What are Forensics used for?

Digital Forensics

Digital forensics involves retrieval of information from electronic devices to help solve a crime, and includes several subdisciplines. Network forensics involves the analysis of Internet activity within networks, and the results may be entered into a court of law. Computer forensics uses data retrieval techniques to extract information from hard drives, aiming to provide background or evidence for a legal investigation. Mobile device forensics is concerned with data retrieval from cell phones for legal purposes.

Criminalistics is the application of the scientific method to physical evidence for the purpose of providing answers to legal inquiries. Criminalistics covers a vast array of disciplines. Forensic toxicology is the measurement of toxic substances at a crime scene to provide background and evidence for a legal investigation. Forensic accounting is the use of accounting techniques to extract information relevant to a legal dispute. Forensic dactyloscopy is the study of fingerprints. Other criminalistic disciplines include ballistics (the study of projectiles for forensic purposes), DNA profiling and body identification.

Several branches of forensics involve the study of human and other biological organisms. Forensic anthropology is the study of human skeletal remains to assist in a legal investigation. Forensic entomology is the study of insects in relation to a crime. Forensic archaeology involves the location and recovery of evidence in a legal context (this evidence includes human remains). Forensic pathology involves the thorough examination of human corpses to provide answers to legal questions.

According to Rexxfield, a private company specializing in several forensic techniques, social forensics is the study of what people do when they think no one is watching. It is composed of two disciplines: forensic psychology and forensic psychiatry. Forensic psychology is the use of clinical skills in the legal arena, often to provide psychological background for a defendant. Forensic psychiatry focuses on determining whether a defendant is mentally capable of standing trial and whether the defendant was sane at the time of the offense.