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Individual examples of humans using science and technology to legal difficulties foretold some of the key notions that forensic scientists identified and developed centuries later, despite the fact that ancient scientific approaches lacked the sophistication of modern forensic methods. The use of scientifically acquired and evaluated evidence in court processes is a relatively new trend. In ancient times, the evidence offered in legal procedures was primarily limited to the oral arguments made in court by prosecutors and defense attorneys. There was no such thing as “forensic science” back then. Prosecutors and defense mostly used language to persuade officials and juries that their cases were correct. Most early legal personnel did not consider or have techniques for evaluating evidence such as fibers, fingerprints, and hair. Differing ancient civilizations had different levels of development in the hard sciences. Scientists’ pursuits were frequently bent to please clients and governments. Many people associated science with superstitions and magic, particularly the ancient world’s infatuation with alchemy, a pseudoscience that attempted to turn other elements into gold. Ancient science was frequently impacted by religious ideas. Some people, however, pursued science for practical purposes, such as land measurement.
Before Forensic Science
The lack of controlled forensic science methods aided offenders in avoiding punishment in the ancient world. In the absence of professionally acquired and analysed evidence, criminal investigations have typically relied on force to compel confessions from suspects. In many court trials, the testimony of witnesses and the arguments of prosecutors and defence attorneys were the only pieces of evidence examined. In rare situations, descriptions of poisoning victims’ symptoms or the physical injury caused by attacks may be provided. Some people began to apply common sense to the evident links between physical evidence and crimes as scientific understanding advanced. Some historical court records contain records of forensic procedures that are similar to those used today. Many others, on the other hand, were undoubtedly oblivious of the scientific foundations for their practises. They tended to rely on common sense and practical solutions to problems that they viewed as illegal or frightening. A chapter in the Bible’s book of Judges, for example, outlines a process that foreshadows modern speech recognition. Jephthah commanded that everyone say the term shibboleth so that he might recognise his supporters and spot hostile Ephraimites who spoke the phrase differently. The old Hebrew term for stream, shibboleth, was derived from this chapter in the Bible and came to be employed in English as a word or saying that could be used as a kind of password for a group despite having no genuine significance.
Forensic Foreshadowing
Some early forensic scientific procedures were founded on unintentional discoveries, or epiphanies, made while attempting to solve unrelated issues. For example, Archimedes, a Greek mathematician and inventor from the third century B.C.E., was challenged to establish that a goldsmith had defrauded King Hieron II of Syracuse by combining inferior metals with the pure gold he had been given to build the king’s crown.
The restriction that Archimedes not harm the royal crown in any way limited his inquiry. Archimedes, according to tradition, noted that when bathing, his body displaced an amount of water equal to his own weight. He demonstrated that goldsmith had cheated by determining that the crown displaced less water than the control sample. Poisons piqued the interest of ancient scientists. Physicians, on the other hand, had a hard time establishing that apparent poisoning victims were actually poisoned, because the symptoms of poisoning and natural seizures were so similar. In comparison to later toxicological breakthroughs, their attempts to establish procedures to prove victims had been poisoned were basic. Nicander of Colophon, a Middle Eastern physician and poet, investigated poisons and their antidotes and authored two books on the subject around 200 B.C.E.
Alexipharmaca covers a wide range of poisonings caused by animals, plants, and inanimate objects, as well as antidotes and various therapies. Animal bites, stings, and scratches are the most common causes of poisoning in Theriaca. Nicander was well-known during his lifetime, but his books were not printed until 1499, when a collaborative edition was released in Venice. At least one historical forerunner exists for the present forensic discipline of odontology, which is used to identify bodies of victims by their teeth.
Nero’s mother, Agrippina, sent for the head of her foe Lollia Paulina after she allegedly committed herself in 49 C.E. so that Agrippina could confirm her death. The face of the deceased woman was deformed beyond recognition,
but Agrippina observed a differently colored front tooth in Lollia Paulina’s mouth when she examined the teeth in the cranium.
Detecting Fraud
Government officials sought effective means to detect fake wills, deeds, and contracts in ancient times, when the majority of people were illiterate. Legal officials in ancient Rome used experts in handwriting analysis to assess documents by comparing the writing patterns of known and suspicious scribes. Some ancients devised crude polygraph techniques in order to detect lying.
Unlike current polygraphs, which monitor physiological responses, old procedures relied exclusively on observations of the suspects’ behavior, despite the fact that psychology was not yet a well-established scientific discipline. Priests in India, for example, put people suspected of stealing in darkened tents with donkeys whose tails were covered in soot circa 500 B.C.E. The priests would advise the alleged thieves to tug on the donkeys’ tails since the animals would bray if they were touched. Suspects were found guilty if their hands were not smeared by soot when they exited the tents. Using grease instead of soot on the animals’ tails, the ancient Arabs did similar tests. A distinct type of lie-detection test was devised by ancient Chinese officials. They put dried rice in criminal suspects’ lips and urged them to spit out the grains. Suspects who had rice stuck on their tongues were identified as liars. This test was scientifically valid, as human bodies frequently respond to stress by being unable to generate the saliva required to spit. Guilty suspects were less likely to be able to spit the rice out of their mouths because they were more likely to be stressed than the innocent.
Finger Prints and Other Prints
Every individual person has had fingerprints, palm prints, and footprints that are unique throughout human history. These prints have always had the potential to identify criminal offenders, but they had to wait until their forensic value was understood before they could be used.
The ancients were well aware that the lines on their palms and fingertips constituted distinct patterns, and they may have even understood that those designs were one-of-a-kind. They didn’t understand, however, how prints left on objects could be used to identify criminals who handled murder weapons and stolen stuff.
They mostly employed fingerprints to identify things and papers, rather than for criminal investigations. Signatures recognized in courts and business interactions were made with a variety of hands and fingerprints. Fingerprints, for example, were used to mark tablets connected to economic activity as early as 2000 B.C.E. in Babylonia.
Thumbprints were employed to differentiate legal seals and documents by ancient Chinese and Japanese authorities and businessmen in East Asia, and handprints were frequently used to sign divorce forms. In the first century C.E., a Roman lawyer named Quintilian defended a man accused of murdering his mother in a court case in which print evidence proved essential. Quintilian, a gifted orator, built his legal strategy by combining his oratorical skills with some scientific understanding. He demonstrated that a bloody palm print that had dried at the crime scene was incompatible in size with his client’s hand.
He went on to say that the print was left at the crime scene by someone trying to frame the slain woman’s son. He was successful in having his client acquitted due to his comparison of handprints; nevertheless, the genuine murderer was never identified.
Medical Evidence
The value of medical knowledge to legal systems was acknowledged by many ancient emperors and physicians.
The ancient legal code written by Babylonian monarch Hammurabi in the eighteenth century B.C.E. includes regulations pertaining to medicine. Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived in the early fourth century B.C.E., advised medical practitioners to learn how to diagnose injuries and poisonings caused by criminals. Because of their specialized expertise and contacts with monarchs and officials, ancient physicians were frequently involved in criminal investigations.
Medical autopsy have been performed since the early third millennium B.C.E. They were used to ascertain the reasons of deaths, just as they are now. Many ancient societies, on the other hand, were opposed to invasive examinations of the deceased because they believed that bodies needed to be intact in order to make the passage to the afterlife. Even though the ancient Greeks rarely performed autopsies, the word “autopsy” derives from ancient Greek and means “to see with one’s own eyes.” The Greek physicians Erasistratus
and Herophilus of Chalcedon performed autopsies at Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century B.C.E., and may have investigated how evidence of poisoning and injuries was linked to murders.
The autopsy of Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler who was stabbed to death by assassins at the Forum of Rome on March 15, 44 B.C.E., is perhaps the most famous in ancient history. Caesar’s body was afterwards examined by a physician, who informed Roman officials that the second stab wound Caesar got was the fatal one.
The word “forensic” is derived from the Latin word forum, which was a place where public gathering occurred and important decisions regarding law and order and other public issues dealt with. Some historians believe the two phrases are linked because of an autopsy performed after Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Forum.
Early historical criminal cases and mysteries
Many ancient humans engaged in illicit activities, ranging from theft to murder, that have components in common with crimes that have been experienced by millennia of law enforcement officers, who have developed excellent forensic investigative procedures as a result. Some modern investigators have used the newest forensic procedures and technologies to evaluate the available evidence in certain unsolved ancient murders, and their work has sometimes led to improvements in modern forensic analysis. Legal systems and procedures were not standardized in ancient times, and they functioned differently in different places and times.
Many crimes are depicted in biblical accounts, particularly in the Old Testament, beginning with Cain’s murder of Abel.
Herodotus (c. 484-425 B.C.E.) and Tacitus (c. 56-120 C.E.) were two ancient historians who chronicled crimes based on accounts from their contemporaries.
However, the historical accuracy of many of these reports is debatable. Information about ancient atrocities is frequently inconclusive, hazy, and far removed from eyewitnesses. Biased chroniclers frequently omitted or misrepresented information that contradicted their own or their customers’ ideas. In addition, wars and other tragedies resulted in the loss of criminal records.
Ancient Laws
The atrocities perpetrated in the ancient world were comparable to those committed by people throughout history. Greed, revenge, and other causes drove ancient humans to loot, rape, abduct, and murder, just as they do now. Most early laws were shaped by rulers to define crimes and establish punishments. During Hammurabi’s time as king of Babylon, from around 1792 to 1750 B.C.E., he issued the earliest known law code.
In ancient times, crimes were defined as actions that went against the moral and social values of the authorities who formed the laws; these actions were frequently directed against kings, governments, or temples, and they had bad consequences for communities. Because ancient theology and politics were frequently connected, anyone who disobeyed norms and customs, particularly those relating to religious rites, were sometimes considered criminals. Blasphemy was considered a criminal act by many ancient peoples. With invasions and wars, the ruling powers shifted, and the laws that were enforced differed based on the rulers’ goals, attitudes, and tolerance for wrongdoing. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) and Plato (c. 427-347 B.C.E.) were among the first philosophers to consider the role of crime and punishment in civilizations, as well as the need for justice.
Property confiscation, imprisonment, hard labor, mutilation, exile, and execution were all used as punishments in ancient times. Individuals typically sought compensation for personal offences such as embezzlement and extortion. The ancient world’s courts operated differently in different places and times, just as the laws did. The majority of ancient Rome’s courts were presided over by praetors, or magistrates, who chose which cases would be heard. After hearing instances in which alleged criminals were placed against their accusers, juries reached conclusions of acquittal, condemnation, or not proven; in these courts, oratorical evidence was provided and witnesses testified.
Citizen juries ruled on the cases presented in ancient Greek courts, frequently consisting of several hundred men; both prosecutors and defenders in these instances used oratory rather than evidence to sway jurors’ judgments.
Homicide
Homicide was done by ancient humans for many of the same reasons as it is today. Some murders were done with malice, fury, or vengeance in mind; others were the unintended result of other crimes such as theft or assault. Throughout ancient history, emperors were assassinated on a regular basis. Although most historical killings were anonymous, at least one is well-known in contemporary times: the assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.E. ), whose political acts prompted his adversaries to plot his death. When Caesar came to power in 49 B.C.E., he enacted reforms that enraged his opponents, who feared losing the authority and status that their families had enjoyed for generations. Caesar travelled to the Theatre of Pompey, where the Roman senate was meeting, on
March 15, 44 B.C.E. Marcus Junius Brutus led a group of senators who gathered around Caesar and slashed him with knives. Caesar received twenty-three stab wounds, according to a medic who later examined his body. Caesar’s assassins were to be apprehended and killed, according to Roman officials. Other well-known ancient killings were carried out against Roman and Egyptian rulers. Domitian, the Roman emperor, was assassinated on September 18, 96 C.E. Domitian’s chamberlain, fed up with his oppression, planned a conspiracy against him, enlisting the help of Domitian’s guards.
Domitian was mortally stabbed by a steward named Stephanus, and his supporters avenged his death by executing the killers. In 1153 B.C.E., women in the harem of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses III plotted to depose him. According to a court papyrus from the period, many people were detained for crimes relating to the incident, with twenty-four of them being found guilty and likely executed.
Poisoning
Scientific tools for detecting toxins in bodies were non-existent in ancient times. Many persons who depended on poisoning as the most effective technique of removing opponents and rivals benefited from the inability to track toxins to fatalities. Toxins were created from organic sources such as plants and animal venoms by ancient poisoners in order to contaminate food and drink or create lethal lotions. When concentrated in bodily tissues, arsenic, which was used to season meals and was integrated in medications, proved fatal. Oppianicus, a legendary poisoner in ancient Rome (74 B.C.E. ), was infamous for poisoning but failing to kill Cluentius, whose stepfather Oppianicus had murdered so he could marry
Cluentius’ mother, Sassia. Oppianicus devised a plan to seize Cluentius’ possessions, which would pass to his mother following his death. Oppianicus’ defence attempted to undermine Cluentius by stating that Cluentius had bribed judges during his trial for attempting to assassinate him. Oppianicus was expelled
after the strategy failed. Cluentius was acquitted when Sassia and Cluentius’ sister filed charges against him for allegedly attempting to poison Oppianicus. Cluentius, who was suspected of murdering Oppianicus, benefited from the defence oratory of Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero when he was accused of the crime. Cicero’s tactic was to focus on Oppianicus’ misdeeds rather than Cluentius’ innocence in order to demonstrate that his execution was justified. Cluentius was exonerated as a result of Cicero’s persuasion. Locusta, another ancient Roman poisoner, was so well-known for her herbal knowledge that she was sought out by notable Romans for her poisoning services. Agrippina the Younger, the wife of Emperor Claudius (10 B.C.E.-54 C.E. ), plotted for her son from a prior marriage, Nero, to replace Claudius as emperor rather than Britannicus, Claudius’ son by a previous wife. Agrippina contacted Locusta, who served Claudius a supper with poisonous mushrooms, after deciding to kill him first. Claudius’ physician was connected with Agrippina, and he administered a deadly enema to the emperor, ensuring his death. Despite the fact that Locusta was imprisoned for the murder, Nero, the new emperor, freed her in order for her to kill Britannicus with tainted wine.
Theft and Civic Crimes
In ancient cultures, theft was a widespread occurrence. Thieves robbed people’s pockets, stole commodities from markets and homes, and embezzled money. The Great Tomb Robbery, for example, is described in papyrus records from ancient Egypt. Thebes’ royal tombs were particularly prone to looting.
Some dishonest officials assisted thieves and stole from holy and regal sites. A guard plunders the Karnak temple complex, according to records. The trial of the philosopher Socrates (470-399 B.C.E.) at Athens is an example of ancient law’s perception of some ideas as unlawful. Many ancient cultures considered behavior that disobeyed or condemned tradition to be illegal. Trials were held to see if people should be punished for sacrilegious crimes like vandalizing god-related statues.
Three prominent residents of Athens—a poet, an artisan, and a politician—launched a prosecution against Socrates in 399 B.C.E., claiming that his crime was urging that the city’s gods be rejected. Socrates had also pushed Athenians, particularly young men, to question their rulers’ policies and behavior. Socrates had alienated many Athenians because of his beliefs, who saw his actions as illegal and wanted his punishment. Some people detested Socrates because he chastised their professions and insulted them personally. Out of a jury of around 500 men, 280 jurors found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. They claimed that Socrates’ unstable theological views and assertions that citizens should question their authorities had put Athenians in peril. Socrates put himself to death by consuming hemlock.
Death of Tutankhamen
Since Howard Carter and his archaeological team discovered the tomb of the “child king” in 1922, the mysterious death of Eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen has piqued people’s interest. The tomb’s contents, including the pharaoh’s mummy, sparked debate about why and how Tutankhamen died at the age of eighteen in 1323 B.C.E. Tutankhamen’s death was unexpected,
requiring hasty arrangements, as evidenced by the tomb’s tiny size and arrangement, which contrasted with the stature granted to other royal figures. In addition to the possibility that Tutankhamen died of illness, archaeologists and historians have argued that he was the victim of a rival’s assassination. For decades, experts lacked the forensic methods and resources to assess theories about Tutankhamen’s untimely death.
Tutankhamen’s mummy was X-rayed in 1968 by Ronald Harrison, head of the Anatomy Department at the University of Liverpool. He noticed damage to the pharaoh’s skull, which suggested the pharaoh had been struck in the head.
Some of Tutankhamen’s ribs and breastbone were also missing, according to Harrison. Tutankhamen’s adviser Ay, who became the next pharaoh; army commander Horemheb, who followed Ay and scrubbed
monuments of Tutankhamen references; his treasurer, Maya; or his wife, Ankhesenamun were all suggested as possible assassins.
The investigation and conjecture about Tutankhamen’s death persisted, and Egypt’s leading archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, conducted a comprehensive digital review of Tutankhamen’s mummy using a computed tomography (CT) scan in January 2005. The scan’s nearly seventeen hundred images revealed that the pharaoh was in good health and had not experienced any fatal trauma, adding to the enigma surrounding his death.
The scan revealed a shattered left femur (thighbone), prompting scientists to speculate on whether the bone was injured before or after the pharaoh died. Although many forensic specialists interpreted the CT scan’s findings as proof that Tutankhamen was not murdered, numerous scientists have continued to look for irrefutable evidence that would pinpoint the actual cause of his death.
Unresolved Cases
Several ancient homicides have piqued the interest of modern forensic investigators, who have used their skills, resources, and expertise to try to figure out what happened. Scientists have gained insights into historical lifestyles and cultures through the discovery of preserved bodies of ancient people, such as Kennewick man, who was discovered in the Pacific Northwest in 1996.
Although forensic procedures have assisted scientists in developing credible interpretations for specific ancient remains, they have been unable to learn unequivocally why individuals died or who may have killed them in cases where they suspect murder. Those crimes remain unsolved mysteries, despite the fact that each innovation in forensic science provides renewed hope for a solution. Mountain climbers discovered a frozen male corpse on a glacier in the Otztal Alps near the Austrian-Italian border in September 1991. Authorities discovered the remains were ancient after examining the clothing on the victim and items around. The body, later dubbed Otzi the Iceman, and the artefacts discovered with it were transported to Innsbruck, Austria, where they were examined by archaeologist Konrad Spindler at the Forensic Medical Institute.
The remains were found to be 5,300 years old, according to radiocarbon analysis. Scientists used a variety of techniques, including CT scans, to try to figure out what caused Otzi’s death and whether it was intentional or unintentional. In 1998, Otzi was brought to Bolzano, Italy, where forensic doctor Peter Vanezis examined the skull and reconstructed the face.
A radiologist at Bolzano General Hospital, Paul Gostner, X-rayed the body in June 2001 and discovered an arrowhead stuck in Otzi’s shoulder. forensic professionals concluded that Otzi had been murdered and proposed several theories as to how he died. Some speculated that Otzi was killed in battle, that he was a victim of competing hunters, or that he was a human sacrifice. The discovery of similarly
preserved ancient bodies in northern Europe has sparked forensic investigation. Bodies that have been buried in peat bogs for centuries have kept evidence that can be used in forensic investigations. The so-called bog bodies, according to investigators, were either ancient murder victims, people whose lives were offered to gods, or executed criminals. Some of individuals discovered in the bogs lived during the British Iron Age, according to radiometric dating (seventh century B.C.E. to fifth century B.C.E.). Using techniques identical to those used to test otzi, forensic scientists evaluated their clothes, wounds, and physical traits. Many of these ancient people died terrible deaths, according to the evidence they discovered, which includes fingerprints and preserved injuries. They were strangled with ropes, drowned, stabbed, or decapitated.
Profiting from Ancient Crimes
The allure of unexplained past crimes, especially those involving royalty, has fueled criminal activity in subsequent generations. Criminals have frequently used obfuscated information about historical figures to carry out deception schemes involving antiquities collectors. For example, information accompanying a mummy confiscated from the home of a Karachi, Pakistan, chieftain indicated in October 2000 that the remains were those of Rhodugune, the young daughter of Persian monarch Xerxes I, who lived in the fifth century B.C.E.
The body’s shoddy mummification methods, as well as the unusual use of the Greek form of the princess’s Persian name, Wardegauna, were highlighted by investigators. Scientists at Pakistan’s National Museum performed X-ray and CT scans on the body, and the results, together with additional forensic examination, revealed that the mummy was that of an adult lady in her twenties, not a child, and radiocarbon dating revealed she died in 1996. Given the woman’s damaged spine, officials suspected she had been murdered by those involved in the sale of fake ancient mummies.
Forensic Science Service
The Forensic Scientific Service was created in April 1991 to coordinate forensic science services in England and Wales. It is a top provider of forensic science analyses in the world. The business has also gained a reputation as a forerunner in forensic technology on a global scale. Detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police had two options for scientific evidence analysis in the late 1920s: they either rely on consulting experts or seek out Sergeant Cyril Cuthbert, a forensic science enthusiast. Cuthbert provided basic investigations of bloodstains and other evidence using a second hand microscope and poor equipment. In the spring of 1935, the first Metropolitan Police Laboratory opened at Hendon Police College. A pathologist, a chemist, Cuthbert as a police liaison officer, a technician, a clerk, and a cleaner made up the modest facility’s employees. Within a few years, the lab’s responsibilities had expanded to encompass blood and sperm stain analysis, poison identification, tool-mark testing, forensic firearm identification, and explosives inquiry. Local police forces in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, and other cities created their own forensic laboratories in the late 1930s. The Home Office, the British government department in charge of protecting the public from crime, gradually took control of the regional labs, and the Home Office Forensic Science Service was created. The Forensic Science Service (FSS) was established as an administrative agency of the Home Office in 1991. The FSS could charge for services delivered to any British consumer as well as international clients as an agency. The FSS was a forerunner in forensic science, particularly in the field of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis. The organisation launched the world’s first national criminal intelligence DNA database in April 1995. Investigators can use the National DNA Database to look for matches to DNA samples taken from crime scenes. The FSS underwent another transformation in 1999, when it transitioned from a government agency to a corporate company that is legally separate from the government. Forensic Science Service Ltd., a British government-owned firm, is now known as the Forensic Science Service. An independently run FSS, according to the Home Office, would be able to compete more successfully against commercial forensic service providers. The FSS serves a wide range of customers in both criminal and civil proceedings, with eleven facilities in England and Wales and over 2,500 employees. The FSS provides a wide range of services, including evidence analysis for crimes involving bodily injury, property crimes, automobile accidents, computer crimes and fraud, crimes involving illegal drugs, and terrorism. The FSS has also aided foreign governments in establishing or improving forensic laboratories. The FSS’s research and development division is dedicated to the enhancement of forensic technologies, which the agency makes available to law enforcement agencies.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
In 1908, the Bureau of Investigation was founded, and in 1935, it was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is the Main law-enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has long been the nation’s, if not the world’s, leader in the development and application of forensic science in crime investigation and prevention. Within the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acts as both a federal criminal investigation agency and a domestic intelligence agency. The FBI is the primary federal law-enforcement agency, with a budget of more than six billion dollars and more than thirty thousand workers as of 2007. It has authority over more than two hundred federal crimes. The FBI has 56 field offices and over 400 resident agencies in the United States, as well as sixty international offices in U.S. embassies around the world, in addition to its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Terrorist attacks, foreign spying, cybercrime, public corruption at any level, civil rights violations, organised crime, and any large-scale or otherwise significant violent crime are all covered by the FBI’s broad mandate. In addition, the agency works with other federal, state, municipal, and international law enforcement agencies and develops technology to help them achieve their goals. Forensic science has played a major role in the FBI’s history, and the organisation offers numerous forensic science services to state and municipal governments in the United States for free.
Early History of FBI
In the history of the United States, the legal authority for federal law enforcement grew steadily. Although the attorney general of the United States was one of President George Washington’s initial four cabinet members in 1789, the first attorney general, Edmund Randolph, was not assigned a department to oversee. The United States Department of Justice was not established until 1870, and even then, it was not granted many law-enforcement responsibilities. States and communities were supposed to perform basic law enforcement under the federal government. With the implementation of several federal laws, such as the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, the function of federal law enforcement increasingly evolved. When federal law infractions needed to be investigated, the US attorney general hired or borrowed employees from other agencies on an ad hoc basis. Various political and legal fights made this situation untenable by 1908, near the end of President Theodore Roosevelt’s term in office, and the Bureau of Investigation was established. Although this forerunner to the FBI had the same pattern of success and failure as the FBI, the scope of the agency’s operations was limited until J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the BOI in 1924. Hoover, a skilled bureaucrat, headed the organisation for 48 years, until his death in 1972, and shaped it into the perplexing entity it became. Although the agency’s first laboratory was not constructed until 1932 (when the agency’s name was changed to the United States Bureau of Investigation), one of his first acts was to establish the national registry of fingerprints, which became one of the characteristics of forensic science. Basic forensic science analyses, such as guns identification and the investigation of disputed or questioned documents, were started by the FBI crime lab. It evolved into one of the world’s greatest forensic institutions, pioneering a wide range of forensic procedures, including the creation of DNA analysis as a tool for identifying persons. The United States Bureau of Investigation was renamed as Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935. Hoover embarked on a mission to make the FBI one of the most powerful federal law enforcement agencies by broadening the agency’s responsibilities, but he was careful not to overextend the agency. Critics have claimed that much of the FBI’s early positive public impression stemmed from Hoover’s deliberate attack on “glamorous” criminal problems that resulted in comparably simple successes. Hoover had hunted helpless left-wing revolutionaries in the 1920s with acts like the so-called Palmer raids (named for A. Mitchell Palmer, the U.S. attorney general who oversaw the raids).
As FBI director, Hoover concentrated on bank robbers, a minor aspect of national crime, giving the impression of a widespread crime wave in the 1930s that he could easily handle. When World War II broke out, Hoover shifted his concentration to apprehending the tiny number of German and Japanese agents operating in the US; the FBI was able to apprehend enough of them, and these operations were regarded a success. During the Cold War, Hoover concentrated his attention on left-wing extremists once more. One-fifth of the members of the American Communist Party were once thought to be “undercover” FBI operatives. Despite its public relations success, the FBI only caught a handful of communist agents. The FBI created a successful statistical record, but local law enforcement remained in charge of actual crime fighting.
For a long time, this strategy of prioritising effective public relations sounded great, but it also earned Hoover and the FBI a lot of flak. As the FBI was expected to take on more and more tasks toward the conclusion of Hoover’s career, the agency’s reputation for success became a burden. With the enactment of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, Hoover avoided having the FBI bear total responsibility for the arduous task of combating drug trafficking; instead, the newly constituted Drug Enforcement Administration was given primary responsibility.
However, in the same year, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was passed, giving the FBI a leading role in the fight against organised crime. Following Hoover’s death in 1972, those who replaced him as FBI director were unable to prevent the federal government from entrusting the agency with more responsibilities, causing the FBI to become overburdened, according to some critics. Forensic science was one of the most glamorous aspects of the FBI’s activity during the Hoover era, and the FBI Laboratory Division was one of the agency’s greatest accomplishments. Even if the public attention was on other areas of the FBI’s law enforcement activity, each new responsibility entrusted to the organisation gave new opportunities for the use of forensic science, and the FBI’s forensic science skills were expanded.
The FBI and Forensic Science
The FBI Laboratory’s many distinct types of forensic science reflect the complete breadth of forensic science’s applications in law enforcement and intelligence collection. Many state, municipal, and international entities benefit from the FBI lab’s chemical, biological, and technological capabilities, which are provided free of charge. The FBI also releases a variety of publications on the lab’s activities; both news organisations and law enforcement agencies rely on these reports for information on the condition of forensics in the United States. When it comes to using forensic science to solve crimes and promote successful prosecutions, the FBI has had a lot of success.
FBI experts were able to identify the car used in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing mere hours after the attack by analysing the wreckage; they did the same immediately after the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The FBI’s evidence was obtained and analysed in both cases, and the culprits were successfully prosecuted. The FBI investigation into the Unabomber case took longer, but the forensic evidence acquired eventually led to Theodore Kaczynski’s successful prosecution. Criminal personality profiling—the study of the psychological profiles associated with various types of criminals—is one of the forensic science instruments created by the FBI.
The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), established in 1983, is closely linked to such profiling; the HRT’s hostage negotiators are trained to seek peaceful resolutions to a wide range of hostage scenarios.
Mission Statement and Priorities of the FBI
Our Mission
To protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats,
to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and
to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and
partners.
Our Priorities
In executing the following priorities, we will produce and use intelligence to protect the nation from threats and to bring to justice those who violate the law.
1. Protect the United States from terrorist attack
2. Protect the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage
3. Protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high technology crimes
4. Combat public corruption at all levels
5. Protect civil rights
6. Combat transnational/national criminal organizations and enterprises
7. Combat major white-collar crime
8. Combat significant violent crime
9. Support federal, state, local and international partners
10. Upgrade technology to successfully perform the FBI’s mission
( Source: Internet and Scientific Literatures)
