The course will be delivered by our own highly experienced blood pattern analysis scientists, who will provide an awareness of blood pattern analysis on clothing and an understanding of its strengths and limitations in forensic investigations.
The Blood Pattern Awareness Clothing course will include the following:
Lectures/Discussions
- Brief recap of awareness of blood pattern analysis – it’s uses and limitations
- Principles and theory
- Different pattern types
- Blood examination and enhancement
- Strengths and limitations of blood pattern analysis on clothing and other items
-
- different surface types and their effect on blood pattern,
- reconstruction,
- alteration of blood patterns post incident,
- clothing of victim, suspect and others present – what can this tell us?
- importance of scene images and context
- the dangers of over interpretation
- case examples
- Case assessment and interpretation recap and devising a robust strategy
- Documentation of blood patterns on clothing/weapons
- DNA sampling
- Reporting of findings
- Case studies
Practical exercises
- Blood dynamics and reconstruction focussing on clothing and weapons, in particular
looking at effects of fabric/surface, movement during deposition and actions post
deposition
- Pattern identification exercises on target boards
- Pattern identification exercises on clothing and weapons
Assessment
This course is assessed. The assessment will comprise a short knowledge check series of questions
along with pattern recognition exercises. This will be left with the attendees to complete after
the course and then returned for marking. Written feedback and individual Teams feedback
will be given.
