Forensic Magazine provides interesting research for police, experts and crime authors

Forensic Magazine is an American publication and my crime novels are set in England, so not all the articles in it are relevant to my DI Horton marine mystery crime novels but it's certainly an interesting read and offers up some useful articles and ideas. For example there's a nice little section on Tips and I've just read about lifting fingerprints from a wet surface, very relevant for the Horton novel I am currently writing, which is number nine in the series.

Did you know:

"While fingerprint evidence is not as fragile as some people think, you do have to handle it appropriately. If it's raining, don't be too quick to move a vehicle before lifting prints. Process at the scene. If you tow the vehicle in the rain, the grit and grime from the wrecker will act like sandpaper, and you’ll lose the prints. Also, if you let the surface dry out, water spots will form and interfere with the quality of the fingerprints. On the other hand, oil and water don’t mix, so the fingerprints will remain intact on a wet vehicle." Forensic Magazine

And there are articles on forensic laboratories and equipment and on autopsy rooms  which clearly aren’t what they used to be. Now no longer dank, dark and stuck in the basement of a hospital they are bright, bold and contain the latest state-of-the-art facilities. In the DI Horton novels the pathologist is the diminutive boyish, auburn haired Dr Gaye Clayton, operating in a room like the one pictured below. Here she teases out the secrets of many a cadaver helping DI Horton, and Detective Superintendent Uckfield of the Major Crime Unit to solve a case or two in the seven novels in the series.




Yes, I think Forensic Magazine on line might become regular reading for me! Must see if there is a relevant UK publication or resource on line.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If you like Peter James, John Harvey, Ann Cleeves and Peter Robinson you'll like Pauline Rowson's crime novels

Marvik is about to face his biggest challenge in mystery thriller FATAL DEPTHS, no 4 in the series.