History of forensic science

Abstract

The History of forensic science is a key to understanding where we were, and where we are now in issues relating to crime investigations. Forensics originates from the latin word ‘forensis’ which means ‘a forum’. Generally, Forensic is an adjective which refers to “of or used in courts of law or forensic science.” In recent times, forensics (used interchangeably with forensic science) is closely related to legal issues, the court, and different disciplines. In academic literature, forensic science could be traced as far back as the end of the 19th century. Forensic science is of great importance when we need to present evidence to the court of law to either convict or acquit a suspect of a particular crime. Unfortunately, Nigeria and other African countries have not utilised the advantages of forensic science in solving the numerous crimes that happen in this continent. With the proper usage of forensic science, the evidence acquired could be used in the court of law to fight crimes. In this chapter, the history of forensic science is carefully covered and some lessons learnt from reviewing this history is presented.