ForensicTeen Magazine: EVIDENCE ADDITION May. 2014 | Page 6

Hair

By: Audrey O'Donnell

Hair is an extremely important part in analyzing a crime scene. Hair can provide vital evidence for placing a person at a crime scene. Hair analysis can also indicate if source is human or animal, and if that source is of a certain race. The analysis can decide if the hair has been dyed, cut, or pulled out.

If hair is pulled out, the follicle will be included and that helps see the hair's full length. Hair with follicle tissue was probably pulled out. The forensic analysis of hair focuses on color and structure.

Hair evidence is most useful in:

oHelping to establish the scope of the crime scene

oPlacing a perpetrator at a scene

oConnecting a suspect with a weapon

oSupporting witness statements

oConnecting crime scene areas

The shaft of the hair follicle has three layers: The cuticle: helps species identification and has overlapping scales. The cortex: which is made with spindle-shaped cells that have color pigment. The way the pigment is distributed is used to identify hairs from individuals. In the center is the medulla: valuable for species differentiation. An animal's medullary is larger than a human's.

Negroid hairs: kinky, dense pigments, Caucasian hairs are usually straight or wavy, with finer pigmentation, the hair of an infant or young kid is usually finer than an adult's hair.

Packaging Hair

oRecover all the hair present, use tweezers if possible

oPlace in paper bindles or coin envelopes, that will be folded and sealed in larger envelopes

oLabel the envelopes on the outside

oIf the hair is attached (such as in dry blood, caught in metal/crack of glass)

oIn this case you should not attempt to remove the hair but leave it intact on whatever object

oIf the object is small, mark/wrap/seal it in an envelope.

oIf the object is large wrap up an area that the hair is on in paper to try to prevent loss of hairs during shipment

GAME: FIND THE DIFFERENCE!

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