A valuable source of information for all those who are required to facilitate decisions regarding the cause and effects of fire. Students of forensic science will also find this text a useful insight into fire scene investigation.

The Digital Age offers many far-reaching opportunities - opportunities that allow for fast global communications, efficient business transactions and stealthily executed cyber crimes. Featuring contributions from digital forensic experts, the editor of Forensic Computer Crime Investigation presents a vital resource that outlines the latest strategies law enforcement officials can leverage against the perpetrators of cyber crimes.
From describing the fundamentals of computer crimes and the scenes left in their wake to detailing how to build an effective forensic investigative force, this...

The association of a suspect with the victim or crime scene through DNA evidence is one of the most powerful statements of complicity in a crime imaginable. No category of evidence has ever had the complete capacity to convict or exonerate an accused so absolutely in the eyes of the public. With the discriminatory powers of DNA and the variety of DNA markers now in regular use, the one thing keeping a third of all cases unsolved is the lack of human DNA evidence. However, the identification of polymorphic genetic loci in cats, dogs, plants, insects, bacteria, and viruses can provide the...

The last two decades have seen prodigious growth in the application of brain imaging methods to questions of substance abuse and addiction. Despite considerable advances in our understanding of the central effects of drugs provided by preclinical data, relatively little direct evidence was known of how substances of abuse affect the brain and other eNS processes in humans. Brain imaging techniques have allowed access to the human brain and enabled the asking of questions never before imagined. The positron emission tomography (PET) data ofVolkow and her colleagues in the late 1980s, showing...

The herbai medicine industry is growing at an astounding rate. Trade group estimates suggest that total sales exceeded $4 billion dollars in 1999. Herbai remedies are for sale not just in health food stores, but in supermar kets, drug stores, and even discount warehouses. Along with the proliferation in sales has come a proliferation ofinformation sources. Not all ofthe sources are equally reliable, or even intelligible. Traditional herbalists c1assify thistle and mugwort as "cholagogues," substances used to make the gallbladder con tract and release bile. Medical school graduates are...

Since the 1990s, there have been major developments in the practice of forensic medicine and this handbook was developed to elucidate the clinical aspects of forensic medicine. Important chapters cover topics from the fundamental principles regarding consent, confidentiality and court reports, followed by detailed descriptions of major issues in forensic practice including the forensic assessment of complainants and suspects of sexual assaults; the description and recording of injuries; the avoidance of death in police custody and the assessment of fitness for detention; custodial...