The Benzidine Blood Test as an Aid to Criminal Investigation
| Author | A. E. Harwich |
| Published date | 01 October 1932 |
| Date | 01 October 1932 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X3200500410 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Benzidine Blood
Test
as an Aid
to Criminal Investigation
By A. E.
HARWICH
C.LD.,
Palestine Police
IN Palestine where the knife is carried by a large percentage
of the population it is not to be wondered at that the majority
of the murders are committed with this weapon.
The
knife
is usually of the dagger type possessing a curved blade varying
from fifteen to twenty-five centimetres in length with a breadth
at the hilt of from three to five centimetres.
The
hilt is of
wood or bone covered with metal, more often than not pieces
of an old petrol tin, and shaped to fit the hand.
The
whole
provides a rather clumsy weapon which does not lend itself
to throwing.
The
assailant, therefore, can rarely be more
than two or three feet away from his victim at the time of the
assault.
Considerable force is required to drive one of these blades
home, and almost invariably sufficient blood spurts from the
wound to mark the clothes of the attacker; in any case blood
is forced up between the blade and hilt or underneath the
covering of the hilt. Whilst it is a comparatively simple
matter to send the knife, clothes, etc., of one suspect to the
Government Analyst for ascertainment of blood-stains, it is
an entirely different proposition when the offence is committed
in a village or encampment half a day's journey from the
nearest town.
If
the murder was the outcome of a family feud
(the vendetta habit still persists in Palestine) suspicion may
fall on the male members of a whole tribe or section of a
village, all of whom may have blood-like stains on their
clothing.
The
obvious thing to do in such a case is to detain
them all on suspicion and send their clothing to the Analyst.
Not
only does this entail great expense,
but
the time taken to
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