Crime and the Construction of Forensic Objectivity from 1850

This book charts the historical development of 'forensic objectivity' through an analysis of the ways in which objective knowledge of crimes, crime scenes, crime materials and criminals is achieved. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, with authors drawn from law, history, sociology and science and technology studies, this work shows how forensic objectivity is constructed through detailed crime history case studies, mainly in relation to murder, set in Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, USA and Ireland. Starting from the mid-nineteenth century and continuing to the present day, the book argues that a number of developments were crucial. These include: the beginning of crime photography, the use of diagrams and models specially constructed for the courtroom so jurors could be ‘virtual witnesses’, probabilistic models of certainty, the professionalization of medical and scientific expert witnesses and their networks, ways of measuring, recording and developing criminal records and the role of the media, particularly newspapers in reporting on crime, criminals and legal proceedings and their part in the shaping of public opinion on crime. This essential title demonstrates the ways in which forensic objectivity has become a central concept in relation to criminal justice over a period spanning 170 years.

1. Crime And The Construction Of Forensic Objectivity:  Introduction, Alison Adam.- 2.Bodies In The Bed: English Crime Scene Photographs As Documentary Images, Amy Helen Bell.- 3. Murder In Miniature: Reconstructing The Crime Scene In The English Courtroom, Alexa Neale.- 4. The Biggar Murder: ‘A Triumph For Forensic Odontology’, Alison Adam.- 5. Making Forensic Evaluations – Forensic Objectivity In The Swedish Criminal Justice System, Corinna Kruse.- 6. The Police Surgeon, Medico-Legal Networks And Criminal Investigation In Victorian Scotland, Kelly-Ann Couzens.- 7. ‘13 Yards Off The Big Gate And 37 Yards Up The West Walls’. Crime Scene Detection In Mid-Nineteenth Century Newcastle Upon Tyne, Clare Sandford-Couch And Helen Rutherford.- 8. The Construction Of Forensic Knowledge In Victorian Yorkshire: Dr Thomas Scattergood And His Casebooks, 1856–1900, Laura Sellers And Katherine D. Watson.- 9.Reporting Violent Death: Networks Of Expertise And The Scottish Post-Mortem, Nicholas Duvall.- 10. Detecting The Murderess: Newspaper Representations Of Women Convicted Of Murder In New York, London And Ireland, 1880-1914, Rian Sutton And Lynsey Black.- 11.‘Children’s Lies’: The Weimar Press As Psychological Expert In Child Sex Abuse Trials, Heather Wolffram.- 12. Murder Cases, Trunks And The Entanglement Of Ethics: The Preservation And Display Of Scenes Of Crime Material, Angela Sutton-Vane. 

Alison Adam is Professor of Science Technology and Society in the Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She has worked at Lancaster University, UMIST and the University of Salford as well as spending a number of years in industry prior to her academic career. Her research has been located in science and technology studies over a period of nearly forty years.