For this blog I chose to explore the website for the British Association for Forensic Anthropology. The British Association for Forensic Anthropology (BAFA) was created in 2011 under the British Association for Human Identification to promote professionalism within Forensic Anthropology in the United Kingdom, and is governed under the Royal Anthropological Institute. The association defines forensic anthropology as a scientific discipline that applies the methods of physical and biological anthropology to the legal process and criminal justice system. Due to this being a British association, I wondered would the definition differ slightly from what we’ve learned in our lectures; however, by skimming through a few other sites such the Society of Forensic Anthropology and the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, I have found that this is pretty much the universal definition of forensic anthropology.
I chose to look into BAFA and forensic anthropology in general because I watch and read a lot of crime mysteries. I have always liked shows, movies, and books that make me think about how all of the parts of the storyline fit together; so, I have always been intrigued by the way that the minds of the forensic scientists worked in those books and shows. Of course, there is usually a murder or homicide that has taken place and as I get into the story, I become really interested in the way that the scientists analyze the evidence and human remains, and use their knowledge of human variability (which I now know from our lectures and readings) to put all of the pieces together to help solve the crime.
Under the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI), BAFA has three levels of certifications for Forensic Anthropologists. The third level of Forensic Anthropologist, Forensic Anthropologist III, is the level where it is demonstrated that there is some experience in the field, but haven’t had real experience with a case and need to be supervised by an upper level anthropologist. The second level, Forensic Anthropologist II, is the level where it has been demonstrated that there has been experienced in practical and theoretical anthropology, but they may not have within a courtroom and will be supervised by an upper level anthropologist. The first level, Forensic Anthropologist I, is made up of highly experience anthropologist that have also had experience in the courtroom. BAFA and the RAI is focused mostly around providing information and evidence for the criminal justice system. However, first and second level forensic anthropologist do conduct triage and decide on whether skeletal remains are human or animal.
What I didn’t get from this site and what I would like to know about BAFA and the RAI, is if the forensic scientists that are certified through these professional programs use other types of subfields of anthropology in the work that they do. I would assume that when they are examining human or animal remains that they would have to think about cultural and linguistic aspects as well, depending on the type of case that they are helping to solve.
Hey Jada!
For my week 1 post I focused on medical anthropology, so reading your post about forensic anthropology was super interesting! I visited the URL you added and you really found a great website! In addition, when coming back to your post after seeing the website, you did a really great job at summarizing what BAFA was all about! Its unfortunate that you did not get to read about the other types of sub-fields of anthropology that BAFA uses, but being able to talk about it like you did and make educated guesses is whats important!
Personally, I think that the way you explained forensics sciences was very similar and different to that of medical anthropology! i think the way that they both affect the broader aspects of anthropology are very similar, but at the same time, they specifics of how they obtain their information and what they focus on is very different!