The Internet The Crime Solvers Technological Watson

Firstname Lastname Professor Firstname Lastname Coursename # 19 May 2013 The Internet: The Crime Solvers Technological Watson The popularity of television shows such as CSI and NCIS has raised public awareness of forensic science and increased the demand for information on the topic and its sub-specialities. The Internet has proven to be valuable resource because there is such a great deal of information that is both free and easily accessible. Just as the great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes solved crimes with the help of Dr. Watson, todays crime solvers have a sort of technological Watson in the Internet, a tool that provides information and resources. The purpose of this paper is to explore three uses of the Internet for crime-solving and specific web sites that crime solvers will find useful. Some experts believe that the science of recording fingerprints has existed for thousands of years, although it is only since the late 1800s that fingerprints were used in fighting crime (How fingerprinting improves criminal investigations). Fingerprints were taken using ink and paper, then stored with an individuals personal information. Although fingerprint records were used successfully, the system was time-consuming and cumbersome, often requiring weeks or months to process a single submission. In addition to the inability to process records expeditiously, there were opportunities for records to get misfiled or lost. Computers were first used to process