Criminology and Forensic Science

The Department of Forensic Science was established under the leadership of Shri. K. P. Venkateshmurthy, I.P.S., in the Karnatak Science College, Dharwad in 1965. It was the first such Department (focusing on Criminology and Forensic Science) in South India. The Department offers Criminology and Forensic Science as optional subjects for B.A. and B.Sc. Degree courses, respectively. The Department is presently housed in a separate building, with two spacious halls, named as Dr. E. H. Sutherland Lecture Hall and Lombrso Lecture Hall. There is a well - maintained, good museum in the Department, containing rare collections.

The museum in the Department of Criminology and Forensic Science, K.Sc.C. D has a collection of wax models, photographs of pioneers in the field of Criminology and Forensic Science, charts on motor vehicle and train accidents, photographs of finger prints and footprints and toxicological specimens, among many others. The Department of Criminology and Forensic Science contains two well equipped laboratories and a separate library. The Departmental library has a collection of nearly one thousand books and journals. The Department imparts training to students of Criminology and Forensic Science on various aspects of the subject, like for example, Police Science, Criminology, Penology, Victimology, Forensic Science, Criminal Law and Forensic medicine. The Department arranges exhibitions during Traffic and Crime Prevention week, with the co-operation of the local police. The Study Circle in the Department of Criminology and Forensic Science is named after the well - known Criminologist Dr. Walter Reckless. The Walter Reckless Study Circle arranges Seminars, Symposium and Debates in order to train the students in academic pursuits.