Bloodstain Pattern Analysis 1

This course offers the students an introduction of the history of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. Students will also receive information and discussions on the science and physics associated with bloodstain pattern analysis. Bloodstain Pattern Analysis is the scientific study of the physical properties of blood in motion and the static aftermath resulting from dynamic event(s); it follows the same scientific principles and laws of physics associated with other liquids. Because of this fact, the concepts of bloodstain pattern analysis are reproducible in a laboratory and/or experimental setting. Bloodstain Pattern Analysis has been accepted as a scientific discipline.

Discussion on bloodstain terminology and bloodstain descriptions will be provided. The attendees will receive a review of geometry and trigonometry as it relates to Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. Area of convergence, area of origin, bloodstain sequencing, bloodstain movement, computer uses in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, court preparations, presumptive tests and chemical enhancements and bio-hazards associated with bloodstains will also be presented.

Many of the Bloodstain Pattern Analysis concepts and events will be demonstrated through various experiments the students will perform during the course. Some of the exercises will reinforce the mathematical principals discussed while others will utilize hands on experiments using human blood. The experiments utilizing the blood will provide the attendees with opportunity to view the formation of the bloodstains under different circumstances and events. The experiments will also provide the attendees with some insight on how to setup and conduct an experiment when the analyst is presented with unique bloodstain pattern.

The attendees will develop the knowledge to recognize and document the various bloodstains encountered at crime scenes. The attendees will be introduced to and will utilize a Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Worksheet to document various bloodstain experiments. The attendees will be presented with a final mock bloody scene where they will put the training from the previous four days into action.