ALBANY, N.Y. (November 13, 2007) -- University at Albany researchers W. Mark Dale and Wendy S. Becker take the reader into the mind and method of a forensic scientist as he analyzes a single homicide from the time it happens to the time it is solved in their new book The Crime Scene: How Forensic Science Works (Kaplan Publishing, December 2007, $19.95). Along the way, the authors reveal:
- It takes fewer than 50 cells of human biological material to be amplified and matched to a suspect.
- Trained crime scene examiners can recognize and collect two types of gunshot residue.
- In 1877, Massachusetts became the first state to establish the concept of medical examiner.
- New computerized laboratory information management systems (LIMS) routinely look for linkages between cases.
- Laboratories do not have the capacity to analyze all blood-related items present at the scene of the crime.
Whether readers are students studying forensic science, individuals interested in learning about a career path, or CSI buffs, The Crime Scene: How Forensic Science Works takes readers beyond the news into the world of examination and discovery.
W. Mark Dale is the director of the University at Albany's Northeast Regional Forensics Institute (NERFI), which provides education in forensics biology, chemistry, and computer science. Before creating NERFI, Dale was the director (Inspector in Charge) of the New York State Police Laboratory System, Washington State Laboratory System, and the New York City Police Department Laboratory.
Wendy S. Becker is an industrial-organizational psychologist who teaches Human Resource Management and Motivation, Productivity, and Change Management in UAlbany's School of Business.