Books by Steve Scarborough
“Welcome to the Incident Room. This is your Case Briefing.”
Congratulations on your first day as a police detective. You have been partnered with an experienced detective who will walk you through some of the toughest and most infamous crimes in American history. You will visit the crime scene, review the evidence, search for clues, interview witnesses, read the news reports, and decide with your partner who’s the most likely culprit and send the case off to the DA’s office. This is true crime in real time.
As you gain experience, you will be given more autonomy in investigating the cases. Your partner will be there to guide and observe you, but it will be up to you to not only decide who to prosecute, but also name the famous case based on the facts and circumstances. Your investigative skills will be challenged, and so will your knowledge of historical cases throughout the decades, from the late 19th century to the present.
Follow the evidence wherever it takes you, don’t jump to conclusions, and use the experience you gain through these investigations to make your case. Even if you recognize the case and think you know the answers, think again. These cases were selected to challenge and surprise you.
Now get to work.
Congratulations on your first day as a police detective. You have been partnered with an experienced detective who will walk you through some of the toughest and most infamous crimes in American history. You will visit the crime scene, review the evidence, search for clues, interview witnesses, read the news reports, and decide with your partner who’s the most likely culprit and send the case off to the DA’s office. This is true crime in real time.
As you gain experience, you will be given more autonomy in investigating the cases. Your partner will be there to guide and observe you, but it will be up to you to not only decide who to prosecute, but also name the famous case based on the facts and circumstances. Your investigative skills will be challenged, and so will your knowledge of historical cases throughout the decades, from the late 19th century to the present.
Follow the evidence wherever it takes you, don’t jump to conclusions, and use the experience you gain through these investigations to make your case. Even if you recognize the case and think you know the answers, think again. These cases were selected to challenge and surprise you.
Now get to work.
This is a story about gaslighting, message laundering, philosophical interference in science, forensic committee packing, verisimilitude and propaganda within today’s forensic science community.
Over the last twenty years or so there has been a steady push from defense attorneys, academics, and even people within the forensic community to weaken and undermine forensic science, particularly the science of fingerprints, challenging and questioning the very core of the uniqueness of fingerprints.
Their main thrust has been to deny the uniqueness of fingerprints. They have gained much progress in this endeavor, infiltrating the field with articles, in conferences, and on committees. They have garnered followers from within the field itself who now mimic their baseless arguments and preach their agenda of nonsense to the rest of the fingerprint community, in what appears to be an attempt to destroy the science of fingerprints from within.
For all their efforts, none of their claims have been proven or come to fruition in all the years since this effort begun. Though the attacks on Forensic Science continue.
Over the last twenty years or so there has been a steady push from defense attorneys, academics, and even people within the forensic community to weaken and undermine forensic science, particularly the science of fingerprints, challenging and questioning the very core of the uniqueness of fingerprints.
Their main thrust has been to deny the uniqueness of fingerprints. They have gained much progress in this endeavor, infiltrating the field with articles, in conferences, and on committees. They have garnered followers from within the field itself who now mimic their baseless arguments and preach their agenda of nonsense to the rest of the fingerprint community, in what appears to be an attempt to destroy the science of fingerprints from within.
For all their efforts, none of their claims have been proven or come to fruition in all the years since this effort begun. Though the attacks on Forensic Science continue.
It is long been known and accepted in forensic science and in society in general that no two fingerprints are alike. The reliability of fingerprints as a means of identification has been ingrained in society for over a hundred years, but are they really reliable? Did you know that there is a grand movement to discredit fingerprints in an attempt to hijack forensic science? Why? To hijack forensic science for their own agenda? For notoriety?What is the truth? What is the fact and the fiction with regard to the reliability of fingerprints?Fingerprints are the gold standard in forensic science, even more so than DNA. So why is there so much controversy about the uniqueness of fingerprints? Why are they questioning an established and proven science?A cottage industry has sprung up in the attack on forensic science. Some lawyers and some academics have attacked fingerprints with an agenda, sometimes hidden, to degrade fingerprints, call into question their reliability, taint jury pools, and shake the confidence of forensic experts to devalue their testimony in court. Defense lawyers want to win cases, and academics, want to prove a postmodernist point by attempting to apply philosophy to a biological science. Uniqueness exists in the world; these denialists would have you doubt that reality.Written by three retired fingerprint experts with a combined 90 years’ experience, ‘The Hijack of Forensic Science’ analyzes every aspect of these attacks and exposes the agenda, faulty references, leaps of logic, and philosophical muses used by these perpetrators to hijack forensic science.
After fleeing the States, ex-homicide cop Mitch Sharp now has a great life as a commercial photographer in a Costa Rican resort town. He describes his new life in picturesque Quepos with a local saying, pura vida, “this is living.” His comfortable existence in the expatriate art community is shattered when someone begins attacking women and cutting them with a razor-like knife, deliberately splattering their blood on nearby walls. The local police are loath to investigate. The Latin macho society wants to ignore the socially uncomfortable crimes against women. Mitch is also reluctant to help, thinking he left that life behind. When the attacks escalate to murder, and Mitch's new love is targeted by the slasher, he can't avoid being drawn in. Isolated in a foreign country, Mitch must combine an unusual team of ex-pats with his investigative and photography skills to stop the killer from striking again.
COMPUTER ADDICTED??? Is your COMPUTER the first thing you think about when you wake up ? Have COMPUTER bytes replaced love bites ? Do you find yourself at the COMPUTER Super Store instead of the mall ? You might as well face it, you're addicted to ...
Hired defense witnesses are "experts" hired by defense lawyers to support their side of a legal case. Albeit sometimes necessary, these witnesses often have just enough scientific training to make them and their conclusions questionable. They may rely on "voodoo science" or unproven principles to form their conclusions. They are often called in for the sole purpose of clouding the facts just enough to confuse the jury. A motto like "Trust Me" (along with "The check's in the mail," etc.) could belong to the unscrupulous hired defense witness (HDW). While they may have some purpose in the system, HDWs are generally despised by the professionals in the forensic community, whose long, hard, scientific case work can be nullified by quick aspersions. It appears they sell a reasonable doubt-by confusing the jury with smoke and mirrors, for a reasonable price-money. A forensic scientist half expects to see an ad in the local paper reading: Hired defense witness wanted. Willing to say anything about anything. Must have just enough scientific background to feign credibility. Should value money over ethics. Experience suggested but not required. No other skills necessary. Call 1-800-LET-UMGO. HDWs have become the modern-day guns for hire; the bad guys in black hats (or gray suits) called in from out of town to mow down the settlers so the land grabbers can prosper. To members of the law enforcement community, it appears these guys help slant forensic testimony so murderers, robbers and all sorts of criminals can get away with it. Is there any wonder that there is some confusion about exactly who is the bad guy here? There has long been an adage that lawyers may be in it for the money and not looking out for the whole of society. Lawyers have long had a problem with their ethical reputations, occasionally being called the bottom feeders of society. Obviously criminals do not fare well in this category. Well those toady purveyors of confusion known as hired defense witnesses surely fall even lower on the food chain. How can you tell when a hired defense witness is lying? His lips are moving.
Reviews
- "Ex-homicide detective Mitch Sharp has relocated to Costa Rica, bringing some anger issues along in his luggage. He hopes he can settle down into a nice quite life as a photographer until someone starts attacking local women and cutting them with a sharp knife or razor.
The attacks escalate to murder, and the local authorities aren't equipped to handle these types of crimes. A new love interest may be the next victim, so a reluctant Mitch pitches in and uses his experience to try to track down the killer.
Author Steve Scarborough is a retired Forensic Scientist, so when his character begins to add things up, you can take it to the bank. He knows what he's talking about. This was a good story with a variety of interesting characters, and I'll be looking for more from Steve Scarborough." - A. McGraw - "I have over 40 years in the field of forensic identification and have witnessed the attacks and many times the lack of a good defense against them. The identification of prints found at crime scenes is completely supported by the biological research into the formation of each unique fingerprint and the field has a proven track record of sucess for over 100 years. The attackers cannot scientifically support their agenda driven arguments. Good book with needed information." - Bill, Retired CSI