MATHEMATICS and FORENSIC SCIENCE

Since the time of  Joseph Bell (1837 – 1911), forensic science began to be instrumental in the solving of numerous crimes, including murder cases. Dr. Bell, both a lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh and a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, is considered to be a pioneer in the subject of forensic pathology. Also of interest is that Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes series of detective stores, had worked for Bell as a clerk during his student days. It is widely believed that Dr. Bell was the prototype for Doyle’s  famous fictional sleuth.

Today, over a century later, finger prints, blood spatter patterns, ballistics, residual drug levels in body tissues, and DNA are most often the techniques which collude to glue together a crime scene into an indictable offense with the sole purpose of bringing the perpetrator(s) to justice.

However, have you ever heard of using mathematics to determine the probability of finding a serial killer whose crimes appear at seemingly random locations?  Check out the following video, created by Zach Star, The Mathematics Used to Solve Crime (published on February 20, 2019). A case is made for the use of probabilities, the concept of randomness and the study of statistics.

There are also real crime cases, some dating back to the 1800’s, where mathematics has been used in a courtroom to determine the culpability of a person committing a forgery or a murder. See Does math belong in the courtroom? (published on March 31, 2020). This provides a cautionary note on the use of probabilities for events occurring without an adequate understanding of their meanings,, especially when lives are at stake.

Last Updated by SAS October 07, 2026, 16:00:47