Practical Bomb Scene Investigation

Practical Bomb Scene Investigation, Fourth Edition details the evidence collection and investigative processes undertaken-at the scene of an explosion-by improvised explosive device (IED) specialists, including bomb scene technicians and post-blast investigators. Providing easy-to-understand, step-by-step procedures for managing and safely processing the bomb scene, it offers investigators instruction on finding and properly collecting and preserving all explosive evidence. In addition to being a roadmap on how to assess the scene and find and collect evidence, it provides an understanding of explosion dynamics or the effects caused by an explosion to include the blast radius and the impacts on people and objects in the vicinity. Evidence analyzed can also help to identify the bombmaker's biometrics (fingerprints and DNA), explosive residue, tool marks left on device components and the identification of the initiation system components used to fabricate and explode the explosive device. With input provided over the years from working post-blast investigators from the federal, state, and municipal sectors, the Fourth Edition of Practical Bomb Scene Investigation is an invaluable resource for those professionals involved in bombing investigations. From the post-blast investigator, the evidence technician, and laboratory examiner, the intelligence analyst, the soldier on patrol, and the public safety officer-both police officers and firefighters-as well as prosecutors, this latest edition is a "one-stop shop" to learn the methods utilized to locate and preserve evidence recovered from the post-blast scene for eventual use in a court of law.

James T. Thurman has worked in the explosives field for more than 40 years, first as a U.S. Army bomb disposal technician and then as a special agent with the FBI. He has lectured and continues to lecture and provide training on the methods of bomb scene investigation and explosives avoidance to domestic and international training schools and audiences. He holds a BA from Eastern Kentucky University and an MS Degree in Forensic Science from the George Washington University.

1. Explosion Theory and Dynamics 2. Identification and Recognition of Commercial, Improvised, and Military Explosives 3. Improvised Explosive Device Components: Pre- and Post-blast Identification 4. Investigation of the Explosion Scene and Collection of Evidence 5. Bomb Scene Investigator and Weapons of Mass Destruction 6. Introduction to the Identification of Military Ordnance 7. Capabilities of the Forensic Laboratory 8. Tactical Post-blast Investigation