her immediate presence, by use of force, fear, or threat of force, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner of its use.
|
|
|
|
| catalytic combustion detector | A portable device that oxidizes any combustible gases in a sample; used to detect residues of flammable-liquid accelerants at fire scenes. Also calledsniffer, combustible-gas indicator, explosimeter,andvapor detector.
|
|
|
|
| chain of custody | The witnessed, unbroken, written chronological record of everyone who had an item of evidence and when each person had it; also accounts for any changes in the evidence.
|
|
|
|
| charging | The act of formally asserting that a particular person is to be prosecuted for a crime.
|
|
|
|
| charring | The scorching of materials by fire; used to deduce the direction of fire spread by comparing relative depths of char throughout the scene.
|
|
|
|
| check fraud | Any activity involving the creation or use of phony or altered checks (e.g., counterfeiting, identity assumption, payroll-check schemes).
|
|
|
|
| check washing | The process of altering checks by using an acid-based chemical solution to erase amount and payee information.
|
|
|
|
| chemical agents | Rapidly acting substances (e.g., mustard gas, sarin, V agents) that produce a variety of incapacitating symptoms or death; as weapons, can cause mass casualties and devastation.
|
|
|
|
| chemical explosions | Explosions in which the high-pressure gas is produced by reactions that involve changes in the basic chemical nature of the fuel; commonly caused by the burning of hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., natural gas, gasoline, lubricating oils).
|
|
|
|
| child | An individual under the age of 18.
|
|
|
|
| child pornography | The sexually explicit visual depiction of a minor (as defined by statute); includes photographs, negatives, slides, magazines, movies, videotapes, and computerized images.
|
|
|
|
| chop shop | An illegal operation at which stolen cars are disassembled and their traceable parts are altered or disposed of so that untraceable parts can be sold to repair shops, salvage yards, and indiscriminate buyers.
|
|
|
|
| chrystilized methamphetamine | A long-acting stimulant originally in pill or injectable formchrystal meth, speed)but now in a smokable, odorless version (ice);in solid form, resembles an ice chip but liquefies when lighted.
|
|
|
|
| CID | seeCriminal Investigation Department.
|
|
|
|
| clandestine drug laboratories | Illicit operations that produce a variety of illegal drugs for sale and distribution; due to the chemicals, processes used, and workers' inexperience, pose serious danger to police and firefighters, as well as the public.
|
|
|
|
| class characteristics | Characteristics of physical evidence that are common to a group of objects or persons.
|
|
|
|
| cleared by arrest | The classification assigned to an offense when the suspect has been arrested and there is sufficient evidence to file a formal charge.
|
|
|
|
| cloning | The illegal programming of cellular phones by overwriting their access codes with the codes of legitimate cellular customers; done through a personal computer or cloning"black box."
|
|
|
|
| cocaine | A natural stimulant extracted from the leaves of the coca plant; illegally sold as a white, translucent, crystalline powder, which is often adulterated.
|
|
|
|
| codeine | An opiate in tablet, liquid, and injectable forms that produces less analgesia, sedation, and respiratory depression than morphine.
|
|
|
|
| CODIS | seeCombined DNA Index System.
|
|
|
|
| cognitive interview technique | An interviewing approach in which a witness is asked to recall events and details in different ways as a means of fostering the witness's recollections.
|
|
|
|
| Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) | Developed by the FBI, a database of convicted-offender and known- and unknown-subject DNA profiles that is used to find matches and to link unsolved crimes in multiple jurisdictions.
|
|
|
|
| commercial shoplifters or boosters | Persons who steal merchandise for the purpose of reselling it.
|
|
|
|
| commercial-vehicle theft | The theft of vehicle tractor units and trailers.
|
|
|
|
| competency (of a witness) | A witness's personal qualification for testifying in court, which depends on circumstances that affect the person's legal ability to function as a sworn witness (e.g., age, mental state).
|
|
|
|
| component swapping | A fraudulent practice in which manufacturers (e.g., of computers) use parts from the lowest-cost supplier but do not inform consumers that the parts are nonstandard.
|
|
|
|
| computer abuse | Any intentional act involving knowledge of computer use or technology in which the perpetrator could have made a gain and the victim could have experienced a loss; includes acts that may not be covered by criminal laws.
|
|
|
|
| computer crime | Any illegal act in which knowledge of computer technology is used to commit the offense.
|
|
|
|
| computer manipulation crime | Any act that involves changing data or creating records in an electronic system for the purpose of facilitating another crime, typically fraud or embezzlement.
|
|
|
|
| computer vandalism | The unauthorized removal of valuable information from a computer system, thereby preventing the legitimate user or owner from having access to that information.
|
|
|
|
| concentric fractures | Lines that roughly circle the point of impact in a glass window.
|
|
|
|
| confabulation | In hypnosis, the subject's fabrication of recollections to fill in gaps in his or her actual memory.
|
|
|
|
| confession | The acknowledgment by a person accused of a crime that he or she is guilty of that crime and committed every element of the offense; must exclude any reasonable doubt about the possibility of innocence.
|
|
|
|
| confidence artists | Individuals who use guile in a person-to-person relationship to swindle the other person by gaining his or her confidence.
|
|
|
|
| confidential VIN | A duplicate vehicle identification number stamped into a vehicle's frame or body in a place known only to the manufacturer and law enforcement specialists in vehicle identification and auto theft investigation.
|
|
|
|
| contact burns | Burns on the skin caused by contact with flames or hot solid objects (e.g., irons, cigarettes).
|
|
|
|
| contaminated/visible prints | Prints created when fingers contaminated with blood, face powder, or a similar material touch a clean surface.
|
|
|
|
| cookie | A small file that some web pages plant within the browser of a visiting computer; can pass its limited data (e.g., user name) back to the web server on subsequent visits but cannot gather additional information.
|
|
|
|
| corpus delicti | Literally,"body of the crime"; consists of all the elements of the crime.
|
|
|
|
| corpus delicti evidence | Evidence that substantiates elements whose commission or omission must be demonstrated to have occurred in order to prove a case.
|
|
|
|
| crack | seerock cocaine.
|
|
|
|
| cracking | seehacking.
|
|
|
|
| credibility (of a witness) | That quality of a witness that renders his or her testimony worthy of belief; established in terms of presence, consciousness, and attentiveness during interviews.
|
|
|
|
| credit card fraud | Any activity involving the creation or use of phony, altered, stolen, or fraudulently acquired credit cards.
|
|
|
|
| crime | The commission of any act that is prohibited or the omission of any act that is required by the penal code of an organized political state.
|
|
|
|
| crime analysis | The use of systematic analytical methods to acquire timely and pertinent information on crime patterns and trend correlations; subdivided into administrative, strategic, and tactical analysis.
|
|
|
|
| crime bulletins | Prepared by crime analysts, publications used to disseminate information on specific topics (e.g., most active criminals, crime series and trends); may be in printed or electronic form.
|
|
|
|
| crime laboratory | A scientific organization that analyzes material collected from crime scenes and suspects to help determine whether a crime was committed and, if so, how, when, and by whom it was committed.
|
|
|
|
| crime scene | The location at which a crime was committed.
|
|
|
|
| crime scene entry log | A written chronological record of all persons who enter and leave the crime scene and the times they do so.
|
|
|
|
| crime scene release | The end of crime scene processing and the return of the premises or area to the owner or another responsible person; determined by the scene coordinator.
|
|
|
|
| Criminal Identification Bureau (Chicago) | Established in 1884, the first municipal organization in the United States devoted specifically to assisting detectives with identifying criminals.
|
|
|
|
| Criminal Investigation Department (CID) | Established in London in 1878, a centralized organization of detectives responsible for investigating crimes; located at Scotland Yard but, to correct internal abuses, kept separate from the Metropolitan Police.
|
|
|
|
| criminal investigative analysis | The process of analyzing crime scene patterns to determine the personality and behavioral characteristics of offenders who commit serial murders or rape and homicide; formerly calledpsychological profiling.
|
|
|
|
| criminalistics | The application of scientific disciplines, such as geology, physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics, to criminal investigation and the study of physical evidence.
|
|
|
|
| criminal profiling | The process of inferring distinctive personality characteristics of individuals who commit crimes.
|
|
|
|
| crimogen | (1) An individually known offender who is responsible for a large number of crimes; (2) one victim who reports a large number of crimes.
|
|
|
|
| cross-contamination | The unwanted transfer of material between two or more sources of physical evidence.
|
|
|
|
| cross-examination | In a trial, the questioning of a witness who was initially called by the opposing party.
|
|
|
|
| cryptanalysis | The process of accessing secured information by breaking encryption; in computers, often done intrusively with cryptanalysis software.
|
|
|
|
| crystal violet | A dye used to develop latent prints on the adhesive side of almost any kind of tape.
|
|
|
|
| CUPPI | Acronym for"circumstances undetermined pending police investigation"; refers to a case on which the medical examiner, after autopsy, wants clarification before signing the death certificate.
|
|
|
|
| cyberstalking | The crime of harassing or threatening victims by means of electronic technologies (e.g., through e-mail and Internet chat rooms or news groups).
|
|
|
|
| cyberterrorism | The use of electronic tools to disrupt or shut down critical infrastructure components, such as energy, transportation, and government operations.
|
|
|
|
| dactylography | The study and comparison of fingerprints as a means of criminal identification; first used systematically for that purpose in England in 1900, but a means of identification since the first century.
|
|
|
|
| date-rape drugs | Drugs that facilitate rape by debilitating the victim; include Rohypnol, GHB, and many depressants and benzodiazapines.
|
|
|
|
| Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | A 1993 case in which the Supreme Court held that the admissibility of an expert's testimony or a scientific technique's results depends on a preliminary assessment, made by the trial judge, of the principles and methodology involved.
|
|
|
|
| DEA | seeDrug Enforcement Administration.
|
|
|
|
| deductive reasoning | The thought process that moves from general premises to specific details; e.g., a hypothesis about the crime is developed and then tested against the factual situation to arrive at a conclusion.
|
|
|
|
| defense wounds | Wounds suffered by victims while attempting to protect themselves from an assault; often inflicted by a knife or club.
|
|
|
|
| delay-in-arraignment rule | Based on a 1943 Supreme Court decision, the principle that the failure to take a prisoner before a committing magistrate without unnecessary delay will render his or her confession inadmissible even if it was freely obtained.
|
|
|
|
| delivery vehicles | Software programs used by criminals to implant intrusion codes or attack codes in computer systems.
|
|
|
|
| dental identification | The identification of an individual on the basis of dental records (or, sometimes,"smiling photographs); performed by a forensic dentist, who compares before-death records with after-death findings to see if there is a match.
|
|
|
|
| dental stone | The preferred material for casting tire, footwear, and foot impressions; stronger and faster setting than plaster of paris and provides more detailed impressions.
|
|
|
|
| deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) | A nucleic acid consisting of the molecules that carry the body's genetic material and establish each person as separate and distinct.
|
|
|
|
| depressants | Drugs that depress the central nervous system, reducing tension and inducing sleep; can cause, in chronic use, loss of balance, faulty judgment, and quick temper and, in overdose, unconsciousness and death.
|
|
|
|
| detention or sedatives | A temporary and limited interference with a person's freedom for investigative purposes. Also calledinvestigative detention, street stop,andfield interrogation.
|
|
|
|
| DFO (diazafluren-9-one) | A very effective chemical for developing latent prints on paper; produces red prints that may be visible to the naked eye and that fluoresce under most laser and alternative lighting.
|
|
|
|
| digital forensic analysis | The process of acquiring, preserving, analyzing, and presenting evidentiary electronic data relevant to an investigation or prosecution.
|
|
|
|
| direct examination | Ina trial, the questioning of a witness bythe party that calls the witness to testify.
|
|
|
|
| disposition (of incident report) | After approval of an incident report, the determination of how the case will be handled (i.e., unfounded, inactivated, retained for investigation by officers, referred to plainclothes investigators); usually made by the supervisor of the officer who wrote the report.
|
|
|
|
| DNA | seedeoxyribonucleic acid.
|
|
|
|
| DNA typing | The process of isolating and reading deoxyribonucleic acid-a genetic blueprint unique to every human (except for identical twins), which can be used as a means of criminal identification. Also calledDNA fingerprinting.
|
|
|
|
| document | Anything on which a mark is made for the purpose of transmitting a message.
|
|
|
|
| documented vessel | A boat that is registered by the U.S. Coast Guard.
|
|
|
|
| domestic terrorism | The use or threatened use of violence against persons or property by a group (or an individual) whose operations are entirely within the victims' nation, without foreign direction, and are done to further political or social objectives.
|
|
|
|
| Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) | Created in 1973, the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws on illicit drugs and fighting international drug traffic; also trains state and local police in investigative work regarding illegal drugs, surveillance, and use of informants.
|
|
|
|
| due process revolution | An appellation applied to the period from 1961 to 1966, during which a series of Supreme Court decisions established important rights for suspects and defendants regarding search and seizure and legal representation.
|
|
|
|
| ecstacy | seemethylenedioxy methamphetamine.
|
|
|
|
| effective fire temperatures | In structural fires, identifiable temperatures which reflect physical effects that can be defined by specific temperature ranges.
|
|
|
|
| e-mail intercept | An intelligence technique in which e-mail is intercepted and analyzed to obtain information about terrorists, pornographers, hackers, and other criminals and their crimes; requires a showing of reasonable cause.
|
|
|
|
| emotional approach | An interrogation technique in which the interrogator appeals to the suspect's sense of honor, morals, family pride, religion, etc.; works better with women and first-time offenders.
|
|
|
|
| encryption | A means of data security in which the data are scrambled into nonsense for storage or transmission and then unscrambled, as needed, by legitimate users.
|
|
|
|
| Enderby cases | Two rape-murder cases in England that involved the first use of DNA typing, in 1987, in a criminal case. DNA samples recovered from both victims led to the release of an innocent man and the subsequent arrest and conviction of the killer.
|
|
|
|
| evidence | Anything that tends logically to prove or disprove a fact at issue in a judicial case or controversy.
|
|
|
|
| evidence recovery log | A chronological record of each item of evidence, listing who collected it, where and when it was collected, who witnessed the collection, and whether it was documented by photos or diagrams.
|
|
|
|
| evidential intelligence | Factual, precise information that can be presented in court.
|
|
|
|
| evidentiary privileges | Certain matters of communication that defendants and other witnesses have a right to have barred from disclosure in court; classified as professional, political, social, and judicial.
|
|
|
|
| exceptionally cleared | The classification assigned to an offense when a factor external to the investigation results in no charge being filed against a suspect.
|
|
|
|
| exchangeable traces | Particulates, lubricants, and spermicide added to condoms by manufacturers; can help identify particular brands and indicate condom use.
|
|
|
|
| excusable homicide | The killing of a person in which the slayer is to some degree at fault but the degree of fault is not enough to constitute a criminal homicide.
|
|
|
|
| expert witness | A person who is called to testify in court because of his or her special skills or knowledge; permitted to interpret facts and give opinions about their significance to facilitate jurors' understanding of complex or technical matters.
|
|
|
|
| exploits | Software programs written to take advantage of security holes or"back doors" and thereby provide the user with illegal access to computer files.
|
|
|
|
| explosion | A physical reaction characterized by the presence of high-pressure gas, confinement of the pressure, rapid release of the pressure, and change or damage to the confining structure, container, or vessel as a result of the pressure release.
|
|
|
|
| eyewitness identification | The identification of someone or something involved in a crime by a witness who perceives the person or thing through one or more senses.
|
|
|
|
| facial identification systems | Manual kits or computer programs for preparing a likeness of a suspect; creates a composite from individual facial features.
|
|
|
|
| facial recognition software | Any of various computer programs that compare video images of persons' faces (taken by cameras at arenas, airports, hotels, etc.) with mug shots of known offenders for the purpose of identifying and apprehending wanted persons.
|
|
|
|
| false-theft scheme | An insurance fraud in which the owner of a vehicle reports the vehicle stolen but has actually hidden or disposed of it.
|
|
|
|
| false-vehicle scheme | An insurance fraud in which a person insures a vehicle that does not exist, has already been salvaged, or belongs to someone else and later reports the vehicle stolen.
|
|
|
|
| farm equipment | Motorized equipment used on farms and on lawns; usually does not require a title or registration. Also calledoff-road equipment.
|
|
|
|
| FBI | seeFederal Bureau of Investigation.
|
|
|
|
| FBI Crime Laboratory | A comprehensive forensic laboratory that conducts a broad range of scientific analyses of evidence and provides experts to testify in relation to analysis results; provides its services without charge to state and local law enforcement agencies.
|
|
|
|
| Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Created in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation and given its current name by Congress in 1935, the primary agency responsible for investigating crimes within the federal jurisdiction; influences law enforcement countrywide through its crime laboratory, training courses, and databanks, all available to state and local police.
|
|
|
|
| federal safety certification label | The sticker certifying a vehicle's safety and including its VIN; usually on the driver's door or doorpost.
|
|
|
|
| felonious assault | An assault committed for the purpose of inflicting severe bodily harm or death; usually involves use of a deadly weapon.
|
|
|
|
| felonious homicides | Killings that are treated and punished as crimes; include murder and manslaughter.
|
|
|
|
| felony | A serious violation of the criminal code; punishable by imprisonment for one or more years or by death.
|
|
|
|
| fences or receivers | Persons who knowingly purchase stolen property at a fraction of its cost and then resell it at a considerable profit, but still at a good price, to a consumer.
|
|
|
|
| field interview/information report | A form on which a patrolling officer notes details about a person or vehicle that seems suspicious but is not connected with any particular offense.
|
|
|
|
| field notes | The shorthand written record made by a police officer from the time he or she arrives at a crime scene until the assignment is completed.
|
|
|
|
| Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) | Part of the Department of the Treasury, an agency responsible for investigating major financial crimes (e.g., money laundering); provides assistance to law enforcement agencies.
|
|
|
|
| FinCen | seeFinancial Crimes Enforcement Network.
|
|
|
|
| fingerprint classification | A system used to categorize fingerprints on the basis of their ridge characteristics.
|
|
|
|
| fingerprint patterns | Patterns formed by the ridge detail of fingerprints; primarily loops, whorls, and arches.
|
|
|
|
| fingerprints | Replicas of the friction ridges (on palms, fingers, toes, and soles of the feet) that touched the surfaces on which the prints are found.
|
|
|
|
| firearm identification | The process of identifying a gun, often on the basis of a bullet but also through identification of types of ammunition, knowledge of the design and functioning of firearms, restoration of obliterated serial numbers, and estimation of the distance between a gun and a victim.
|
|
|
|
| firewall | A device or software program that acts as a checkpoint between a network or stand-alone computer and the Internet; blocks any incoming or outgoing data that do not fit specified criteria.
|
|
|
|
| flame ionization detector | A device that produces ionized molecules in proportion to the amount of combustible organic gases in a sample; used to detect residues of accelerants at fire scenes.
|
|
|
|
| fluorescent powders | Powders, dusted on areas being examined, that chemically enhance latent prints viewed under UV, laser, or alternative light illumination.
|
|
|
|
| follow-up investigation | The process of gathering information after the generation of the incident report and until the case is ready for prosecution; undertaken for cases receiving a supervisory disposition for further investigation.
|
|
|
|
| footwear impressions | Impressions that result when footwear, feet, or tires tread on a moldable surface such as earth, clay, or snow.
|
|
|
|
| footwear prints | Prints that result when footwear, feet, or tires contaminated with foreign matter such as mud, grease, or blood are placed on a smooth, firm surface (e.g., a floor, a chair, paper). Also calledresidue prints.
|
|
|
|
| forensic accountants | Accountants who specialize in analyzing financial evidence and testifying as expert witnesses in cases of white-collar crime.
|
|
|
|
| forensic dentistry | A medical specialty that relates dental evidence to investigation.
|
|
|
|
| forensic pathology | The study, by physicians, of how and why people die; can also include examination of the living to determine physical or sexual abuse.
|
|
|
|
| forensic photograph analysis | The comparison of photos from a security surveillance camera with file pictures of suspects to identify a perpetrator or acquire information about him or her.
|
|
|
|
| forensic science | The examination, evaluation, and explanation of physical evidence in terms of law.
|
|
|
|
| forgery | Any falsification or alteration of a document; can be traced, simulated, or freehand.
|
|
|
|
| fracture match | The alignment of the edges of two items of evidence, thereby showing that both items were previously joined together.
|
|
|
|
| free-and-voluntary rule | Based on a number of Supreme Court decisions since 1936, the principle that the exertion of any kind of coercion, physical or psychological, on a suspect to obtain a confession will render the confession inadmissible.
|
|
|
|
| freezer crimes | Thefts of livestock (usually only one or a few animals) in which the motivation is food rather than profit.
|
|
|
|
| Frye v. United States | A 1923 federal case which established that the results of a scientific technique would be admissible only if the technique had gained general acceptance in its field. (PerDaubert,this was superceded by the federal rules of evidence.)
|
|
|
|
| gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) | A central nervous system depressant used to perpetrate sexual attacks; mixed into a victim's food or drink, can induce relaxation or unconsciousness, leaving the victim unaware of the attack; can also cause seizures or death.
|
|
|
|
| gas liquid chromatograph | A portable device that separates a sample gas into measurable components; used to detect residues of accelerants at fire scenes.
|
|
|
|
| geographic profiling or geoprofiling (GP) | An investigative strategy in which the locations of a series of crimes (or, sometimes, the scenes of a single crime) are used to determine the most probable area of the offender's residence.
|
|
|
|
| GHB | seegamma hydroxybutyrate.
|
|
|
|
| glutethimide (Doriden) | A depressant with long-lasting effects that make it very difficult to reverse overdoses, many of which result in death.
|
|
|
|
| GP | seegeographic profiling.
|
|
|
|
| gray-market vehicles | Vehicles purchased abroad and shipped to the United States; may require modifications to meet U.S. emission control and safety standards.
|
|
|
|
| grooves | In a firearm's rifled bore, the low cuts that separate the higher lands.
|
|
|
|
| hacker's dictionary | A software program that provides unauthorized access to computer systems by generating millions of alphanumeric combinations until it finds one that matches a password.
|
|
|
|
| hacking or cracking | The process of gaining unauthorized entry into a computer system.
|
|
|
|
| hallucinogenic drugs | Natural or synthetic drugs that distort perception of objective reality and, in large doses, cause hallucinations; lead to unpredictable effects based on user and environment.
|
|
|
|
| hashish | A natural hallucinogen, derived from resinous secretions of the cannabis plant, that is more potent than marijuana; sold in soft lumps and usually smoked in a small hash pipe.
|
|
|
|
| hashish oil | An extremely potent hallucinogen, derived by distilling THC from marijuana, that produces a high from a single drop; smoked in a cigarette or glass-bowled pipe or ingested in food or wine.
|
|
|
|
| hazardous wastes | Solid, liquid, sludge, and manufacturing by-product wastes that are ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and/or toxic; may pose serious threat to human health and the environment if improperly managed.
|
|
|
|
| hearsay | Testimony by a witness that repeats something which he or she heard someone say out of court and which the witness has no personal factual knowledge of; inadmissible in court.
|
|
|
|
| heavy equipment | Heavy construction equipment; usually does not require a title or registration. Also calledoff-road equipment.
|
|
|
|
| Hemident | A reagent used in preliminary or presumptive field tests for the presence of blood.
|
|
|
|
| Henry system | Devised by Edward Henry, the fingerprint classification system that facilitated the use of fingerprints in criminal identification; adopted in England in 1900 and today used in almost every country
|
|
|
|
| hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) | Viruses present in blood (and, for HBV, other bodily fluids) that attack the liver and can lead to death; a health hazard at scenes where bodily fluids are exposed.
|
|
|
|
| heroin (diacetylmorphine) | An opiate that is much stronger than morphine and often causes death due to its purity or diluents; an odorless, crystalline white powder, which is usually sold diluted and is injected.
|
|
|
|
| HIN | seehull identification number.
|
|
|
|
| HIR | seehome-invasion robbery.
|
|
|
|
| home-invasion robbery (HIR |
