Biology of Crime

• Generally available once a year
• Three credit hours…two hours of lecture + two hours of lab per week
• The Biology of Crime explores the world of forensic science
• Solving crimes often requires scientific evidence whenever available
• The lecture topics deal with a wide variety of technical, legal, and philosophical issues surrounding scientific evidence collected during criminal investigations
• The lab sessions focus on the actual analytical procedures used in criminal investigations, such as ballistics, fingerprinting, traces of crime-scene chemicals
• The non-science majors will learn the process of scientific argument and hypothesis testing used to solve the crime

Biology of Crime Links:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (http://www.fbi.gov/)
• U.S. Department of Labor: pdf file for a career in forensic science (http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/1999/Fall/art01.pdf)
• U.S. Department of Justice, Investigative and Forensic Sciences (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/sciencetech/ifs.htm)

Biology of Crime News:

• California upgrades its DNA forensic facilities…September 2004 (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/pressreleases/DNA_CA.htm)
• National conferences on Science and the Law…May 2004 (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/202955.htm)