In 1982, the United States government was looking for
a Nazi war criminal by the name of Trifa, suspected
to be masquerading as an Archbishop in Detroit. A group
of postcards written by Trifa more than thirty years
ago were handed over to the United States from the German
government. The remains of a single fingerprint was
found on one of the postcards. Through the use of lasers,
which react to the oils left behind in the fingerprints,
a criminology lab was able to prove conclusively that
the DNA on the postcard was in fact that of Archbishop
Trifa, the Nazi sought by the government.
Forensics has revolutionized the legal system in America.
Fingerprinting technology is not the only great application
of this combination of criminalistics, chemistry, and
biology. Forensic investigations have also been used
to solve murder cases, rape cases, and even missing
persons cases. Criminologists use collection devices
(from companies like EVI-PAQ) to collect evidence from
a crime scene, then send it to an expert lab for examination.
The show “CSI” has made crime labs wildly popular, putting
a friendly face on the world of crime scene investigation.
Our Introduction to Forensics module takes students
into the mysterious world of laser forensics, giving
them the chance to be their own “sleuth.” No matter
what you teach—whether it’s industrial arts, technology
education, science, or home school—your students will
love using the experiential learning activities that
are featured in our technology curriculum modules.
