Essay Sample on The Effectiveness of Sherlock Holmes as a Detective

Introduction

Sherlock Holmes, an imaginary character created by Arthur Conan Doyle is with no doubt the world's greatest detective. His work has inspired detectives of the modern world and shaped today's forensic science. The writer produced over 56 stories of the detective Sherlock Holmes, with each work revealing a better way to deal with criminals (Doyle, and Boylan 5). The detective is depicted as a character whose traits and ability is inborn, making him the most effective and knowledgeable detective of his era. Beside his profound knowledge in chemistry, anatomy, politics, practical geology, botany, law, literature, and psychology, he was good at combat and used clever disguise to solve world mysteries making him world best effective detective. The author of Sherlock Holmes has influenced modern world detectives and a criminal investigation by use of technology and methods beyond his time such as fingerprints and footprint analysis, coding and use of ciphers, and handwriting analysis, making him the most effective and influential detective of all times (Doyle, and Boylan 15).

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The effectiveness of a detective is measured by the ability to solve cases while working within the limits of the law. Michael Black, an author, and a retired police detective cite that in his police work he has been trying to emulate the works of Sherlock Holmes. Black highlights that Sherlock Holmes works were ahead of his time. Modern world police and detectives emulate his ability to work backward from a crime scene in determining how the crime happened. The fictional character has for so long been incarnated through the centuries, described in movies and plays to extend his effectiveness as a detective has inspired many investigators (Righetti, and Boschetti 898).

Detective Works

Sherlock Homes was able to use a simple wet footprint in a crime scene to reveal tiny details such as weight, height, occupation, and weight carried by the suspected criminal. Most of the evidence he collected on crime scenes were accurately used to discover and capture suspects. In the book, The adventures of the Copper Beeches, he indicates that details that seem irrelevant are very helpful in solving a case. His ability to work backward from the crime scene to the crime, and into the mentality of the criminal has shaped many of today's detective works well portrayed in movies.

Fingerprints

Sherlock Holmes book In the sign of Four was published in 1890. Before the book was published, Scotland yard and Victoria were not using fingerprint in tracking or finding criminals. In this book, the writer uses the character, Holmes, to show the importance of fingerprints to investigations. One of the inspectors in the book the adventure of the Norwood Builder had McFarlane help for murder; Sherlock used fingerprints to prove that he was innocent. Eleven years after the publication of the book, the fingerprint identification process was implemented in Scotland Yard. Today fingerprints are widely used in all nations for matching and identification in criminals' investigations and also in voting ("A Sherlock Holmes Story").

Detectives, as alleged in crime movies, show that much evidence is collected in a crime scene, from simple footprint to fingerprints on the wine glass. Sherlock series of the book show that success in a crime scene is based on the ability of the detectives to collect the correct samples.

Coding

Technology is used today by detectives to investigate the crime. The primary source of today's technology lies in understanding computer coded language. Criminals use coded language to communicate and carry out their activities. During Victorian times, criminal also used coded language to communicate, which proved hard to comprehend for the detectives of the times. Sherlock Holmes cited that clues were hidden in codes and ciphers and until there was a system to unravel them, criminal activities will continue to thrive (Righetti, and Boschetti 902). In Valley of Fear, Conan highlights that the existence of coded message relies on the understanding the code. Sherlock was able to identify hidden messages left by a criminal. Use of ciphers was later applied during world war in encoding the messages sent by the enemy. Ciphers were used by a serial killer in 1960 who murdered five people each leaving messages in the form of cryptograms. Only one of them was solved in the famous case of the Zodiac killer.

Handwriting

Today's authors use technology such as a computer to write their works. In Victorian London times, the handwriting was the primary tool of chatting down ideas. From one's handwriting, Sherlock Holmes was able to deduce so many characteristics of the author. In the book The Problem of Thor Bridge, the author states "We must look for consistency where there is a want of it, we must suspect deception" (Doyle, and Boylan 60). Sherlock was able to identify the gender, class, and maturity of the author of a script by looking at the angle and consistency of the written words. One of the wills given to the detective for analysis was used in finding that the writer was under duress by looking at the wordings and penmanship of the will. Today, despite the use of computers and print media, detectives use Sherlock's analysis procedure to determine forgery, suicide notes, and psychologically profiling criminals by the handwriting.

Deductions

Holmes uses deductive reasoning in almost all his book portraying him as a wise person. The ability to see the unseen in the crime scene made Holmes the best detective of all times. Evidence left out by detectives owing to their perceived unimportance is the ultimate clue to solving a case. In one of the books, Sherlock solves a murder case by using what other detectives ignore. He found out that a dead woman's ring was dirty on the inside, clean on the outside and out of fashion. Using deductive reasoning, Holmes concluded that the woman was married for ten years when she received the ring. Also, she was having an affair in which she would remove her ring and put it back when she goes home. Using this information Holmes was able to conclude that the woman's murderer was her husband. Today's detective emulates Holmes deductive reasoning to solve cases paying attention to minor details such as scratches, tan lines, and damp collars. His works are taught in police academies to enhance skills of modern detectives.

Trace Evidence and Scientific Knowledge

In the book, The Great Game, Holmes uses a microscope to study footprints left in the crime scene by a suspect. He discovers pollen on the print which he further analyses it, finding the origin of the pollen to be Sussex, which was far from the crime scene. From these findings, the detective was able to identify the shoe owner and consequently to solve the case accurately. These techniques are used today in an analysis of geological material and archeological research.

Forensic

Sir Conan is credited most for his works which have influenced forensic. Toxicology is the study of detection of poison. Conan works have shown the ability of the character to sniff and find poison in murder scenes. He was able to identify botulinum poison in the shoes of a suspect in the book The Great Game. In 2000, toxicology was used in convicting a murder suspect who used toxic diamorphine to kill 218 people (Righetti, and Boschetti 905).

Conclusion

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most effective detectives to have ever been created, even though he is a fictional character, his abilities and works have influenced many aspects of investigations. There is no history of the birth of the detective or his upbringing to deduct his abilities to solve cases ("A Sherlock Holmes Story"). Hence it is assumed that it was out of passion and inborn talent to be a competent private investigator. Sir Conan in his 60 books of Sherlock Holmes, he depicts him as a perfect detective with the extraordinary ability to solve cases. Holmes's most remarkable abilities include the use of deductive reasoning, ability to solve cases by use of scientific methods that had not been discovered, and discovery of footprints and fingerprint techniques. Sherlock techniques are the pioneer of modern-day forensic science and investigations. Holmes wrote educational material that is used by a police detective.

Works Cited

"A Sherlock Holmes Story.". Nytimes.Com, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/20/archives/a-sherlock-holmes-story.html. Accessed 2 Dec 2018.Doyle, Arthur Conan, and Roger Boylan. Sherlock Holmes. Race Point Publishing, 2015.

Righetti, Pier Giorgio, and Egisto Boschetti. "Sherlock Holmes And The Proteome A Detective Story". FEBS Journal, vol 274, no. 4, 2007, pp. 897-905. Wiley, doi:10.1111/j.1742-4658.2007.05648.x.