Abstract
Collection and analysis of evidence in modern crimes has turned out to be difficult. However, with the technological advancements, new techniques have been devised which aid in this procedure. Evidence could exist in biological, physical, or verbal forms. Among the biological evidence, hair has turned out to be a significant bit of evidence in most scenes of crime. This paper discusses hair as a rich source of evidence in crimes, the nature of hair as evidence, collection techniques and the true value of hair as evidence. The paper also explains why hair as evidence cannot be used to know the perpetrator directly.
Introduction
In any crime scene, the evidence is of utmost significance. The topic evidence is no longer new to current day research. Depending on the nature and quality of evidence, it is possible to make truthful or wrong judgments and end up exonerating or convicting the guilty person. On the crime scene, there are testimonies from witnesses, which could be at times biased. It is, therefore, important to get physical evidence in a bid to convict the suspect. However, the physical evidence alone could not be adequate to judge the victim and therefore, the crime investigation team should include family testimonies, victimology, and other detective work when conducting their investigations. There are several physical pieces of evidence that could be drawn from a crime scene. One of them is the human hair. The presence of hair in any crime scene is a rich source of information to guide through crime investigations.
Hair contains the protein keratin. Keratin is the slim extensions of the mammals’ skin. All animal species grow hair with varying root appearance, length, shape, color, and internal atomic features, which differentiate an animal from the other (Laatsch et al., 2014). Depending on different animals, hair is found on different body parts. For instance, on human beings, hair grows on the head, arms, private parts legs and armpits. Depending on where the hair grows, there are different characteristics of hair. There exist various hair types on other animals including the tactile hairs, coarse outer hairs, and the finer fur hairs. Upon contact, hair can be transferred from a person or animal, and its presence on a crime scene can be associated with the suspect or the victim. Several considerations provide a rich source of information towards getting the victim or suspect in the crime. The comparisons made from the characteristics of the hair collected against the known samples helps dully in the investigation process (Ogle, 2012).
Collection
Once hair is spotted on the crime scene, a standard collection process follows to instigate the investigation process. First, it is important for the analysis to determine if the individual hairs belong to an animal or a person. If the hair belongs to a person, it is also vital to identify the origin on the hair; that is where the hair grows. The hair samples are then collected using tweezers and individual category sorted in specialized polyethylene bags. The collected hair samples are then sent to the laboratory for testing along with the control hair samples from suspected parties. The control hair samples should be collected from all body parts for accuracy and comparison purposes. In the laboratory, samples are tested to define the shape, color, race and chemical composition of the hair components. Testing also involves the presence of dyes, toxins and other treatments done to the hair. The information is noted and sent back to the investigation officers. The crime investigation team uses the information from the laboratory to exclude or include certain individuals as guilty of the crime. The collected samples could also have the hair follicle or the root. In such cases, the follicle is used for DNA testing to identify the owner. However, in most cases, hair comparison is used to exclude suspects from the crime (Singh, 2016).
Value of hair
Hair, as stated earlier is valuable in the investigation of crimes. Light microscopy is used in the examination of human hairs. To ensure the quality of information collected, the specialists carry out a two-step process in the forensics laboratory. First, the sample hairs are identified and then the comparison of the samples collected, and the suspect’s hair is done. The reason for conducting the systematic process is to determine whether two or more people were involved in the incidence. Often, the hair as evidence is significance in violence cases such as sexual assault, homicide, and aggravated assaults where physical contact is involved. In cases of armed robbery or burglary, recovery of clothing, which could contain hair or debris, is useful in investigations to identify suspects.
In the population, the value of hair evidence depends on the difference in hair characteristics among varied people (Ogle, 2012). This is visible by use of a comparison light microscopy. The reliability of hair in forensics depends on several factors. They include training of the specialists, their experience, and quality of available equipment and suitability of the known standards. Hair evidence is an appreciated technique in identifying people. However, it is difficult to determine the probability of a certain association due to an inadequacy of effective quantitative assessments of the features in hairs. Specialists have developed light microscopes to aid in the identification of suspects in the criminal investigation. This has largely advanced the use of hair in the criminal investigation. One of the microscopes used in forensic laboratories is known as the comparison microscope. It is made up of two multi-light microscopes joined by an optical fiber. This allows for instantaneous viewing of the two hair samples, the hair collected at the crime scene and the suspect's hair.
Significance of Hair Evidence
Determining the perpetrator is not an easy task. The crime investigation team ought to conduct the thorough investigation to identify who was involved in the incidence. The relevance of hair examination results is dependent on several factors. First, the procedure used to collect data on the scene of crime matters. It is the first step towards identifying the perpetrator. The procedure used to examine the hair samples, the equipment used and the experience of the examiner are also determinants of the outcome. Using hair as evidence could not necessarily lead to knowing the perpetrator directly because it is a trial and error technique and majorly used to sample out suspects (Ogle, 2012). If a relative or family member is involved in the scene and hair collected, there are high chances of deriving towards wrong conclusions. It is, therefore, important to involve other techniques of determining the perpetrator. Involving the victim’s associates like neighbors and colleagues is of vital essence. Instances, where strangers are involved, would be difficult to point the perpetrator directly. Therefore, other techniques should be involved as well to identify the perpetrator.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when finding, collecting and conserving evidence from the scene of the crime, the right procedures should be conducted to ensure that the right information is delivered to the forensic laboratory for analysis and that the results are accurate. The evidence could be biological or material evidence. More so on the biological evidence like hair, the collection should be done accurately to avoid instances of inaccuracy, bias, or contamination. There have been cases in courts due to improper handling of hair evidence. Therefore, proper training should be done to make sure that the investigation team is made up of qualified personnel and thereby accuracy in investigation results. A combination of other investigation techniques should also be incorporated because there could arise instances of negative hair comparison conclusions.
References
Laatsch, C. N., Durbin-Johnson, B. P., Rocke, D. M., Mukwana, S., Newland, A. B., Flagler, M. J.& Rice, R. H. (2014). Human hair shaft proteomic profiling: individual differences, site specificity and cuticle analysis. PeerJ, 2, e506.
Ogle, R. R. (2012). Crime scene investigation and reconstruction. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Singh, S. C. (2016). 05_DNA Profiling and the Forensic use of DNA Evidence in Criminal Proceedings.
