If you have ever been left puzzled by the lingo whilst watching a crime drama, take a look at our Forensic Jargon blog and get up to speed on a few buzz words.
We’ve put together a glossary of detective words so you can be in the know…
- Caliber – the diameter of a bullet in inches or millimeters
- Ballistics – this is the study of motion and effect of projectiles such as bullets
- Friction ridges – these are the raised lines on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet that leave those all important prints
- Latent prints – these are prints left at a crime scene that may not be visible to the naked eye, therefore careful dusting will need to be carried out to reveal them
- Pathology – a field of medicine that studies the cause of diseases
- Perjury – purposely lying whilst under oath
- Tail – to follow a suspect without their knowledge
- Trace evidence – very small bits of material, such as fibers, hair, residue etc, that can be used as evidence in an investigation. They can link a suspect and a victim to a mutual location.
- M.O. (Modus Operandi) – a suspect’s particular way of working or doing something
- Person of Interest vs Suspect – a person of interest is someone the police would like to talk to in relation to an investigation and a suspect is someone the police believe to be involved in the crime.