• Hair is part of evidence that is collected at a crime scene.lab tools image by PHOTOFLY from Fotolia.com
  
  It may look like a hair to you, but to a crime lab technician, it holds the answers to a violent crime. Hair is one of the most important types of evidence gathered, as it provides information about what happened during the crime. With today's DNA technology, a criminal can be caught with minimal evidence---just one strand of hair.
  
  

Body Area

• Technicians examine hairs to determine if they are from the head or body. Head hairs may have dyes or permanents, and the technicians can see what texture the perpetrator's hair is too. Facial hairs can link the perpetrator to the victim and make it known that there was some contact between them. Pubic and body hairs are helpful in a rape situation.
  
  

Ethnicity

• Hairs can help scientists determine what race the attacker is. Caucasian hairs may be finer and straighter than Asian or African hair, which may be courser and thicker in texture.
  
  

Age

• Hair can tell technicians a lot about a person's age. Hair that's very fine can indicate a baby or older person. Brittle hair suggests an older age, as our hair becomes coarser as we get older.