What is Forensic science?
[[Image:US Army CID agents at crime scene.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Agents of the [[United States Army Criminal Investigation Division]] investigate a crime scene]] '''Forensic science''' (or '''forensics''') is when science works to answer questions a [[lawyer]] might ask. Most often, forensics is about proving that someone was present at a place where a [[crime]] was committed. Specialists take ''samples'' which are later analyzed in a [[laboratory]]. Most forensic tests can take from 1 hour to one year, and investigators need to double (and triple) check the answer, so they know that the answer is the right answer. If a forensics team made a mistake the wrong person could be jailed, or they could get into trouble themselves. Samples commonly taken include [[fingerprint]]s. People also look for other things that could be used, for example a few [[hair]]s (or pieces of [[skin]]) and [[autopsy]] if dead. Samples like hair or skin can be use for [[DNA]] testing, which allows to tell the gender of the person the hair is from, amongst others. When someone is accused of committing the crime, these pieces of evidence can then be matched up. Then, if they are correct, the person is charged. == Subdivisions == * [[Forensic accounting]] is the study and interpretation of accounting evidence * [[Forensic anthropology]] is the application of [[physical anthropology]] in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of [[skeletonization (forensics)|skeletonized]] human remains. * [[Forensic archaeology]] is the application of a combination of [[archaeological]] techniques and forensic science, typically in law enforcement. * [[Computational forensics]] concerns the development of algorithms and software to assist forensic examination. * [[Criminalistics]] applies various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of [[forensic genetics|biological evidence]], [[trace evidence]], impression evidence (such as [[fingerprint]]s, [[Forensic footwear evidence|footwear impressions]], and [