MACMILLAN Crime and the Construction of Forensic Objectivity from 1850 (Palgrave Histories of Policing, Punishment and Justice)

This book charts the historical development of 'forensic objectivity' through an analysis of the ways in which objective knowledge of crimes, crime scenes, crime materials and criminals is achieved. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, with authors drawn from law, history, sociology and science and technology studies, this work shows how forensic objectivity is constructed through detailed crime history case studies, mainly in relation to murder, set in Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, USA and Ireland. Starting from the mid-nineteenth century and continuing to the present day, the book argues that a number of developments were crucial. These include: the beginning of crime photography, the use of diagrams and models specially constructed for the courtroom so jurors could be ‘virtual witnesses’, probabilistic models of certainty, the professionalization of medical and scientific expert witnesses and their networks, ways of measuring, recording and developing criminal records and the role of the media, particularly newspapers in reporting on crime, criminals and legal proceedings and their part in the shaping of public opinion on crime. This essential title demonstrates the ways in which forensic objectivity has become a central concept in relation to criminal justice over a period spanning 170 years. From the Back Cover This book approaches crime history through a detailed analysis of the ways in which forensic objectivity was constructed in relation to murder in the UK, and elsewhere, between the mid-nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This collection is interdisciplinary, with authors drawn from law, history, sociology and science and technology studies. It’s aim is to show how domestic, gendered and ethical knowledges were inextricably interwoven into expert knowledge, making what was taken to be objective knowledge of the crime and criminal: ‘forensic objectivity’. Each chapter addresses the question of forensic objectivity in different ways. Visual information is a vital part of the making of such objectivity and the use of photography in capturing and creating objectivity became increasingly important over the period covered by the proposed work. By centring the collection in the UK (but with some important international case studies for comparative purposes), over a crucial century for the concepts it explores, this essential title demonstrate the ways in which medical, policing and other expert knowledge changed rapidly over the course of 100 years. About the Author Alison Adam is Professor of Science Technology and Society in the Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She has worked at Lancaster University, UMIST and the University of Salford as well as spending a number of years in industry prior to her academic career. Her research has been located in science and technology studies over a period of nearly forty years.