The Relationship Between Deprivation and Forensic Opportunities with Stolen Vehicles

Abstract:  Collection and interpretation of forensic intelligence (primarily through DNA and fingerprint identifications) is an integral part of the investigation of criminal offenses ranging from burglary and vehicle crime to major crime. The forensic contribution depends not only on the successful recovery of material, but also the ability to identify potential offenders and apply this intelligence to solve the crime. This study examines burglary and vehicle crimes investigated by Northamptonshire Police (U.K.) by analyzing relationships between deprivation of a crime location and the recovery and identification of DNA and fingerprint material. The results show that, for stolen vehicles, although significantly more forensic material (both DNA and fingerprints) is recovered and identified in more deprived neighborhoods, this does not lead to a corresponding increase in solved cases. These findings are considered in relation to previous studies, which have advocated the prioritization of resources at crime scenes most likely to yield forensic material.     

The relationship between the detection of acquisitive crime by forensic science and drug-dependent offenders

Drug- and nondrug-related acquisitive crime offences such as burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft, were compared to assess whether drug abusers were more likely to be apprehended via forensic science techniques. Data were all acquisitive offences committed over a 6-year period within a police force area in England. Drug-dependent offenders committed a wider range of offence types than nondependent offenders, and they were significantly more likely to be detected via their DNA or fingerprints (p < 0.01). A logistic regression (n > 14,000) revealed a number of predictors that influence the detection of the crime by forensic techniques. The results indicate that a number of these predictors are of statistical significance; the most significant of these being drug use by the offender with sex, ethnicity, and employment status also being relevant. Age of the offender and number of offences committed were found not to be significant. Of the four hypotheses considered to explain this, the most likely was thought to be the physical and mental impact of drug use on crime scene behavior. Consideration is given to the disciplines of forensic science and forensic psychology working closely together to distinguish factors that influence crime scene behavior.     

宏基因组学在法医学鉴定中的应用

随着分子生物学与基因组学的发展,宏基因组学在法医学与法医学鉴定中逐渐扮演着重要的角色。近年来,宏基因组学作为研究环境微生物菌群构成与多样性、各成员之间相互关系及与环境之间相互关系的分支学科,在法医学鉴定相关领域的应用也逐渐兴起,并带来了新的契机。本文对宏基因组学研究策略及其在法医学鉴定中个体识别、案发现场生物斑迹来源鉴定及药物滥用检测等方面的应用现状进行了综述,旨在进一步阐明宏基因组学在法医学中的作用与应用价值。     

The effects of deprivation on the time spent examining crime scenes and the recovery of DNA and fingerprints

DNA and fingerprint identifications are now accepted as an integral part of the investigation of a wide range of criminal offences from burglary and auto crime to serious and major crime. Despite this, there is still much variation between U.K. police forces in the recovery of fingerprint and DNA material from crime scenes. Analysis of burglary and auto crime data for Northamptonshire, U.K., during a 3-year period has enabled an examination of the relationship between the deprivation of the neighborhood in which the crime was committed and the level of service provided by Crime Scene Examiners. The results indicate that the time spent examining a crime scene for forensic evidence is not affected by the deprivation of the neighborhood. Further, there is no statistical significance between deprivation and the recovery of fingerprints from the crime scene. The relationship between deprivation and DNA recovery is, however, statistically significant with DNA being recovered more frequently from less deprived neighborhoods.     

耳纹相关问题研究

在法庭科学界,耳纹是一个新兴的研究课题,引起了欧洲、北美诸多法庭科学专家的极大兴趣。耳纹痕迹研究的三项阶段性成果：第一,耳纹痕迹显现提取问题的研究,包括耳纹痕迹的显现方法、显现效果与遗留时间的关系、显现效果与遗留客体的关系以及提取方法等具体问题;第二,耳纹认定人身问题的研究,在小范围耳纹样本实验研究的基础上,讨论了耳纹认定人身的科学性,并且提出耳纹认定人身的步骤、方法及认定标准;第三,根据现场遗留耳纹痕迹推定遗留人身高的研究,通过实验统计分析,试图找到一个公式,根据现场发现的耳纹痕迹遗留高度推定嫌疑人身高。     

单核苷酸多态性与外在可见特征的关联及法医学意义

人群中有很多由基因导致的生理变异,可用于个人识别标志及身份证明。作为第三代遗传标记,单核苷酸多态性（SNP）已被证明与人体的许多表型差异有关。法医学可以利用SNP这个特性,通过检验SNP位点,预测犯罪者的外在可见特征（EVCs）,缩小犯罪嫌疑人范围。     

The future of forensic and crime scene science. Part II. A UK perspective on forensic science education

This paper builds on the views presented by the author at 'The Future of Forensic and Crime Scene Science Conference'. Forensic science has become an increasingly prominent area of science within the last 10 years. This increasing prominence together with popularity in the subject has seen the number of undergraduate students studying forensic science related courses at UK Universities increase rapidly in just 5 years and there are no short term signs of this trend reducing. In 2005, there were 450 courses with forensic in the title offered by higher education institutes. Although the forensic community has expressed its concern that job prospects for these students wishing to pursue careers as forensic scientists will be limited numbers of students undertaking science courses have still increased. The increase in students studying forensic science comes in an era of decreasing science numbers in higher education with the potential to produce high calibre science graduates with sought after skills in critical thinking, analysis, interpretation and communication. Technology has continued to advance at a similar pace providing those responsible for managing crime with a need and opportunity to identify and predict new and future applications of science and technology; not just in reducing and detecting crime but also in predicting how technology will be used by criminals in the future. There is therefore a need for forensic science users, providers and educators to identify the knowledge and skills required by forensic scientists and crime investigators of the future to ensure that technology continues to be used and applied to its full advantage. This provides universities an opportunity to contribute to the development of both the practice and practitioners of forensic science. This paper outlines the current issues facing universities in relation to forensic science and identifies their future role in providing high quality relevant courses for future forensic practitioners; developing current forensic practitioners through their participation in applied research, short courses, conferences and qualifications linked to professional practice; and supporting and developing the practice of forensic and crime scene science, through the identification, engagement and dissemination of pure and applied research.     

Value of DNA evidence in detecting crime

DNA material is now collected routinely from crime scenes for a wide range of offences and the timely processing of the DNA is seen as key to its success in investigating and detecting crime. An analysis of DNA material recovered from the volume crime offences of residential burglary, commercial burglary, and theft of motor vehicle in Northamptonshire, U.K., in 2004 has enabled the DNA to be categorized into seven sources. Further analysis using a logistical regression has revealed a number of predictors, other than timeliness, that greatly influence whether the DNA material recovered from a crime scene enables the crime to be detected. The results indicate that a number of these predictors are of statistical significance and may be just as relevant in determining whether DNA successfully detects the crime as the timeliness of the processing of the DNA material. The most significant predictor was found to be investigating officer accreditation with location, quantity, and type of DNA material at the crime scene also being relevant. Accreditation of the Crime Scene Examiner recovering the DNA material was found not to be significant. Consideration is given to where further emphasis is needed by the U.K. police service to maximize the opportunities to detect volume crime with DNA.     

The current status of forensic science laboratory accreditation in Europe

Forensic science is gaining some solid ground in the area of effective crime prevention, especially in the areas where more sophisticated use of available technology is prevalent. All it takes is high-level cooperation among nations that can help them deal with criminality that adopts a cross-border nature more and more. It is apparent that cooperation will not be enough on its own and this development will require a network of qualified forensic laboratories spread over Europe. It is argued in this paper that forensic science laboratories play an important role in the fight against crime. Another, complimentary argument is that forensic science laboratories need to be better involved in the fight against crime. For this to be achieved, a good level of cooperation should be established and maintained. It is also noted that harmonization is required for such cooperation and seeking accreditation according to an internationally acceptable standard, such as ISO/IEC 17025, will eventually bring harmonization as an end result. Because, ISO/IEC 17025 as an international standard, has been a tool that helps forensic science laboratories in the current trend towards accreditation that can be observed not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world of forensic science. In the introduction part, ISO/IEC 17025 states that "the acceptance of testing and calibration results between countries should be facilitated if laboratories comply with this international standard and if they obtain accreditation from bodies which have entered into mutual recognition agreements with equivalent bodies in other countries using this international standard." Furthermore, it is emphasized that the use of this international standard will assist in the harmonization of standards and procedures. The background of forensic science cooperation in Europe will be explained by using an existing European forensic science network, i.e. ENFSI, in order to understand the current status of forensic science in Europe better. The Council of Europe and the European Union approaches to forensic science will also be discussed by looking at the legal instruments and documents published by these two European organizations. Data collected from 52 European forensic science laboratories will be examined and findings will be evaluated from a quality assurance and accreditation point of view. The need for harmonization and accreditation in forensic science will be emphasized. The steps that should be taken at the European level for increasing and strengthening the role of European forensic science laboratories in the fight against crime will be given as recommendations in the conclusion.     

The contribution of forensic science to crime analysis and investigation: forensic intelligence

The debate in forensic science concentrates on issues such as standardisation, accreditation and de-contextualisation, in a legal and economical context, in order to ensure the scientific objectivity and efficiency that must guide the process of collecting, analysing, interpreting and reporting forensic evidence. At the same time, it is recognised that forensic case data is still poorly integrated into the investigation and the crime analysis process, despite evidence of its great potential in various situations and studies. A change of attitude is needed in order to accept an extended role for forensic science that goes beyond the production of evidence for the court. To stimulate and guide this development, a long-term intensive modelling activity of the investigative and crime analysis process that crosses the boundaries of different disciplines has been initiated. A framework that fully integrates forensic case data shows through examples the capital accumulated that may be put to use systematically.     

Use of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXA) in identification of foreign material on bullets

The authors report two cases in which examination of foreign material embedded in or adherent to bullets provided critical information in the reconstruction of a crime scene. Analysis of small particles by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) can be accomplished without destruction or injury of the particles. In one case, the detection and identification of mineral fragments embedded near the nose of a bullet provided conclusive evidence that the bullet had ricocheted from a fireplace before striking the victim. In the second case, analysis of particles from two bullets identified them as them as bone fragments, thus proving which shots fired from a police officer's gun had killed a suspected burglar. SEM-EDXA has not been widely used to identify such material on bullets, but should be considered a potentially powerful tool in forensic science.     

Messenger RNA Profiling for Forensic Body Fluid Identification： Research and Applications

Identifying the origin of body fluids left at a crime scene can give a significant insight into crime scene reconstruction by supporting a link betw een sample donors and actual criminal acts. How ev-er, the conventional body fluid identification methods are prone to various limitations, such as time con-sumption, intensive labor, nonparallel manner, varying degrees of sensitivity and limited specificity. Re-cently, the analysis of cell-specific messenger RNA expression （mRNA profiling） has been proposed to supplant conventional methods for body fluid identification. Since 2011, the collaborative exercises have been organized by the European DNA Profiling Group （EDNAP ） in order to evaluate the robustness and reproducibility of mRNA profiling for body fluid identification. The major advantages of mRNA profil-ing, compared to the conventional methods, include higher sensitivity, greater specificity, the ability of detecting several body fluids in one multiplex reaction, and compatibilitywith current DNA extraction and analysis procedure. In the current review ,we provided an overview of the present know ledge and detection methodologies of mRNA profiling for forensic body fluid identification and discussed its possi-ble practical application to forensic casew ork.     

Behavioural case linkage with solved and unsolved crimes

Offender behaviour is used to distinguish between crimes committed by the same person (linked crimes) and crimes committed by different people (unlinked crimes) through behavioural case linkage. There is growing evidence to support the use of behavioural case linkage by investigative organisations such as the police, but this research is typically limited to samples of solved crime that do not reflect how this procedure is used in real life. The current paper extends previous research by testing the potential for behavioural case linkage in a sample containing both solved and unsolved crimes. Discrimination accuracy is examined across crime categories (e.g. a crime pair containing a car theft and a residential burglary), across crime types (e.g. a crime pair containing a residential burglary and a commercial burglary), and within crime types (e.g. a crime pair containing two residential burglaries) using the number of kilometres (intercrime distance) and the number of days (temporal proximity) between offences to distinguish between linked and unlinked crimes. The intercrime distance and/or the temporal proximity were able to achieve statistically significant levels of discrimination accuracy across crime categories, across crime types, and within crime types as measured by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. This suggests that behavioural case linkage can be used to assist the investigation, detection and prosecution of prolific and versatile serial offenders.     

物证鉴定中的物证污染问题

物证污染是影响物证鉴定结果的最重要因素之一,它会损害物证鉴定结论质量甚至造成错误的鉴定结论。随着以法医DNA检验为代表的物证鉴定技术检验灵敏度的提高,物证污染出现的可能性及其造成的危害程度都显著增加。物证污染有多种形式和来源,可能发生在犯罪现场或实验室。采取适当的污染防范措施可以有效降低物证污染发生的可能性,及时监测和发现物证污染可以将污染造成的危害降到最低。     

The origin of evidence

Forensic science is an applied science based on the laws of physics and chemistry. Over time, a set of fundamental concepts has developed that apply specifically to a forensic analysis. Traditionally, five concepts have been articulated: transfer, identification, individualization, association between source and target, and reconstruction. We suggest that an additional sixth concept, the idea that matter must divide before it can be transferred, is necessary to complete the paradigm. Divisible matter is particularly useful in describing physical match evidence. Additionally, we propose a paradigm that logically divides into scientific principles that govern the generation of evidence, and processes that pertain to the recognition, analysis, and interpretation of evidence. The principles of divisible matter and transfer pertain to the generation of evidence before and during the crime event; the processes of identification, classification or individualization, association, and reconstruction describe the practice of forensic science starting with the recognition of an item as evidence.     

INFORMAL SURVEILLANCE AND STREET CRIME: A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP*

The systemic crime model predicts that informal surveillance of space reduces street crime. Conversely, community decline theory posits that street crime reduces informal surveillance by increasing residents' perception of risk and fear. Moreover, functions of crime theory suggests that some types of crime may increase surveillance. Using data for 100 urban neighborhoods, the analysis examines these predictions and disentangles reciprocal effects. Baseline recursive equations indicate that informal surveillance is inversely associated with robbery/stranger assault, and that robbery/stranger assault is inversely associated with informal surveillance. In contrast, burglary rates are not affected by informal surveillance, but burglary has a positive effect on surveillance when robbery/stranger assault is controlled. Simultaneous equations indicate that robbery/stranger assault has a moderately strong inverse effect on informal surveillance, and that it is mediated by residents' perceptions of risk. When risk perception is controlled, informal surveillance has an inverse effect on robbery/stranger assault. The latter analysis also indicates that burglary increases surveillance, suggesting that some types of crime serve positive functions. The results, therefore, lend support to systemic, community decline, and functions of crime theory, and they suggest that the relationship between informal surveillance and crime is complex. Implications for community crime research are discussed.     

Effective use of forensic science in volume crime investigations: Identifying recurring themes in the literature

New scientific, technological and legal developments, particularly the introduction of national databases for DNA and fingerprints, have led to increased use of forensic science in the investigation of crime. There is an assumption, and in some instances specific assertions, that such developments bring improvements either in broad criminal justice terms or more narrowly in terms of economic or practical efficiencies. The underlying presumption is that the new technological opportunities will be understood and effectively implemented. This research investigates whether such increases in activity have also been accompanied by improvements in the effective use of forensic science. A systematic review of thirty-six reports published (predominantly in England and Wales) since the 1980s, which have considered the use of forensic science in the investigation of volume crimes, was carried out. These reports have identified a number of recurrent themes that influenced how effectively forensic science was used in investigations. The themes identified included forensic knowledge and training of investigators, communication and information exchange between specialists and investigators, timeliness of forensic results, interagency relationships and deployment of crime scene examiner resources. The research findings suggest that these factors continue to hinder the effective use of forensic science despite technological advances and this paper considers their potential causes.     

Detection and visualization of human tears using alternate light sources for forensic purposes

The current scientific techniques for locating body fluids focus on quick and effective methodologies for easy and reliable identification. Efficient detection and identification of body fluids play a vital role in establishing the ‘corpus delecti’ of a crime. Non-destructive techniques such as the use of Alternate Light Sources (ALS) have been exploited for crime scene searches over large areas and detection of body fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and saliva on a range of substrates. Tears are rarely found but can be considered as potential body fluid evidence due to their unique biochemical and molecular properties. Tears are secreted in response to physical or emotional stimuli. Due to the small volume of secretions, they are often overlooked in the crime scene. Tears may be found on surfaces such as clothing, bedding, tissue, handkerchief, or balaclava. The use of ALS to locate tears on tissue paper and fabric surfaces was tested which were not apparent to the naked eye. Tears stains were successfully detected on surfaces of forensic interest with varying sample ages up to three months with a broad excitation spectrum between 254 nm and 410 nm. Dried stains on tissue paper and fabric substrates were better detected with sharp margins, clear stain pattern visibility, and fluorescence intensity in comparison with moist and fresh stains. Tears stains can hence be detected with the use of ALS and suitable filter combinations under normal conditions and do not require any specific settings to locate them. These findings are suggestive for easy and quick identification of tears on large surfaces and as a presumptive test for forensic casework evidence examination.     

Forensic science does not start in the lab: the concept of diagnostic field tests

An attempt to improve an analytical system can focus either on the actual processing or on the input. In forensic science, much emphasis has been placed on improving laboratory procedures, as though the input is already the best that can be obtained. Means of improving the basic input have gained much less attention. Yet, it must be agreed that even the best laboratory cannot gain from an item more than has been contained in it when it arrived from the field. The detection of latent materials at the crime scene by physical or chemical techniques and the diagnostic examination of material already discovered belong to the concept of diagnostic field tests. This group also includes "mapping" for the presence of certain materials, such as latent fingerprints through the distribution of amino acids on the surface. These tests are conducted outside the laboratory, without sophisticated instrumentation, at the crime scene, the suspect's home, or elsewhere. A significant advantage of the use of diagnostic field tests is the ability to deal with "dissipating evidence" such as gunshot residue or explosive traces on the hands of suspects. If time is lost, there is a risk of losing such evidence, which is liable to deteriorate rapidly. In my presentation, I will discuss older and some newly developed forensic field tests, with specific emphasis on the Israeli experience.