100% Portfolio of practical work (including fieldwork and practical reports where appropriate) and exercises
(Assessing Learning Outcomes 1 - 7)

Information derived from websites and on line databases on the internet.

UKESCC courseware packages from workstations in the Sciences IT suite.

Geoscience maps and videos from the Learning Resource Centre.

Petrological and binocular microscopeBlackboard VLE

Books and journal articles from the Thompson library.

Rock, mineral, sediment, soil & dust samples (including organic materials) from laboratories in the Mellor building including S109 (geology laboratory) and the geology rock store S001.

Geophysical equipment.

Ground surrounding the crime scene house.

Note that in compiling this list of resources DDA issues have been considered.

The module will be delivered through an appropriate mix of lectures, practical exercises, video and DVD presentations, field study (where appropriate) and independent learning. There will be approximately 24 hours of class contact which will normally include around 12 hours of lectures and 12 hours of laboratory- or field-based practical work possibly based off-campus. Some directed reading from books and journal articles will form the basis of the independent learning in support of both practical and theory work for written exercises. A specialist guest lecturer will be invited to speak on a relevant case-history based topic demonstrating the application of forensic geoscience to criminal investigations.

Fisher, B.A.J. 2000. Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation. CRC Press, London.

Haglund, W.D. & Sord, M.H. (eds) 2002. Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory and Archaeological Perspectives. CRC Press, London.

Jackson, A.R.W. & Jackson, J.M. 2004. Forensic Science. Pearson, Rugby.

Murray, R.C. 2004. Evidence from the Earth. Forensic Geology and Criminal Investigations. Mountain Press Publication Company, Montana.

Murray, R.C. & Tedrow, J. 1992. Forensic Geology. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Pye, K. & Croft, D.J. (eds) 2004. Forensic Geoscience: Principles, Techniques & Applications. Geological Society, London Special Publications, 232.

White, P. (ed) 1998. Crime Scene to Court: The Essentials of Forensic Science. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge.

The module aims to introduce students to the nature of forensically significant geoscience data and geoscience techniques and to demonstrate their utility and application in forensics investigations. Topics covered include: the nature and significance of naturally occurring Earth materials (rocks, minerals, soils, organic materials and dust) relevant to forensic work; the value of these materials in providing trace evidence that link criminals to objects, places, crime scenes and the victims of crime; the utility of some anthropogenically-mediated Earth materials (such as those used in the construction industry - e.g. bricks, cement and concrete) as trace evidence in both civil and criminal cases; the means by which such materials can be collected, identified and analysed using a variety of geochemical and microscopical techniques; the application of geophysical techniques and geotaphonomy to the recognition of clandestine burial sites in different environmental and geological settings and the procedures and techniques employed in their subsequent excavation; the development of national soil and sediment databases, and; the presentation forensic geoscience evidence in the Courts. The module will be highlighted by reference to a selection of notorious case histories wherever possible and where appropriate.