Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

Does a Forensic Tip of the Day. Yep, every day. #4n6TotD Joined February 2013

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

8 hours ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Bunter marks are impression marks stamped into bullet cartridges that record the caliber and manufacturer of the cartridge. Investigators can use these marks to link cartridges fired at a crime scene to a suspect's unfired cartridges. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

a day ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: The five progressive stages of decomposition are fresh, bloat, active decay, advanced decay, and dry remains. The stages are a result of autolysis and putrefaction. Each stage can be days or years, depending on the environment. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 days ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: When a body is discovered, the police do not conduct a suicide investigation nor do they open a homicide investigation. They conduct a death investigation. It's the coroner or medical examiner who determines the manner of death. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

3 days ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Forensic techs use the striations on a bullet to ID the gun that fired it, but they need a known bullet shot from that gun to compare it to. They shoot the comparison bullet into a huge tub of water to keep it as pristine as possible. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

4 days ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Investigators need to be careful about over-interpreting evidence. For example, a size-10 shoeprint indicates a size-10 shoe, not a size-10 foot. Someone with a smaller foot can put on a much larger shoe. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

5 days ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: In fiction, authors sometimes write cops who have civilians act for them to bypass law enforcement restrictions. In reality, anyone acting at the direction of law enforcement is an "agent" of that agency & under the same restrictions. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

6 days ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: In US law, the "elements of a crime" are the set of facts prosecutors must prove to convict a defendant. Without establishing each and every element, a conviction cannot occur. These specific elements vary depending on the crime. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

a week ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: In forensics, "diagnosis of exclusion" is a term pathologists use to describe a cause of death they can never prove. Instead, they must disprove any other cause. Examples include suffocation, drowning, SIDS, and cardiac arrest. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

a week ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: In-person lineups are less common than in fiction. In reality, anyone who participates can request legal counsel, and without arrest, participation is voluntary. Photo lineups do not have these restrictions, and are much more routine. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

a week ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Shoeprints in sand have incredible detail, but are too fragile to create casts of - the casting liquid collapses the sand. Investigators use hairspray to harden the print & keep the sand in place, which makes pouring the cast possible. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

a week ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Many authors use the fact that cyanide smells like almonds to solve their crimes. However, only about 50% of people are genetically able to smell it. So, cyanide can actually go unnoticed, unless the lab specifically tests for it. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Depending on the condition of a corpse, the fingers can dry out, making standard fingerprint collection impossible. One gruesome workaround is to cut off the pads and put them on your own (gloved) fingers and then roll them yourself. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: If an exhumation is ordered for a second autopsy, embalming and decomposition make toxicology testing unreliable. For this reason, coroners and medical examiners are required to take and store extra samples during the primary autopsy. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: When someone gives consent to search, police do not need a warrant. However, consent only covers the consenter's areas - so it does not extend to a roommate's room. Even after it's given, they can limit/revoke the consent at any time. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) are forensic instruments used to identify chemical substances. GC converts a substance to vapor compounds that MS then identifies. It can ID drugs in a body or accelerants used in arsons #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day (cont.) - Crime labs also used to have a serology lab and a questioned documents lab, but those are now pretty much outdated. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Crime labs are made up of several smaller, specific laboratories, each with their own specialized techs. DNA, Fingerprints, Trace evidence, Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, etc. It's not one big lab where one person can do it all. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Motive is not evidence for any crime, and not part of investigations. What the public considers a powerful motive doesn't mean that person committed the crime, while what's dismissed as a minor motive may have compelled another to act. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

2 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Both a bullet and its casing can be positively matched with the gun that shot it. The bullet has striation marks from the rifling (lands and grooves) of the barrel. The casing has distinct firing pin marks. Both are unique to the gun. #SymonSays #4n6TotD

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Geoff Symon 🔎 @GeoffSymon

3 weeks ago

Forensic Tip of the Day: Despite the dramatic portrayals in fiction, tires do not explode when shot. Much like they don't "pop" when they drive over a nail. The synthetic & natural rubber along with the fabric wire are too tough. They slowly deflate. #SymonSays #4n6TotD