I am most appreciative of the contribution that Detective Sergeant Andrew (Drew) Donofrio of New Jersey's Bergen County Prosecutor's Office made to this new edition of Criminalistics. I was fortunate to find in Drew a contributor who not only possesses extraordinary skill, knowledge, and hands-on experience with computer forensics, but was able to combine those attributes with sophisticated communication skills.

Sarah A. Skorupsky-Borg, MSFS, invested an extraordinary amount of time and effort in preparing an accompanying supplement to this edition: Basic Laboratory Exercises for Forensic Science. Her skills and tenacity in carrying out this task are acknowledged and greatly appreciated.

Many people provided assistance and advice in the preparation of this book. Many faculty members, colleagues, and friends have read and commented on various portions of the text. Particular thanks go to the following people for their critical reading and discussions of the manuscript: Norman Demeter, John Lintott, Charles Midkiff, Raymond Murray, and Richard Tidey. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Jeffrey C. Kercheval, Robert Thompson, Roger Ely, Jose R. Almirall, Darlene Brezinski, Michael Malone, and Ray Feldherr.

The following reviewers provided insightful reviews and suggestions on this new edition:

Professor John Kavanagh, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, AZ; Professor Suzanne

Montiel, Nash Community College, Rocky Mount, NC; Professor Walter F. Rowe; George Washington University; Wasington, D.C.; Professor David Tate, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; and Professor Sue Salem, Washburn University, Topeka, KS.

The assistance of Pamela Cook and Gonul Turhan, whose research efforts are an integral part of this text, was invaluable. I am also appreciative of the time and talent given by Peggy Cole; development editor Mayda Bosco; and production editor Linda Zuk.

I am grateful to the law enforcement agencies, government agencies, private individuals, and equipment manufacturers cited in the text for contributing their photographs and illustrations.

Finally, I particularly wish to express my appreciation to Major E. R. Leibe (retired) and Major

V. P. O'Donoghue (retired) for their encouragement and support.

Any author of a textbook must be prepared to contribute countless hours to the task, often at the expense of family obligations. My efforts would have fallen well short of completion without the patience and encouragement of my wife Gail. Her typing and critical readings of the manuscript, as well as her strength of character under circumstances that were less than ideal, will always be remembered.

Richard Saferstein, Ph.D.

About the Author

Richard Saferstein, Ph.D., retired in 1991 after serving twenty-one years as the Chief Forensic

Scientist of the New Jersey State Police Laboratory, one of the largest crime laboratories in the United States. He currently acts as a consultant for attorneys and the media in the area of forensic science. During the O. J. Simpson criminal trial, Dr. Saferstein provided extensive commentary on forensic aspects of the case for the Rivera Live show, the E! television network, ABC radio, and various radio talk shows. Dr. Saferstein holds degrees from the City College of New York and earned his doctorate degree in chemistry in 1970 from the City University of New York. From 1972 to 1991, he taught an introductory forensic science course in the criminal justice programs at the College of New Jersey and Ocean County College. These teaching experiences played an influential role in Dr. Saferstein's authorship in 1977 of the widely used introductory textbook Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, currently in this ninth edition. Saferstein's basic philosophy in writing Criminalistics is to make forensic science understandable and meaningful to the nonscience reader, while giving the reader an appreciation for the scientific principles that underlie the subject.

Dr. Saferstein currently teaches a course on the role of the expert witness in the courtroom at the law school of Widener University in Wilmington, Delaware. He has authored or co-authored more than forty-two technical papers covering a variety of forensic topics. Dr. Saferstein has coauthored Lab Manual for Criminalistics (Prentice Hall, 2004). He has also edited the widely used professional reference books Forensic Science Handbook, Volume 1, 2nd edition (Prentice Hall, 2002), Forensic Science Handbook, Volume 2, 2nd edition (Prentice Hall, 2005), and Forensic Science Handbook, Volume 3 (Prentice Hall, 1993). Dr. Saferstein is a member of the

American Chemical Society, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Forensic Science Society of England, the Canadian Society of Forensic Scientists, the International Association for Identification, the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists, the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists, the Northwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, and the Society of Forensic Toxicologists.

In 2006, Dr. Saferstein received the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Paul L.Kirk award for distinguished service and contributions to the field of criminalistics.