When Did Forensics Become Prevalent in Investigation?

By: Hilary Rodela, Lead Digital Content Writer for Taction USA

Forensics is a fascinating field and has only progressed in complexity and validity as time has gone on. Individual forensic disciplines have been around for centuries. For instance, the uniqueness of fingerprints and their value in identifying an individual, has been recognized since the 11th century. However, it wasn’t until much later that the use of fingerprints became prevalent in investigations.

1895 marks the point in time when the significance of blood spatter surfaced. Document analysis was also developed around that time as well.

The 1900s is the most significant point in the forensic history timeline. This is due to a myriad of instances. In the year 1910, the first police crime lab was established in France. In 1912 Locard-the man who developed “Locards Exchange Principle”-created his own crime lab out of a two room apartment he rented.

One of the first police investigations to utilize forensic science was in the 1800s in Scotland. Primarily, Europe was ahead of the United States in forward thinking regarding forensics. The US adopted these principles later on and has continued to expand upon the science itself.

Forensic Science has come a long way and will continue to flourish.