Dr. Richard Saferstein was the chief forensic scientist of the New Jersey State Police Laboratory from 1970 to 1991. He appeared in over 1,000 courts as an expert witness and published numerous articles throughout his career. From 1972 to 1991, he also taught an introductory forensic science course in the criminal justice programs at Ocean County College and College of New Jersey.
Upon his retirement in 1991 he started his own consulting business, working as a consultant for attorneys and the media in the area of forensic science. He worked on numerous high-profile cases, including the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, and wrote several forensic science textbooks, the most important being “Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science” which became the leading textbook in the field in the U.S. In 2006, he received the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Paul L. Kirk award for distinguished service and contributions to the field of criminalistics.
Good overall, especially for a beginner like me. Sometimes it gets a little too in the weeds on the scientific analysis of materials for an introductory text. My edition also had some errors in editing.