The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation

Book Description

THE ULTIMATE READERS’ GUIDE TO THE ART OF FORENSICS!

An intrepid investigator crawls through miles of air conditioning ducts to capture the implicating fibers of a suspect’s wool jacket . . . A forensic entomologist discovers insects in the grill of a car and nails down a drug dealer’s precise geographical path . . . A gluttonous criminal’s fingerprints are lifted from a chocolate truffle. . . .

Filled with these and many other intriguing true stories, and packed with black and white illustrations and photographs, The Forensic Casebook draws on interviews with police personnel and forensic scientists—including animal examiners, botanists, zoologists, firearms specialists, and autoposists—to uncover the vast and detailed underworkings of criminal investigation. Encyclopedic in scope, this riveting, authoritative book leaves no aspect of forensic science untouched, covering such fascinating topics as:

• Securing a crime scene
• Identifying blood splatter patterns
• Collecting fingerprints—and feet, lip, and ear prints
• Interpreting the stages of a body’s decay
• Examining hair and fiber evidence
• Trace evidence from firearms and explosives
• “Lifting” DNA prints
• Computer crime and forensic photography
• Career paths in criminal science

Lucidly written and spiked with real crime stories, The Forensic Casebook exposes the nitty gritty that other books only touch upon. Here is a reference book as addictive as a page-turning novel of suspense.

Customer Reviews:

Forensics explained.......2007-08-28

I plan to study forensics next year and wanted a taster to whet my appetite. I was very pleased. It starts with the basics and very methodically explains all of the procedures from the initial arrival at a crime scene to its closure. All of the steps are explained perfectly and it is a great book to dispel the erroneous notions as portrayed in popular T.V. shows. All of the lab work is explained and it is easily understood. I would recommend this book to anyone with a genuine interest in forensics, and the procedures undertaken to resolve crimes.

Forensic Case Book.......2007-01-09

Gave as a gift, my mom loved it...speedy (and reasonable) shipping, very pleased

Columbo demoted for sloppy crime scene analysis!.......2005-12-06

This is a 'how to' book: how to secure a crime scene; how to collect fingerprints (and feet, lip, and ear prints); how to identify blood splatter patterns, etc. It's not quite detailed enough to be considered a text book, unless the teacher uses supplementary material, but it is packed full of real-life examples, which is why I read it.

This book is divided into five sections:

"The Scene of the Crime"--some crime scenes are impossible for the first responder to completely protect, e.g. the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City after it had been bombed. For one thing, people had to be rescued from the ruins. Some of the more interesting examples in this book involve the movement of evidence off of the scene, e.g. a bullet that passed through a victim and lodged in a passing bicycle.

I was also interested to discover that many states employ 'civilian' forensic technicians (it's cheaper than paying for another police officer). The swab-wielding cop is slowly fading from the American crime scene.

"Working the Scene: the Evidence"--One of the best prints from a nightmarish crime scene came from a Christmas chocolate. Evidently the murderer didn't like nuts and put the chocolate back into the box, along with a beautiful print of his thumb.

Criminals who stage crime scenes are often the easiest ones to catch. One man murdered three people, then dressed up in a gorilla costume and wrecked the house, just the way he imagined an enraged gorilla would have wrecked it, including a swing from the ceiling fan that ripped it to the floor.

At first, the ident officer, Patricia McGuire was puzzled by the print of a four-inch finger tip. After the murder scene was thoroughly analyzed, it became obvious to her forensic team that it had been staged. They checked with the local costume shop, found out who had recently rented a gorilla suit, and arrested him for murder.

"Working the Scene of the Body Human"-- One of the most surprising items in this section is how little DNA is still extracted and processed from crime scenes. Hopefully, as DNA becomes quicker and easier to process, it will become a major focus of a crime scene. One challenge of processing DNA from a crime scene is that it is so easy to contaminate the surroundings with the forensic team's DNA.

Forensic Odontology is another fascinating tool. Be sure to check out the anecdote of the perp who bit himself in an effort to mislead the police.

"Working the Scene: Different Stages"--A short section covering explosives and computers. Even as DNA can reveal a criminal's physical presence, so his computer can reveal the presence of his shoddy little mind, whether it be through pornographic photographs, bomb making instructions, or internet scams.

"Working the Scene: Different Skills"--Another short section which includes the contributions of K-9 units and forensic photographers. Digital photography has actually made a criminalist's job harder because of the ease by which digital photographs can be altered.

This book's numerous appendices delve into the qualifications needed, and types of jobs that are available to people who are interested in a career in forensics. "The Forensic Casebook" is a good overview for future criminal investigators, and could also be considered supplemental reading for TV 'true crime' fans (Hint: Columbo and the various CSI programs really take a beating for their sloppy investigative work).

Great Exploration.......2005-10-07

A great book to explore the field and career opportunities. Very descriptive book. Wonderful for reasearch or leasure reading.

The Science of Crime Scene Investigation.......2005-08-06

Has a good overview of the science pertaining to crime scenes, university programs, and job availability within the career area. Not what I thought it was which was a scientific approach to crime scene investigation. I would buy it for an adolescent seeking information for a potential career. In fact, I am donating it to a high school library after I write this review.

Book Description

Fully illustrated with case studies, this book introduces both the theory and practice of destination management and related professional and academic areas. With student exercises, questions and discussion points throughout, Managing the Tourist Destination provides comprehensive textbook coverage for students on higher education and professional courses.

Book Description

Bess, You Is My Woman Now * I Got Plenty of Nuttin' * I Loves You Porgy * It Ain't Necessarily So * My Man's Gone Now * Summertime * A Woman Is a Sometime Thing.

Book Description

The Zine Yearbook is an anthology which collects small/independent press writing published during a certain year. Publications included have circulations of less than 5,000 copies, and the content is a diverse as the magazine publishing world. This edition includes excerpts from 40 zines published in 1998, and is an accurate and vital documentation of the zine world and of underground publishing. Included are articles, interviews, commentary, illustrations, etc. The book is perfect bound, color cover, with many illustrations and photos as well as the reprinted articles.

Book Description

The definitive sourcebook on the wildly popular series that made stars of Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, Kate Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett, features interviews with cast members, an episode guide, and photos from private collections.

Customer Reviews:

Great Stories But A Little One-Sided.......2007-06-16

To review this book I will divide it into two parts.

The first part is the story of Charlie's Angels from it's very first inception when it was about three "freelance crimefighters" calling themselves The Alley Cats to the final days of shooting when the show closed it production for good. There are a lot of interesting backstage tell-alls going on here featuring just about everyone connected with the show. We also have some pretty objectionable opinions on storylines and the direction of the series, as well as some pretty honest quotes from those that were involved. Very little was held back which makes this book an interesting read, but on the negative side there were a few cases which, unfortunately, sounded like one-sided gossip.
Example #1: the book, of course includes the story of Farrah Fawcett's abrupt decision to not return for season 2 and her subsequent lawsuit settlement which required her to make six more appearances. When she returned to film those episodes, she was "not warm to anyone," according to Cheryl Ladd. "She did not want to be there." Unfortunately, Fawcett was not interviewed for this book, therefore her side of the story was not included.
Example #2: Kate Jackson became increasingly unhappy with the direction of the show and by seasons 2 & 3, she started making a lot of demands which added a lot of tension to the set. Additionally, she apparently was not happy with the hiring of Ladd and the two actresses did not get along very well throughout the two years they filmed the show together. However, Jackson was not interviewed for this book, therefore her side of the story is not included.
In fact, one of the authors admits to having been friends with Jaclyn Smith for many years, and perhaps that is why the book is full of current quotes from Smith and Ladd, while anything from Jackson and Fawcett were lifted from previously published interviews printed while the show was still in production. Suspiciously, the story of how the network wanted to fire Smith after the pilot episode (and Aaron Spelling's fight to keep her on) is missing.
Anyhow, the book is still an interesting read, including the sections featuring Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts. There are also brief resumes done on everybody associated with the series in their respective chapters. Kudos to that!

The second part of the book is an episode guide followed by commentary featuring small trivia and tidbits. The description of the episodes read more like an extended description you'd see in TV guide: enough to set up the plot but leaving enough out to not give anything away. In this case, I think that was wrong and made this section a very boring read. The authors should have included full synopsis from each episode (from beginning to end) - there'd be no need to fear that they would be spoiling anything since anyone who buys a book like this would've seen all the episodes anyway. Still, the commentary is interesting, making notes of notable guests stars and small little tidbits that you never knew, like: only in ONE episode of the entire five year run did all three angels appear in bathing suits together in one shot. Now that's trivia for the thinking man.

The bottom line is that the book should probably be taken for the same amount of entertainment that the TV show should be taken as - some shallow storylines mixed with some really good ones making for some guilty pleasures.

Charlie's Angels Casebook.......2006-11-14

This is a great book. I'm a huge fan of the series and Farrah Fawcett. It's a great book for fans of the hit TV show,from the actresses profiles to the series episode guide and commentary. Great pictures too!

Once Upon A Time There Were 6 Angels And A Fan Who Knew Everything About Them.......2006-08-21

If you are a Charlies Angels fan, then this book is a must. It is full of everyhting you need to know about the show and the beautiful ladies that made the show a hit. Oh and let's not forget Bosley "David Doyle". I loved this show from the day it debuted til the last episode. I have also been a longtime pen pal to one of the authors Jack Condon Who I know for fact has met each one of the Angels personally and is friends with Jaclyn Smith. So I truly recommend this book to all Angels fans because, trust me Mr. Condon knows his Angels.

gimme a break.......2004-11-19

Ok I love Charlies angels as much as the next... but this book is lame. Just as I watched each week enjoying yet hoping the plots would get better this book is the same. Just reading and waiting for it to get better.
Basically there is nothing you havent heard before. I would sell my copy for a buck plus shipping.

Complete and fun reference book.......2003-07-09

This is such a fun book! Lots of rare photos of all cast members. I really enjoyed the stories and anecdotes from all the personal interviews with the different cast members. This book obviously took lots of time and effort to compile.
I was won over in the first few pages where proper hommage is paid to the Angels' predecessors in female crime-fighting : Anne Francis as Honey West and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. Charlie's Angels was perhaps ground-breaking but these 2 women broke the ground for the Angels in the previous decade. After this bit of history, it was evident that the author really knows his subject matter.
Just tons of fun facts in this book! Nice filmographies of each cast member and a very cool reference section on all the merchandise created for the show.
There is also a review of each episode of the show. This may be my favorite part as the author points out various bloopers or script inconsistencies that make the show all the more endearing. I didn't know that Rossano Brazzi was an Olympic athelete! The only drawback about his book is that it's so much fun to read that it leaves you wanting more! Thanks for a job well-done Jack!

Book Description

* Storage systems are back-up data centers for vital information and a reliable second line of defense in the event a network is brought down
* Security experts Chirillo and Blaul navigate the challenges of secure storage networks in this invaluable how-to book
* Presents a standard set of secure policies and applications
* Analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of SAN, NAS, and DAS systems, detailing security concerns and considerations
* Discusses how to implement and architect more secure storage systems, focusing on breaches, redundancy, and security strategies
* Takes into consideration protection against internal intruders and tests those plans via vulnerability and penetration testing

Customer Reviews:

A weak text on storage security.......2004-09-29

Securing storage sub-systems is an important, but omitted task. Will this text help you to do what is necessary to secure your storage fabrics? On my third read, the answer remains illusive. Important parts that should be part of standard decision protocol are missing. Will the text help you to understand security as a general topic? Certainly, the text attempts to apply CISSP concepts to the storage security topic.

In Chapter 1, trade articles cite storage pundits on the typical security grind, with a few small customer comments. All neglect in some form the fact that administrative error is the number one risk to availability, and by ISO17799, a security threat. Security is proactive rather than reverse engineered. The listing of security domains is certainly useful as a template for consideration.

Chapter 2 (DAS) discusses at length issues of data protection (RAID), discussion of interface technologies and a useful CISS matrix that is then applied to each interface. Rather than offer mitigation strategies for each interface, security resorts to the traditional CISSP analysis approach, classify, use standards, and build a plan, etc. when people really need situational case studies and risk mitigation. (Certainly, it remains important to do the analysis, but that is part of a CISSP text.)

Chapter 3 (NAS) begins with discussion of the NAS technology and their reasons for values supporting their security evaluation criteria. I found no serious discussion of the relationship of NAS to the outside world (Windows and UNIX) and the risks that this creates (need for authentication, etc.) In addition, one would expect a discussion of NFS flavors, CIFS and active directory, but this too was absent. One nit was a "weakness: NAS may not be good for databases," which with the new locking mechanisms is becoming more popular (although I personally still have a hard time with the idea.) Some protocols discussed are no longer in use. It includes a passable discussion on NASD and key management.

Chapter 4 (SAN) As with the others begins with discussion of technologies in the broad sense of the storage fabric including iSCSI and FC, followed by a SAN security matrix. The discussion of "Manageability" and "Access Control Management" including techniques by title and model remain as definitions without an interpretation within the technology - e.g. The Bell-LaPadula Model includes mandatory access control by determining access rights from different security levels, and discretionary access control by cross-referencing access rights from a matrix. How do we create the matrix in SAN terms, develop security levels, and determine access control rights? When is it appropriate to use this model? Very little discussion of authentication, other than user or administrator rights - techniques were in existence at the time of publication.

I could continue, but my findings remain that this is a book about security, not storage security. It has a lot of potential if the models are given life with real life interpretation.

Great tool for security planning and implementation.......2003-05-29

Prior to this book I was ignorant of a lot of data storage issues. This book opened up areas to me that I had previously overlooked as I always took data storage for granted. The equipment breakdown and analysis was the most concise that I've ever seen. Nearly every page brought me a new item to learn or ponder. The sections on packet breakdown and network latency were fascinating. The information in this book is fully explained and with the author's help, easy to understand. The chapter(8) on designing and implementing a sound data security program almost serves as a blueprint as the steps and procedures are clearly outlined for the reader. This book provides BIG TIME info to the IT professional.

Comprehensive coverage of an oft-overlooked topic.......2003-02-11

What does "Information Security" mean to you? To many, it means firewalls and encryption. To some, it means intrusion detection systems. Chances are the words "file servers" weren't high on your list, but they probably should be. After all, "information security" is about information, and when it's not flying across the network it's got to be stored somewhere, right? In fact, the security of the storage mechanism is often overlooked, which makes it an attractive target for attackers. In their new book, Storage Security, Chirillo and Blaul take a comprehensive look at this often-ignored subject.

Storage Security is not about turning on the right configuration options on your XYZ brand server appliance. It's about applying solid, methodical security practices to your storage systems, regardless of whether they are disks directly attached to a single computer, Network Attached Storage or part of a Storage Area Network. The authors address the full security cycle, too, starting with evaluating the security of proposed new storage solutions. Comparative data in hand, the book shows you how to narrow the field to a single solution that offers the best balance between functionality and security. And once the system is selected, you can't stop there. You've got to decide upon appropriate security policies for the new storage system, draft and implement a backup and restore plan, deal with disaster recovery and take care of a host of other issues. In short, this is a good guide to an entire range of considerations necessary to select, deploy and manage a secure storage solution.

The book's evaluation methodology is particularly valuable. Each type of storage (direct attach, NAS and SAN) is covered in a chapter of its own. Within each chapter, the authors address specific technologies used to implement that type of storage. For example, the direct attach chapter discusses such common storage technologies as SCSI and IDE, moderately exotic systems like USB and Firewire drives, and some more advanced solutions like HiPPI and SSA. Each technology is then placed in a matrix and scored in 11 different categories, including popularity and industry acceptance, built-in data protection features, typical fault tolerance and physical security characteristics. The authors assign each rating on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (the best). This gives a good general indication of how each technology measures up, but they tend to rely on a straight average of the ratings when determining the "best" technology. Although it's true that the average allows you to make a quick ballpark comparison, there are many other factors to consider as well, such as the suitability for your particular environment and the way in which your users need to access their data. The matrixes are quite useful, but just remember that you can't always boil things down to a simple numerical score.

Probably the biggest problem with this book is that it's pretty dry. As a reference book, the writing style is fine: since it's easy to find what you're looking for, and the chapters are concise. It's difficult to read from cover-to-cover, though, which is a shame because that's what you should probably do the first time through. Take it in small doses, a chapter or so at a time, and you should be fine.

Storage Security is about just what you'd think: the security of your data as it's being stored on your server(s). It's not a detailed look at the configuration of any one product, but rather a comprehensive, theory-based approach to managing the security of your storage subsystem from evaluation to purchase to daily operations. If you manage a small or mid-size network, you may not need this book. If you have a larger network, though, or have significant data storage needs, this deserves a space on your shelf.

Excellent discussion of Security and Storage.......2003-02-01

As a Project Manager for an IT company, I found this book to be interesting and compelling. It touches on many of the issues that are facing today's IT managers with it's discussion of SANs, NAS and DAS. The book offers explanations and histories of the technologies without insulting the intelligence of knowledgeable readers.

As stated in another review, the case studies are most helpful and give real world examples. John and Scott do a fine job of creating realistic scenarios and discuss the solutions in a positive way. Any reader will be able to relate in some way to the examples.

One of the features that I enjoyed were the "Security Thoughts" spread throughout the book. They make intersting points and give the reader some real food for thought.

Good job Scott and John! I look forward to your next book.

Top Notch Information.......2003-02-01

The material provided in Storage Security was unique in its approach and provides an excellent foundation for the creation of a secure storage environment. "Ripple Security Logic" provides an interesting and easily understood method that can be utilized to evaluate and strengthen the secirity of individual devices. The sample evaluation criteria workbook is also a valuable baseline tool. Anyone involved with Storage should add this book to their reference library.

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