Before detectives set foot on a crime scene, forensic scientists must first painstakingly glean every bit of evidence. In this program, Professor Margot of the Forensic Science Institute of Lausanne describes advances in criminal science. New technology has made it possible to capture footprints with Mylar and static electricity rather than plaster; to cause fingerprints on a shell casing to reappear after the bullet has been fired and ejected; to computerize Identikit composites; and to identify firearms and ammunition by discharging weapons into pseudo-flesh and examining the results. The contributions of Reiss and Locard to crime scene analysis, along with Godart’s role in the 1927 Sacco and Vanzetti investigation, provide some of the historical antecedents of modern criminology. (55 minutes)