Investigation of the variability in the tool marks produced by modified blank firing pistols on fired 7.65 mm projectiles

Firearms identification has an important place in forensic ballistic investigations since the weapons are widely used in criminal offences. Firearm examiners resolve many case files, through the use of automatic systems or comparison microscopes. Advanced forensic technologies like BALİSTİKA helps to record and analyze non standard ballistic evidence. In today's world, with the ease of access to materials and production technique information, pistols modified from blank firers are frequently encountered as crime tools. In this study, the characteristics of 7.65 mm fired cartridge cases obtained by controlled shots from blank firing modified pistols were examined, and their detection performances were compared by means of the Balistika system. Although distinctive differences are not expected after successive test shootings, balistically important changes were seen after the use of blank firing modified pistols and the 3D imaging system proved to be useful in observing such differences. The analyses showed that the modifications in weapons lead to variation in the ballistic characteristics and reduce the accuracy of the detection performance, which may result in flawed forensic decisions. It was also found that the deviations in ballistic impressions of modified blank firing pistols were greater than that of standard fabricated and hand-made pistols. This unique study contributed to the forensic sciences literature by focusing on the impact of modified weapons on ballistic characteristics.     

Preparing ballistic gelatine--review and proposal for a standard method

Meaningful assessment and comparisons on the injury potentials of various types of ammunition and credible forensic reconstruction require an agreement on standard tissue simulant. Gelatine blocks are relatively inexpensive and easy to produce and they meet most of the criteria for a good terminal ballistic simulant. This research looks into the variables of preparing ballistic gelatine and their effects on penetration resistance. It was found out that consistent quality gelatine blocks are easy to make and that the variables like water temperature have a far smaller effect than previously thought. Also water acidity variances allowed by European Council directive on drinking water do not have any measurable effect. A proposed standard method for gelatine preparation is presented together with penetration function for verification of gelatine quality.     

中世纪欧洲法医学溯源

法医学是应用病理学、生物学、生物化学和其他医学科学理论和技能解决法律问题,为侦查和审判提供证据的科学。法医学学科属性是医学,其目的是解决法律问题,因而法医学同时具有自然科学和人文科学属性。现今,我们对于法医学的研究往往局限在自然科学领域,而对其人文学科属性却有所忽视。当代西方法医学起源自中世纪的欧洲大陆,当时罗马法和教会法占统治地位,它们没有设立陪审团制度,而且允许对嫌疑人进行刑讯逼供,而英美法系的司法审判程序设立了陪审团制度。在这两种司法体制下,法医医学证言、证词逐步形成了两种形式：英美法系控诉式诉讼体制下的言辞证据形式和罗马法诉讼中纠问体制下的书证形式。本文将对中世纪欧洲的法医学进行溯源研究,从欧洲法医学的起源和发展角度,完善法医学史研究内容,为世界法医学史比较研究提供借鉴。     

Evaluation of an electronic comparison system and implementation of a quantitative effectiveness criterion

The identification of fired bullets and spent cartridge cases is one of the key tasks of forensic science. The traditional comparison of signatures on specimen with a large collection with only a microscope is a very tedious and time-consuming work. Fortunately, electronic systems for performing a pre-selection have been invented since the last 25 years. On the basis of an expansive database the electronic comparison system used by the BKA, Germany, is evaluated and a mathematical value is proposed to rate the correlation quality. This effectiveness criterion can be valuable to give an objective assessment of different electronic comparison systems. Additionally, the applicability of the system on different calibres and land engraved area (LEA) width is discussed. The so called scores are also on disposition and their benefit to a decision-making is debated.     

The Status of Forensic Anthropology in Europe and South Africa: Results of the 2016 FASE Questionnaire on Forensic Anthropology

One of the goals of the Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) is to map the existing education and practice opportunities in the field of forensic anthropology in order to support the development of the discipline and to optimize the training courses provided by the Society. To address this goal, an online questionnaire was sent to European and South African practitioners of forensic anthropology and related disciplines in 2016. The results of the questionnaire showed that the status and roles of forensic anthropologists vary depending on the national legal systems, education, and employment status of the practitioners. Despite the fact that the expertise of forensic anthropologists has been increasingly requested in a variety of investigations and the spectrum of tasks has become broader, including identification of living persons, specialized education in forensic anthropology is still restricted to a few graduate and postgraduate programs in European countries and to annual FASE courses.     

Ballistic fingerprinting databases

This article discusses a number of questions regarding the setting up of ballistic fingerprinting databases, consisting of ammunition components fired by all the firearms held in legal possession. These questions can be classified into three categories--the efficiency of the database, forensic issues, and practical issues to be dealt with. The current New York State legislation is used as an illustration of the choices to be made when setting up a ballistic fingerprinting database. Three important arguments are formulated against the installation of a ballistic fingerprinting database.     

A brief history of the formation of DNA databases in forensic science within Europe

The introduction of DNA analysis to forensic science brought with it a number of choices for analysis, not all of which were compatible. As laboratories throughout Europe were eager to use the new technology different systems became routine in different laboratories and consequently, there was no basis for the exchange of results. A period of co-operation then started in which a nucleus of forensic scientists agreed on an uniform system. This collaboration spread to incorporate most of the established forensic science laboratories in Europe and continued through two major changes in the technology. At each step agreement was reached on which systems to use. From the beginning it was realised that DNA databases would provide the criminal justice systems with an efficient way of crime solving and consequently some local databases were created. It was not until the introduction of the amplification technology linked to the analysis of short tandem repeats that a sufficiently sensitive and robust system was available for the formation of efficient and effective DNA databases. Comprehensive legislation enacted in the UK in 1995 enabled forensic scientists to set up the first national DNA database which would hold both personal DNA profiles together with results obtained from crime scenes. Other countries quickly followed but in some the legislation has severely restricted the amount and type of data which can be retained and, therefore, effectiveness of the databases is limited. The widespread use of commercially produced multiplex kits has produced a situation in which nearly all European laboratories are using compatible systems and there is, therefore, the potential for the introduction of a pan-European DNA database. However, the exchange of results between countries is hampered by the various legislations which currently exist.     

Automated event and social network extraction from digital evidence sources with ontological mapping

The sharp rise in consumer computing, electronic and mobile devices and data volumes has resulted in increased workloads for digital forensic investigators and analysts. The number of crimes involving electronic devices is increasing, as is the amount of data for each job. This is becoming unscaleable and alternate methods to reduce the time trained analysts spend on each job are necessary.This work leverages standardised knowledge representations techniques and automated rule-based systems to encapsulate expert knowledge for forensic data. The implementation of this research can provide high-level analysis based on low-level digital artefacts in a way that allows an understanding of what decisions support the facts. Analysts can quickly make determinations as to which artefacts warrant further investigation and create high level case data without manually creating it from the low-level artefacts. Extraction and understanding of users and social networks and translating the state of file systems to sequences of events are the first uses for this work.A major goal of this work is to automatically derive ‘events’ from the base forensic artefacts. Events may be system events, representing logins, start-ups, shutdowns, or user events, such as web browsing, sending email. The same information fusion and homogenisation techniques are used to reconstruct social networks. There can be numerous social network data sources on a single computer; internet cache can locate Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus caches; email has address books and copies of emails sent and received; instant messenger has friend lists and call histories. Fusing these into a single graph allows a more complete, less fractured view for an investigator.Both event creation and social network creation are expected to assist investigator-led triage and other fast forensic analysis situations.     

Control systems/SCADA forensics,what's the difference?

Immature IT security, increasing network connectivity and unwavering media attention is causing an increase in the number of control system cyber security incidents. For forensic examinations in these environments, knowledge and skills are needed in the field of hardware, networks and data analysis. For forensic examiners, this paper is meant to be a crash course on control systems and their forensic opportunities, focussing on the differences compared to regular IT systems. Assistance from experienced field engineers during forensic acquisition of control systems seems inevitable in order to guarantee process safety, business continuity and examination efficiency. For people working in the control system community, this paper may be helpful to get an idea about specific forensic issues about which they would normally not bother, but may be crucial as soon as their systems are under attack or become part of a law enforcement investigation. For analysis of acquired data, existing tools for network security monitoring have useful functionality for forensic applications but are designed for real-time acquisition and often not directly usable for post-mortem analysis of acquired data in a forensically sound way. The constant and predictable way in which control systems normally behave makes forensic application of anomaly-based threat detection an interesting topic for further research.     

Cross-border certified electronic mailing: A European perspective

Certified mail is the tool of choice in business processes and proceedings to deliver mail items in a secure and susbstantiated way. By returning a receipt, the sender has proof that a document has been delivered to the designated recipient at a certain point in time. Standard electronic communication systems like e-mail do not have the same evidential value as certified mail for traditional postal mail delivery. To benefit from the security advantages of certified mail delivery in the electronic world, in recent years governments have made several certified mail systems available on the Internet. Like postal certified mail delivery of documents in administrative or judicial matters, the certified electronic mail delivery in these systems is regulated by law. With ongoing (digital) globalization and the continuously increasing Digital Single Market in the European Union, there is a strong need for cross-border certified electronic mail. In the past the European Community has started several interoperability initiatives to couple existing certified electronic mail systems. Even if these systems can be made interoperable on a technical level, a harmonized legal basis is still missing. Therefore, the European community is currently working towards a new regulatory framework for trusted services including certified electronic mail. This article sheds light on both aspects and discusses the current state of affairs of cross-border certified electronic mail from both a technical (security) and legal perspective and explains the proposed new regulatory framework.     

Study of unusual phenomenon of contact firing on gelatine block using .38 Special revolver--forensic importance

Gunshot wounds in suicide cases are self-inflicted wounds. Self-inflicted wounds in suicide cases are usually caused by contact firing and are of great forensic significance. Evaluation of contact wound may be associated with difficulties if the bore gets obstruction prior to firing. This paper investigates the phenomenon and interprets the results of test firing conducted on 20% gelatine block at 10 degrees C, using .38 Special revolver with obstruction of a bullet in the bore. Test firings were conducted in three different muzzle-target contact conditions keeping the muzzle pressed against the gel block in each case. The physical evidence and the wound ballistic parameter namely bullet track, remaining velocity of the bullets and volume of permanent cavity have been studied. When compared with the results of contact firing conducted with the same firearm without having any bore obstruction under similar conditions, it has been found that the physical evidence and the wound ballistic parameters would be helpful for interpretation of such unusual incidents for forensic inference.     

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.     

我国司法鉴定的法治化研究

司法鉴定的法治建设是鉴定制度建设的重要目标,也是我国法治进程的重要环节。我国司法鉴定制度应当在原有的司法鉴定特色和文化的基础上,结合现代法治理念,以公正和效率为价值目标,建立科学和完善的司法鉴定制度。我国的司法鉴定立法应当结合我国相关诉讼法律制度修改的契机,在逐步完善现有法律规范的基础上,建设统一完备的司法鉴定专门法。     

电子邮件真实性鉴定方法探索

2012年3月14日通过的《刑事诉讼法》中将“电子数据”确立为一种证据种类。由于电子数据容易复制和修改,通常需要对其进行真实性鉴定后才能作为证据采信。我国电子数据司法鉴定相关技术的研究起步较晚,体系建设不完全。通过选取电子数据真实性鉴定中最常见的电子邮件,结合实际案例中积累的实践经验,对电子邮件真实性鉴定方法进行一系列的探索和归纳．旨在促进行业内技术交流,推进研究成果向实际应用的转化。     

Electronic health record: Wiring Europe’s healthcare

The European Commission wants to boost the digital economy by enabling all Europeans to have access to online medical records anywhere in Europe by 2020. With the newly enacted Directive 2011/24/EU on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare due for implementation by 2013, it is inevitable that a centralised European health record system will become a reality even before 2020. However, the concept of a centralised supranational central server raises concern about storing electronic medical records in a central location. The privacy threat posed by a supranational network is a key concern. Cross-border and Interoperable electronic health record systems make confidential data more easily and rapidly accessible to a wider audience and increase the risk that personal data concerning health could be accidentally exposed or easily distributed to unauthorised parties by enabling greater access to a compilation of the personal data concerning health, from different sources, and throughout a lifetime.     

体内弹道射击角度的计算与分析

目的　推断被枪击者在中弹瞬间所处的位置和姿势以及枪支击发时的位置。方法　采用立体几何作图法和三角函数计算法进行体内弹道射击角度计算。结果　可以准确计算枪弹弹道与人体解剖学三维断面———矢状面、冠状面、水平面产生的角度。结论　可以确定被枪击者中弹瞬间的位置及体位或枪支击发时的位置 ,对分析案件性质有非常重要的法医学意义     

美国法庭科学证据的应用与发展

＂法庭科学＂萌芽于古代中国,兴盛于近现代西方国家,最终发展成为具备完整科学体系的现代意义上的法庭科学学科。法庭科学证据的应用与发展显然与法庭科学的发展与应用密切相关,它们相互制约,相互促进。美国司法制度中关于法庭科学证据的证明力、可信度、可采性的分立质疑对法庭科学本身的发展无疑起到鞭策与促进作用。美国法庭科学证据的司法制度以及常用的一些传统与高技术法庭科学证据的使用过程中存在的许多问题,理解法庭科学证据标准,对我国法庭科学及其证据的研究与应用有所启迪。     

Potential Use in Forensics of a Novel Hybrid Gelatin—Dynamic Impact Assessment

Ballistic gelatin as simulant of the human body and organs is a support in forensics. After having obtained very good results for a new gelatin‐based composite in terms of physicochemical and rheological properties, this study focused on this material's mechanical behavior during stabbing and shooting versus bovine and porcine organs and standard ballistic gelatin. The hybrid gelatin has a predominantly elastic behavior at 23°C, whereas the elastic modulus becomes practically constant in the 10–0.1 Hz frequency range. In terms of stabbing behavior, the small variations obtained between porcine organs and surrogate are below 5%, the perforation indicating a good similarity. From the ballistic test results using 10 × 28T rubber balls, it has been seen that the hybrid ballistic gelatin conducts to more reliable and reproducible values of perforation/penetration versus standard gelatin, making from it a real candidate for use in forensic tests.     

Forensic pathology on the threshold of the 21st century and the need for harmonization of current practice and training: the Greek concept

Our era is characterized by the globalization of crime. This poses to all democratic countries the urgent need to reform their systems to fight crime more effectively. Forensic sciences remain an integral part of the system against crime. This scientific field can also offer valuable knowledge regarding the causes of death. From an epidemiologic point of view, this can result in better organization of prevention measures for the best interests of the community. Harmonization and collaboration in the operation of the various forensic systems that presently exist around the world is of paramount importance if effective prevention of crime and other causes of death in contemporary reality is to be achieved. In addition, revision of training in forensic pathology and forensic sciences is essential if harmonizing the forensic systems is to succeed. This report provides an overview of the wide variation in the operation of forensic systems and training. Emphasis is given to the importance of their harmonization, and an attempt is made to explore principles that may contribute along these lines. Finally, the authors provide proposals for revision of the training system in forensic pathology in Greece.     

Injuries of the Head from Backface Deformation of Ballistic Protective Helmets Under Ballistic Impact

Modern ballistic helmets defeat penetrating bullets by energy transfer from the projectile to the helmet, producing helmet deformation. This deformation may cause severe injuries without completely perforating the helmet, termed “behind armor blunt trauma” (BABT). As helmets become lighter, the likelihood of larger helmet backface deformation under ballistic impact increases. To characterize the potential for BABT, seven postmortem human head/neck specimens wearing a ballistic protective helmet were exposed to nonperforating impact, using a 9 mm, full metal jacket, 124 grain bullet with velocities of 400–460 m/s. An increasing trend of injury severity was observed, ranging from simple linear fractures to combinations of linear and depressed fractures. Overall, the ability to identify skull fractures resulting from BABT can be used in forensic investigations. Our results demonstrate a high risk of skull fracture due to BABT and necessitate the prevention of BABT as a design factor in future generations of protective gear.