Victorian England
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Before any forensic tools were discovered, police officers and detectives have to rely on simple clues, circumstantial evidence, and their past experience to solve crimes. However, there are a few scientific discoveries lead to technologies that were used for identification of criminals in the Victorian Era. Some scientific discoveries such as using mercury thermometer for blood tests, and fingerprints are used to help solve the crimes more efficiently and provide the victims their justices from the late 1800s to the beginning of 1900s. In The Sign of the Four and A Study in Scarlet, Doyle implicitly incorporate some Victorian detective technique in his writing as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve crimes.
Crime Scene Photography
In 1864, according to "History of Forensics," Odelbrecht “advocates the use of photography” to collect and record evidences in the crime scene in order to investigate the crime later on. Though the photographs does not contain high definition effects as the photographs produced today. Forensics scientists and detectives take pictures of not only the corpses, but also the surroundings, such as photographs hung in the room, of the crime scene that might help solve the crime. Furthermore, Doyle did not indicate whether Holmes or Watson takes pictures of the crime scene, and study the case later on, but in A Man With The Twisted Lip, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, people are able to recognize who the suspect is through a picture. When Inspector Bradstreet was able to recognize the missing man, Mr. Neville St. Clair, through a photograph after Holmes cleaned up his face (Doyle). |
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Dactyloscopy and Podiatry (finger and foot prints):
Until now, Dactyloscopy “remains the most commonly gathered forensic evidence worldwide” when investigating a case. As suggested by Henry Faulds of Scotland in 1880, he published a paper about using “fingerprints at the scene of a crime could identify the offender,” as stated in “History of Forensics.” Handprints can determine “whether the criminal was left or right handed”, according to “Criminal Forensic Science in The Victorian Era”. In Chapter 6 of The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mentions the use of detecting how the crime scene happened through “footmark” as one of the techniques that was developed later to determine who the criminal is. As Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson inspect the surrounding of what happened to Bartholomew Sholto, Holmes claims, “Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill” (796) and calls upon Dr. Watson to check the footmark. Holmes then concludes, “It is the impression of a wooden stump. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark, a heavy boot with the broad metal heel, and beside it is the mark of the timber-toe” (796-801), which gives a valuable clue of who the wooden-legged criminal is.
Until now, Dactyloscopy “remains the most commonly gathered forensic evidence worldwide” when investigating a case. As suggested by Henry Faulds of Scotland in 1880, he published a paper about using “fingerprints at the scene of a crime could identify the offender,” as stated in “History of Forensics.” Handprints can determine “whether the criminal was left or right handed”, according to “Criminal Forensic Science in The Victorian Era”. In Chapter 6 of The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mentions the use of detecting how the crime scene happened through “footmark” as one of the techniques that was developed later to determine who the criminal is. As Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson inspect the surrounding of what happened to Bartholomew Sholto, Holmes claims, “Here is the print of a foot in mould upon the sill” (796) and calls upon Dr. Watson to check the footmark. Holmes then concludes, “It is the impression of a wooden stump. You see here on the sill is the boot-mark, a heavy boot with the broad metal heel, and beside it is the mark of the timber-toe” (796-801), which gives a valuable clue of who the wooden-legged criminal is.