CRIMINALISTICS HAS BECOME AN INDEPENDENT APPLIED SCIENCE DISCIPLINE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE DECADE. BY 1978, THE NUMBER OF PRACTICING CRIMINALISTS (MAINLY BIOLOGISTS AND CHEMISTS) IN REGIONAL AND NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS HAS REACHED 3,000. SIMILARLY, THE NUMBERS OF GOVERNMENT CRIME LABORATORIES HAVE DOUBLED TO 240. CAUSES FOR CRIMINALISTICS EXPANSION INCLUDE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONCERNS OF THE 1960'S LEADING TO VAST INCREASES IN FEDERAL FUNDING, AND DRUG ABUSE INCREASES. PUBLIC INTEREST IN CRIMINALISTICS IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE POPULARITY OF TELEVISION'S FORENSIC SCIENTISTS. ALTHOUGH SUCH INTEREST FURTHERS THE FIELD OF CRIMINALISTICS, DANGERS OF PROFESSIONAL ABUSE AND MISPLACED CONFIDENCE MUST NOT BE OVERLOOKED. CRIMINALISTS PERFORM TWO MAJOR TASKS: IDENTIFICATION AND COMPARISON. IDENTIFICATION INVOLVES THE CHEMICAL IDENTIFICATION OF DRUGS, EXPLOSIVES, AND OTHER MATERIALS, WHILE COMPARISONS ASSESS THE ORIGINS OF OBJECTS. BASIC IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES WERE DEVELOPED BEFORE 1970, BUT HAVE BEEN GREATLY IMPROVED SINCE. SEVERAL TECHNIQUES ARE DESCRIBED (I.E., GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY AND MASS SPECTROMETRY). THE MICROPROCESSOR IS EXAMINED. ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE STANDARDS AND REFERENCE FILES HAS ALSO PROVED IMPORTANT AND IS GROWING AS COMPREHENSIVE DATA BASES ARE DEVELOPED. OTHER TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDE ADVANCES IN BULLET, PAINT, AND FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION; NEW CRIME LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS; TRACE ELEMENT ANALYSIS; ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROMETRY; AND THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF GROWING FISCAL CONSERVATIVISM. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (PAP)