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Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)
As Paul Kirk, the noted forensic science pioneer, described it, forensic science is interested in the “unlikely and the unusual” (Kirk, 1963, p. 368). This is certainly true of crime scenes: Each one is unique. The crime committed, the location, the items used, the people involved, all vary from scene to scene. Although nearly every police and forensic agency has written protocols about processing a crime scene, these may be trumped by the circumstances of the crime scene. As Barry Fisher, retired Director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Crime Laboratory notes, “There are few absolute rules in crime scene investigations . . . . There are always cases where guidelines cannot be followed . . . . Situations demand that investigators be flexible and creative when necessary” (2004, p. 49). That is, crime scene investigators (or CSIs, for short), must know and follow their agency’s protocols but must be ready to improvise, within accepted limits, to protect and/or preserve e...
TERRORISM
The United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.” Within this definition, there are three key elements—violence, fear, and intimidation—and each element produces terror in its victims. The FBI uses this: "Terrorism is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." The U.S. Department of State defines "Terrorism" to be "premeditated politically-motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. There are three perspectives of terrorism: the terrorist’s, the victim’s,...