Forensic Science Timeline by

1923- Crime labs built

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:11:42 UTC

This event is important because it marked the beginning of modern forensic science, completely changing how crimes were investigated and solved.

1930- Lie detection prototype polygraph

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:12:10 UTC

This event is important because you were able to read people’s physiological response as you ask them questions, which was very groundbreaking for forensic science.

1960- Voice recording used as evidence

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:12:34 UTC

This event is important because voice recordings were able to be used as evidence in legal proceedings, helping to solve many cases.

1967- First national crime system

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:12:55 UTC

This event is important because it helped law enforcement share information and track criminal activity more effectively.

1975- Advanced manual fingerprints

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:13:12 UTC

This event is important because it significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of identifying individuals solely based off of their fingerprints.

1979- Automatic fingerprint first used

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:13:31 UTC

This event is important because it significantly advanced the speed and reliability of matching fingerprints in criminal investigations.

1984- DNA fingerprinting techniques developed

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:13:57 UTC

This event is important because this technique allowed for a more precise identification based off of individuals genetics.

1987- DNA catches a criminal

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:14:16 UTC

This event is important because it shows the Impact that DNA testing is having on criminal investigations.

1992- Introduction of drug fire system

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:14:38 UTC

This event is important because law enforcement were able to compare the markings on bullets to the markings on the gun or the victim, on any gun related crime.

1995- Worlds first national DNA database commences

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:15:04 UTC

This event is important because it allowed law enforcement to store any data collected and later on compare it, helping link suspects to evidence.

1996- AFIS Introduced

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:15:30 UTC

The Automated Fingerprint Identification System introduction (AFIS) is an important event in history because they were able to completely revolutionize the way fingerprints were analyzed and matched, making the process a whole lot faster and accurate.

1999- Faster fingerprint ID’s

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:15:50 UTC

This event is important because law enforcement could match fingerprints a lot faster, reducing the time it took to solve cases.

1999- One million DNA profiles

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:16:06 UTC

This event is important because law enforcement now had a very large pool of data that enhanced their abilities to solve crimes.

2007- Footwear detection system

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:16:23 UTC

This event is important because it added another resource to help solve any committed crimes. They were able to link suspects to the unique pattern of their shoes.

2008- Detection after cleaning

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:16:36 UTC

This event is important because if law enforcement were to miss anything while investigating, they can still go back and look at the traces of DNA or blood, even after everything has been cleaned.

2011- Facial sketches matched to photos

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:16:53 UTC

This event is important because this allowed law enforcement to compare sketches to any suspect photographs they already have in the database.

2011- Four second dental match

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:17:10 UTC

This event is important because it allowed for quicker identification of individuals solely based off of their dental records, which helped in a lot of the cases where there weren’t many remains left.

2015- Forensic DNA phenotyping

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:17:30 UTC

This event is important because with DNA phenotyping, scientists are able to predict an individuals appearance solely off of their DNA, providing important leads when normal DNA matching was not possible.

2018- Forensic genetic genealogy

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:17:46 UTC

This event is important because it’s a different technique for identifying suspects or victims, by building family trees. With these family trees, law enforcement are able to correlate certain suspects and victims.

2019- Development of forensic epigenetics

melarkin — 2024-09-25 23:20:06 UTC

This event is important because scientists were able to use chemical changes in DNA to gather information about a certain individual.