Vanderkolk J.R. Forensic Comparative Science. Qualitative Quantitative Source Determination of Unique Impressions, Images, and Objects

Academic Press, 2009. — 225 p.Motivation to write this book has developed over my time and experience as a criminalist, or forensic scientist. Concurrently learning and practicing the disciplines of finger print, shoe print/tire print, firearm/tool mark examinations and the physical comparisons of broken and torn items challenged me to develop a philosophy that I could use within all of these disciplines by using common terminology and explanations for me, within my communities of peers, and with criminal justice system personnel. I did not look forward to explaining various terms, examination methods, thresholds for decisions, and standards for conclusions in one court during one trial with me as the one witness doing the explaining for many types of physical evidence. This effort to simply explain multiple forensic science disciplines under one generalized forensic comparative science domain evolved in my writings and teachings about determining the unique source of a unique image, no matter the source of the images under examination. Forensic comparative science is the process of measuring and judging two impressions, marks, objects, or images to determine whether they share common origin, no matter the origin.
I am writing this book for current examiners and those in training. This book is meant to be a supplement to the training programs provided in each domain or discipline. Using the approach presented in Chapters 1 through 6 as the foundation for the individual and associated disciplines presented in the remaining chapters, each image in forensic comparative science can be examined similarly. There is a significant lack of reference material associated with chapter 6 and beyond. Pick a specific discipline within forensic comparative science and there are libraries of available materials. Chapters 1-6 provide a foundation for knowing and believing pattern recognition of images. Thus, they provide some of the reference materials for doing what we do in comparative examination of evidence.
Science strives to validate and update its understandings and explanations. If science was stagnant, there would be no desire to improve our understandings, knowledge, and beliefs. As scientists move forward, my effort is to assemble a wide variety of forensic comparative sciences into a common and simply explained process of determining common or different origin of the two objects or images.Recognizing Belief
Believing Recognition
Unique and Persistent Surfaces of the Source
Ranges of Levels of Details in Images
Qualitative Quantitative Relationship of Details
Analysis, Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification
Fractures, Tears, and Separations
Tools and Guns
Shoes and Tires
Surface Structures on a Body
It Just Does Not Matter