What Is Bloodstain Pattern Analysis?

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Blood is the most encountered physical evidence in many crime scenes. Blood is not just useful in identification or physical matching or providing links between the crime scene, victim and the culprit. In the late 1800s and early 1900s a new sub branch of forensic science was slowly gaining prominence. Bloodstain pattern analysis is a branch or discipline under forensic science which involves the interpretation of the shape, pattern and analysis of blood stains found in the crime scene so as to reconstruct events that have occurred for the cause of the blood stain. BPA can help analysts to pinpoint what events have occurred and what have not occurred. BPA is highly significant in crime scene investigation for: Corroboration of the…show more content…
Physical properties like surface tension and viscosity are considered. When blood flows out of the blood obeying the laws of motion it is in liquid state as it is inside the body. Blood tends to clot when bleeding out of the body. Clotting occurs within 15 minute. Depending on the height of its fall, the force acting on the blood and the humidity of the crime scene the shape of the blood stain varies. Blood slowly dries up once outside the body. The outer edges of the bloodstain dries up first. Biological components of the blood are to be known. Blood contains both the solid part (RBC, WBC and platelets) and the liquid part (plasma). When blood bleeds from the wound or cut a protein known as fibrinogen separates from the plasma and the resulting plasma is called serum. Blood also has other components such as hormones, proteins, lipids and other clotting factors. Plasma is the liquid portion of the blood and constitutes 55 percent of the total volume of blood. The pattern of the blood stain formed depends on the type of surface and the height of its fall. Higher the height greater is the diameter of the blood…show more content…
Here labels and numbers are assigned to the blood stain found in the crime scene. The bloodstains are then photographed. This is done to know the condition of the bloodstain found in the crime scene and its surface of deposition and its pattern. Further labels and numbers are put to assign its direction and the type of stain and is then photographed. This is useful in demonstration in courts so that the viewers are guided to explore the bloodstain which is useful in corroboration and verification of statements made by the suspect or defendant. Documentation is the initial step in analysis of blood stains. Documentation is also useful for reconstruction of crime scenes in the near future. It provides a permanent record of the given evidence and also might help us to highlight certain facts that might have been ignored and
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