Recovery and detection of urea nitrate in traces

Urea nitrate (uronium nitrate, UN) is a powerful improvised explosive, frequently used by terrorists in the Israeli arena. It was also used in the first World Trade Center bombing in New York in February 1993. It is difficult to identify UN in postexplosion debris, because in the presence of water it readily decomposes to its original components, urea and nitric acid. A method for the recovery and detection of urea nitrate in traces is described. The residues are extracted with hot acetone, and the extract chromatographed on chromosorb G-HP. The eluent is analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). By applying this technique, we were able to identify urea nitrate in actual exhibits. It was found that UN can be also formed during the analytical procedure, by certain combinations of urea, nitrate ions, and a source of protons and, hence, the presence of the characteristic adduct ion does not necessarily indicate an "authentic" urea nitrate. Several solutions are suggested to overcome this ambiguity.     

Cannabinoids determination in oral fluid by SPME–GC/MS and UHPLC–MS/MS and its application on suspected drivers

The confirmation of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in oral fluid (OF) is an important issue for assessing Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID). The aim of this research was to develop a highly sensitive method with minimal sample pre-treatment suitable for the analysis of small OF volumes (100 μL) for the confirmation of cannabinoids in DUID cases. Two methods were compared for the confirmation of THC in residual OF samples, obtained from a preliminary on-site screening with commercial devices. An ultra high performance LC–MS (UHPLC–MS/MS) method and an SPME–GC/MS method were hence developed. 100 μL of the residual mixture OF/preservative buffer or neat OF was simply added to 10 μL of THC-D3 (1 μg/mL) and submitted to the two different analyses: A — direct injection of 10 μL in UHPLC–MS/MS in positive electrospray ionisation (ESI) mode and B — sampling for 30 min with SPME (100 μm polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS fibre) and direct injection by desorption of the fibre in the GC injection port.The lowest limit of detection (LLOD) of THC was 2 ng/mL in UHPLC–MS/MS and 0.5 ng/mL in SPME–GC/MS. In addition, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) could be detected in GC/MS equipment at 2 ng/mL, whilst in UHPLC–MS/MS the LLOD was 20 ng/mL.Both methods were applied to 70 samples coming from roadside tests. By SPME–GC/MS analysis, THC was confirmed in 42 samples, whilst CBD was detected in 21 of them, along with CBN in 14 samples. THC concentrations ranged from traces below the lowest limit of quantification or LLOQ (2 ng/mL) up to 690 ng/mL.     

Determination of amphetamine-type stimulants,ketamine and metabolites in fingernails by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous qualification and quantification of methamphetamine (MA), amphetamine (AP), 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-amphetamine (MDA), ketamine (KET) and norketamine (NKT) in fingernails. Fingernail samples (20 mg) were washed with distilled water and methanol, digested with 1.0 M sodium hydroxide at 95 °C for 30 min, and then extracted with ethyl acetate. Extract solutions were evaporated to dryness, derivatized using heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA) at 60 °C for 30 min, and analyzed by GC–MS. The linear ranges were 0.1–20.0 ng/mg for AP, MDMA and NKT, 0.2–20.0 ng/mg for MA and MDA, and 0.4–20.0 ng/mg for KET, with the coefficients of determination (r² ≥ 0.9989). The intra- and inter-day precisions were within 7.1% and 10.6%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day accuracies were ?10.9% to 0.8% and ?4.3% to 4.5%, respectively. The limits of detections (LODs) and the limits of quantifications (LOQs) for each analyte were lower than 0.094 ng/mg and 0.314 ng/mg, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 72.3–94.9%. The average fingernail growth rates of two subjects for three years and six subjects for two months were 3.12 mm/month and 3.16 mm/month, respectively. The method proved to be suitable also for the simultaneous detection and quantification of MA, MDMA, KET and their metabolites in fingernails.     

Fast quantification of 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCA) using microwave-accelerated derivatisation and gas chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive determination of cannabinoids in urine is important in many fields, from workplace drug testing over toxicology to the fight against doping. The detection of cannabis abuse is normally based on the quantification of the most important metabolite 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCA) in urine. In most fields THCA needs to be present at a concentration of exceeding 15 ng/mL before a positive result can be reported.The method described in this paper, combines a 4 min GC–MS/MS method with a fast sample preparation procedure using microwave assisted derivatisation in order to complete the quantification of THCA in urine in 30 min, using only 1 mL of urine.The method is selective, linear over the range 5–100 ng/mL and shows excellent precision and trueness and hence, the estimated measurement uncertainty at the threshold level is small. The method also complies with applicable criteria for mass spectrometry and chromatography. Therefore the method can be used for rapid screening and confirmatory purposes.     

Trace analysis of urea nitrate by liquid chromatography-UV/fluorescence

In this paper we have adapted a technique, previously used to determine the presence of urea in aqueous samples of wine and urine, to detect trace levels of urea nitrate explosives. The procedure involves the reaction of the uronium ion (protonated urea) with a fluorophore, xanthydrol. By modification of the procedure to utilize non-aqueous reagents, in neutral conditions, it can be made specific to the presence of the urea nitrate ion pair. The procedure includes selective detection of derivatization products by UV and fluorescence following separation by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Analytical method development included optimization of HPLC conditions (solvent, gradient), UV and fluorescence wavelengths, and derivatization parameters (xanthydrol amount, reaction times, temperature). The extraction of urea nitrate from surfaces was also investigated and optimized. For best quantification, it was shown that an internal standard was required; this resulted in a quantification limit around 0.17mM (21mg/L). The entire procedure could be performed in less than 30min per sample and potential interferences such as ammonium, nitrate, and urea did not produce a response under standard conditions.     

Evaluation of the composition of street cocaine seized in two regions of Brazil

This work evaluates cocaine purity and the concentration ranges of adulterants and inorganic constituents for 31 street cocaine samples seized in two different regions of Brazil from July 2008 to May 2010. Cocaine and adulterants, such as caffeine, lidocaine and benzocaine, were quantified by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the inorganic constituents were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and ion chromatography (IC). The cocaine concentrations in the samples seized in the Amazonas state (AM samples) ranged from 154 to 978 mg g^? 1, and these samples did not contain any of the adulterants studied. The cocaine concentrations in the samples seized in the Minas Gerais state (MG samples) ranged from 63.9 to 753 mg g^? 1. Caffeine was the main adulterant found in 76% of the MG samples, ranging in concentration from 5.5 to 645.3 mg g^? 1. Lidocaine was found in 66.7% of the MG samples, with concentrations ranging from 16.3 to 576.7 mg g^? 1. Benzocaine was found in only one MG sample, at a concentration of 84.8 mg g^? 1. Fourteen elements were identified by ICP-OES, and a wide variation was observed in the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, P, Al, Fe, Mn and Zn. Pearson Product–moment Correlations between the analytes allowed the constituents to be associated with the chemicals used in the manufacturing of cocaine and with some common diluents. The study of the purity of cocaine and the presence and concentration of adulterants and inorganic constituents is important because the latter can have deleterious effects on health.     

Rapid GC–MS confirmation of amphetamines in urine by extractive acylation

Amphetamine and related derivatives are widely abused central- and psychostimulants. Detection of certain derivatives, such as methcathinone, by commonly available immunoassay screening techniques is insufficient. Multi-analyte confirmations for amphetamine type stimulants are therefore required, but traditional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry methods necessitate lengthy analytical procedures with prolonged sample turn-around times. A validated rapid GC–MS assay for urinary confirmation of amphetamine, methamphetamine, methcathinone, ephedrine, norephedrine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methylenedioxyethylamphetamine and N-methyl-1-(3,4 methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine is reported. The method entailed in situ derivatization of urine specimens by extractive acylation with pentafluoropropionic anhydride, followed by rapid chromatography on a microbore capillary column. Analytes were separated in less than 3 min and quantified simultaneously by selected-ion monitoring using stable isotope substituted internal standards. The total instrument cycle-time was 6 min per sample. The limits of detection were between 1.5 ng/mL and 6.25 ng/mL for the various analytes. Intermediate precision and accuracy were in the range of 6.3–13.8% and 90.5–107.3% for the respective analytes at the lower limit of quantitation, and between 5.8–12.6% and 95.4–103.1% for the high control. Long-term storage of methcathinone positive specimens at ?20 °C proved insufficient stability of this analyte. The proposed assay is precise and accurate for confirmation of amphetamine and derivatives in urine. The complementary approach of extractive-derivatization and fast GC–MS analysis is especially applicable in routine clinical settings where reduced sample turn-around times are required. Further investigation of cathinone as a possible metabolite of methcathinone is warranted, based on results from analyzed authentic urine samples.     

Development and validation of highly selective screening and confirmatory methods for the qualitative forensic analysis of organic explosive compounds with high performance liquid chromatography coupled with (photodiode array and) LTQ ion trap/Orbitrap mass spectrometric detections (HPLC-(PDA)-LTQOrbitrap)

An LTQ-Orbitrap FTMS is a new (hybrid) mass spectrometric (MS) analyzer. It allows for the acquisition of full scan MSⁿ (n-stage fragmentations, n = 1 − n) spectra with the linear ion trap detector (LTQ) at high speed and/or with the Fourier Transform-detector (Orbitrap) with ultra high mass resolution (> 60,000 at m/z < 400 amu) and high mass accuracy (≤ 1 ppm with internal calibration). In addition it may be coupled with liquid chromatography (LC) with photo diode array (PDA) detection.Two methods for the forensic screening and confirmation of all common trace explosives in post-blast residues have been developed on this instrument using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). In one run, the nitrogen-containing explosives are analyzed with the combination of “LC-(PDA)-APCI(−)-LTQ MS²/Orbitrap FTMS” (Method 1). In another run, peroxide explosives are analyzed with “LC-APCI(+)-LTQ MS²/Orbitrap FTMS” (Method 2).The performance of both methods has been validated according to procedures defined in the EU COMMISSION DECISION implementing Council Directive 96/23/EC concerning the performance of analytical methods and the interpretation of results (DC 2002/657/EC) and other standards (NEN 17025 and NEN 7777). The methods are highly selective due to the simultaneous utilization of the Orbitrap FTMS and LTQ MS², both of which are highly selective detectors Tested explosive compounds can be detected in the molecular ion form by the Orbitrap analyzer with minimal mass interference in different matrices when using an extremely narrow mass tolerance detection window (≤ 2 ppm). The identification of a detected compound follows an identification point system. Experimental results show that almost all explosive compounds meet the confirmation criteria (minimum 4 points) required for the positive identification by the DC 2002/657/EC.     

Structure elucidation of dyes that are formed in the colorimetric detection of the improvised explosive urea nitrate

Urea nitrate (uronium nitrate, UN) is a powerful, improvised explosive that can be easily made from urea and nitric acid. It is considered the most frequently used, illegal explosive in the Israeli arena, which is responsible for the loss of more than a hundred lives in terrorist incidents. Urea nitrate is a colorless, crystalline substance that looks very much like sugar. A sensitive color test for UN was developed recently. It is based on the formation of a red dye in the reaction between p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde and UN under neutral conditions. A similar reaction with p-dimethylaminobezaldehyde produces a yellow dye. The two dyes have been synthesized, and their structures determined by X-ray crystallography. Both dyes are protonated Schiff bases, prevailing in the crystal in a quinoid form. They are identical to the compounds, which are obtained in the colorimetric detection of urea with the same reagents, under strong acidic conditions, whose structures have been postulated in the literature, but never fully proved experimentally.     

The age estimation of blood stains up to 30 days old using visible wavelength hyperspectral image analysis and linear discriminant analysis

A novel application of visible wavelength hyperspectral image analysis has been applied to determine the age of blood stains up to 30 days old. Reflectance spectra from selected locations within the hyperspectral image, obtained from a portable instrument, were subjected to spectral pre-processing. This was followed by the application of a linear discriminant classification model, making estimations possible with an average error of ± 0.27 days for the first 7 days and an overall average error of ± 1.17 days up to 30 days. This is also the first reported study of the determination of the age of fresh blood stains (less than one day old) with an error of ± 0.09 h. The studies have been made under controlled conditions and represent, at this stage, proof of concept results but also are the most accurate age estimation results for measurements between 0 and 30 days reported to date. The results are consistent with well-established kinetic processes suggesting that the pre-processing stages described are revealing spectroscopic changes which are reliably following the time dependent oxidation of HbO₂. The potential for parameterisation of environmental factors to make the method generally applicable at crime scenes is discussed, along with the developments required to further improve classification and to make the instrument genuinely portable.     

A fatal poisoning involving Bromo-Dragonfly

This paper reports a fatal overdose case involving the potent hallucinogenic drug Bromo-Dragonfly (1-(8-bromobenzo[1,2-b; 4,5-b′]difuran-4-yl)-2-aminopropane). In the present case, an 18-year-old woman was found dead after ingestion of a hallucinogenic liquid. A medico-legal autopsy was performed on the deceased, during which liver, blood, urine and vitreous humour were submitted for toxicological examination. Bromo-Dragonfly was identified in the liver blood using UPLC–TOFMS, and was subsequently quantified in femoral blood (0.0047 mg/kg), urine (0.033 mg/kg) and vitreous humour (0.0005 mg/kg) using LC–MS/MS. Calibration standards were prepared from Bromo-Dragonfly isolated from a bottle found next to the deceased. The structure and purity of the isolated compound were unambiguously determined from analysis of UPLC–TOFMS, GC–MS, HPLC–DAD, ¹H and ¹³C NMR data and by comparison to literature data.The autopsy findings were non-specific for acute poisoning. However, based on the toxicological findings, the cause of death was determined to be a fatal overdose of Bromo-Dragonfly, as no ethanol and no therapeutics or other drugs of abuse besides Bromo-Dragonfly were detected in the liver, blood or urine samples from the deceased. To our knowledge, this is the first report of quantification of Bromo-Dragonfly in a biological specimen from a deceased person. This case caused the drug to be classified as an illegal drug in Denmark on 5th December 2007.     

Gender-related differences in the pharmacokinetics of opiates

Previous studies have documented gender-related differences in a number of aspects of the pharmacology of opiates, including their analgesic activity, stimulative properties and generation of physical dependence. The current experiments were carried out with the aim to examine whether male–female differences exist in the blood and brain levels of opiates attained after their intraperitoneal injection to male and female Wistar rats. The tests were performed 5, 15, 45 and 120 min after the animal treatment with seized heroin. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was developed to quantitatively determine opiate alkaloids in blood and brain regions (known for their high concentration of μ-opiate receptors): cortex, brainstem, amygdala and basal ganglia. Maximal contents of opiates in blood of animals of both genders were found in the second measurement time (15 min), the values measured in the males being significantly higher, which suggests a faster passage of the opiates from blood to brain tissue in female animals. The highest content of opiates in the brain tissue of female animals was measured 15 min and with male animals 45 min after the treatment, which also indicates faster distribution of opiates from blood to brain in the female compared to male rats. The highest proportion of opiates was found in the basal ganglia of the animals of both genders. The obtained results offer the possibility of selecting this part of the brain tissue of both males and females as a representative sample for identifying and assessing contents of opiates.     

Experimental forensic studies of the preservation of pollen in vehicle fires

The implications of the recent recommendations of the Law Commission regarding the use of admissibility tests have the potential to be far reaching for forensic disciplines that rely on the expertise of highly qualified expert witnesses. These disciplines will need a concomitant body of peer-reviewed experiments that provides a basis for the interpretations of such evidence presented in court. This paper therefore, presents such results from two experiments which were undertaken to address specific issues that were raised in cases presented in the British courtroom. These studies demonstrate that there is a variability in the persistence of Lily, Daffodil and Tulip pollen when exposed to high temperatures between 0.5 min and 1440 min (24 h). It was possible to identify all three pollen types after 30 min of exposure to 400 °C, and after shorter time frames the threshold for successful identification was 700 °C after 0.5 min for all pollen types tested and 500 °C for Daffodil and Lily after 5 min of heat exposure. Over longer time periods (18 h (1080 min)) the different pollen types were found to persist in a viable form for identification at 300 °C (Lily), 200 °C (Daffodil) and 50 °C (Tulip). These findings, albeit from a small sample of pollen types, provide empirical contextual information that would contribute to such evidence having sufficient scientific weight to meet admissibility criteria and be viable evidence for a court. These studies demonstrate the value in seeking pollen evidence from even such extreme crime scenes as encountered in vehicular fires.     

A field diagnostic test for the improvised explosive urea nitrate

A sensitive, specific and simple color test for the improvised explosive urea nitrate is described. It is based on the formation of a red pigment upon the reaction between urea nitrate and p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (p-DMAC) under neutral conditions. Urea itself, which is the starting material for urea nitrate, does not react with p-DMAC under the same conditions. Other potential sources of false positive response e.g., common fertilizers, medications containing the urea moiety and various amines, do not produce the red pigment with p-DMAC. Exhibits collected from 10 terrorist cases have been tested with p-DMAC. The results were in full agreement with those obtained by instrumental techniques including GC/MS, XRD and IR.     

Analysis of hair after contamination with blood containing cocaine and blood containing benzoylecgonine

In post-mortem work, blood is a potential source of external contamination of hair. The present study was carried out to investigate the amount of drug absorbed into hair which has been contaminated with blood containing either cocaine or BE. Solutions were prepared containing 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 3.0 μg/mL of either cocaine or BE in human blood. Samples of approximately 3.2 g of drug-free hair were contaminated by soaking in the blood solutions for 5 min. They were then removed and left at room temperature. Approximately 0.5 g of hair was collected from each of the blood soaked hair samples at 6 h, 1, 2, 4 and 7 days after contamination. As each hair sample was collected it was shampoo-washed to prevent further drug absorption. Hair samples were analysed in triplicate using a fully validated method described previously. EME and cocaethylene were also measured in order to find out if cocaine or BE was breaking down to these compounds. Both cocaine and BE were absorbed into hair in significant concentrations when the concentration in the blood was 0.5 μg/mL or greater; cocaine was more readily absorbed than BE. Cocaine broke down to EME (<LOQ) at 0.5 μg/mL and to EME (>LOQ) and BE (<LOQ) at 3.0 μg/mL. When the blood concentration of cocaine was 0.5 μg/mL or less, there was no evidence of it breaking down to form BE. From the samples soaked in blood containing BE, there was no evidence of the BE breaking down. The absorption of drug into hair did not increase as the contamination period increased from 6 h to 7 days.     

Freezing skeletal muscle tissue does not affect its decomposition in soil: Evidence from temporal changes in tissue mass,microbial activity and soil chemistry based on excised samples

The study of decaying organisms and death assemblages is referred to as forensic taphonomy, or more simply the study of graves. This field is dominated by the fields of entomology, anthropology and archaeology. Forensic taphonomy also includes the study of the ecology and chemistry of the burial environment. Studies in forensic taphonomy often require the use of analogues for human cadavers or their component parts. These might include animal cadavers or skeletal muscle tissue. However, sufficient supplies of cadavers or analogues may require periodic freezing of test material prior to experimental inhumation in the soil. This study was carried out to ascertain the effect of freezing on skeletal muscle tissue prior to inhumation and decomposition in a soil environment under controlled laboratory conditions. Changes in soil chemistry were also measured. In order to test the impact of freezing, skeletal muscle tissue (Sus scrofa) was frozen (?20 °C) or refrigerated (4 °C). Portions of skeletal muscle tissue (～1.5 g) were interred in microcosms (72 mm diameter × 120 mm height) containing sieved (2 mm) soil (sand) adjusted to 50% water holding capacity. The experiment had three treatments: control with no skeletal muscle tissue, microcosms containing frozen skeletal muscle tissue and those containing refrigerated tissue. The microcosms were destructively harvested at sequential periods of 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 23, 30 and 37 days after interment of skeletal muscle tissue. These harvests were replicated 6 times for each treatment. Microbial activity (carbon dioxide respiration) was monitored throughout the experiment. At harvest the skeletal muscle tissue was removed and the detritosphere soil was sampled for chemical analysis. Freezing was found to have no significant impact on decomposition or soil chemistry compared to unfrozen samples in the current study using skeletal muscle tissue. However, the interment of skeletal muscle tissue had a significant impact on the microbial activity (carbon dioxide respiration) and chemistry of the surrounding soil including: pH, electroconductivity, ammonium, nitrate, phosphate and potassium. This is the first laboratory controlled study to measure changes in inorganic chemistry in soil associated with the decomposition of skeletal muscle tissue in combination with microbial activity.     

The prevalence of drugs and alcohol found in road traffic fatalities: A comparative study of victims

Researchers have studied the involvement of drugs and alcohol in fatal road traffic incidents, but with particular emphasis on the possible impairment of the driver. This paper describes a comparative study of drug and alcohol findings in various victim groups (drivers of cars, vans or lorries, car passengers, motorcyclists, motorcycle passengers, cyclists and pedestrians) between 2000 and 2006. Post-mortem blood and urine specimens submitted were analysed by immunoassay, GC–NPD, GC–FID, GC–MS and HPLC–DAD. The results of 1047 cases indicated 54% of all victims were positive for drugs and/or alcohol, with the highest percentage of positive findings occurring in pedestrians (63%). Males between the ages of 17–24 were most likely to be involved in a road traffic accident, whether being in control of a vehicle (driver) or involved indirectly (car passenger, pedestrian, motorcycle passenger). A wide range of drugs were detected (e.g. drugs of abuse, anti-convulsants, anti-histamines, anti-inflammatories, anti-psychotics, cardiac drugs and over-the-counter products), but alcohol and cannabinoids were the most frequent substances across the victim groups. When detected, alcohol was commonly above the legal driving limit in blood and urine (> 63% in those in control and > 60% not in control). Overall, the presence of drugs and/or alcohol was of similar frequency in those victims in control (55% of driver, 48% of motorcyclists, 33% of cyclists) and not in control of a vehicle (52% of car passengers, 63% of pedestrians). This degree of frequency strongly implicates the involvement of drugs and alcohol in road traffic incidents and infers an effect on driving ability and individual impairment.     

Transfer of fibres on the hands of living subjects and their persistence during hand washing

Textile fibres were transferred to the hands of ten living subjects and their persistence was determined after hand washing. Average number of fibres transferred was 300 ± 133 (female 288 ± 92, male 311 ± 163) per 100 cm² hand area in the 100 experiments. However the number of fibres transferred was not gender dependent but individual dependent. The hand texture of subjects was compared with the number of fibres transferred but the relationship was not observed. The number of fibres transferred varied significantly for the 10 repeated experiments performed under the same conditions for the same subject.The subjects were then asked to wash their hands with water. One test group washed their hands with standing water, and the other with running tap water. Afterwards, the number of fibres remaining on the test subjects' hands were investigated. Migration of the fibres on the surface of the observed hands did occur but total loss of transferred fibre after hand washing did not occur. The average number of fibres remaining per 100 cm² hand area was 14 ± 10 (range = 3–72) for hand washing with standing water, and 10 ± 12 (range = 0–79) for washing with running tap water. The results of this study show the possibility of finding fibres on the hands of a person involved in a criminal case even after hand washing before fibre collection.     

Multiple murder and criminal careers: A latent class analysis of multiple homicide offenders

PurposeTo construct an empirically rigorous typology of multiple homicide offenders (MHOs).MethodThe current study conducted latent class analysis of the official records of 160 MHOs sampled from eight states to evaluate their criminal careers.ResultsA 3-class solution best fit the data (?2LL = ?1123.61, Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) = 2648.15, df = 81, L² = 1179.77). Class 1 (n = 64, class assignment probability = .999) was the low-offending group marked by little criminal record and delayed arrest onset. Class 2 (n = 51, class assignment probability = .957) was the severe group that represents the most violent and habitual criminals. Class 3 (n = 45, class assignment probability = .959) was the moderate group whose offending careers were similar to Class 2.ConclusionA sustained criminal career with involvement in versatile forms of crime was observed for two of three classes of MHOs. Linkages to extant typologies and recommendations for additional research that incorporates clinical constructs are proffered.     

Pressing need for national governmental recognition of forensic anthropology in South Africa as illustrated in a medico-legal case

Forensic anthropology in South Africa is well developed in the higher education sector, with advanced training and research programmes. Despite this and decades of academic involvement in casework, forensic anthropology still lacks a defined framework and mandate at a governmental level. Therefore, the involvement of forensic anthropologists’ expertise varies markedly between cases, provinces, and among various stakeholders within the country, to the detriment of dispensation of social and criminal justice. The lack of clearly defined guidelines for the rendering of the service was exemplified and demonstrated through a recent forensic case. Here, contextual information was absent, and the remains posed a challenge to analyse, ostensibly due to missing information. Numerous questions were raised during the analysis of the remains, and broader concerns about the investigative involvement of a forensic anthropologist within South African casework were brought to the fore. Through the analysis of this case, we describe the deductive processes that led to the formation of an opinion that the skeletal linear defects were the result of taphonomic changes. In addition, we highlight how these efforts where constrained and each step in the process unnecessarily hindered. Finally, we demonstrate the capacity and willingness of forensic anthropology practitioners to be involved, and how, without governmental support, it is a great potential lamentably untapped.