Observations and statistics relating to suicide weapons

The weapon at the scene of a suicide provides a resource in addressing such questions as frequency of blood in or on the weapon, location of the weapon with respect to the body, and evidence of firearm discharge residues on the hand. The first 195 weapons were tested for blood by a technique different from the following 202 weapons. Results were obtained which caused procedural changes in blood detection. Data are presented for frequency of blood in and on the muzzle of weapons, relative frequency of location of suicidal gunshot wound, and percent "positive" findings of gunshot residue metals on the hands. It was found that suicidal gunshot wounds were 3 times more frequent to the head than the chest, and that no significant difference was noted between males and females in this study. Scene photographs reveal that the suicide weapon is in or resting on the hand of the decedent 20% of the time with handguns and 11% of the time with long guns.     

Forensic,medical, and criminalistic description of injuries inflicted by firing the pistol "PB-4"

A case of causing a lethal injury from the PB-4 self-defense pistol (traumatic action bullets) is described. An issue of the relation between notions "a non-lethal gun" and "special-purpose weapon" are under discussion.     

Pseudo-gunpowder stippling caused by fragmentation of a plated bullet

In this report we present a case of pseudo-gunpowder stippling caused by fragmentation of a plated bullet. Investigation of the incident revealed absence of an interposed target, no evidence of ricochet, and a normally functioning, undamaged weapon. Electroplated ("plated" or "coated") bullets are relatively uncommon. They look similar to jacketed bullets in that the lead core is covered by a copper-colored jacketlike material. However, the copper-colored plating material is thinner than the typical jacket material. In certain instances, the plating may strip away from the lead core during transit through the barrel of the weapon and can produce injuries that mimic gunpowder stippling. Forensic pathologists are advised to be aware of this phenomenon. Misinterpretation of such wounds could result in improper classification of range of fire or improper conclusions about the presence or absence of an interposed target or ricochet.     

INFLUENCE AND SELECTION PROCESSES IN WEAPON CARRYING DURING ADOLESCENCE: THE ROLES OF STATUS,AGGRESSION, AND VULNERABILITY*

The role of peers in weapon carrying (guns, knives, and other weapons) inside and outside the school was examined in this study. Data stem from a longitudinal study of a high-risk sample of male students (7th to 10th grade; N = 167) from predominantly Hispanic low-socio-economic-status schools in the United States. Longitudinal social-network models were used to test whether similarity in weapon carrying among friends results from peer influence or selection. From a goal-framing approach, we argue that weapon carrying might function as a status symbol in friendship networks and, consequently, be subject to peer influence. The findings indicate that weapon carrying is indeed a result of peer influence. The role of status effects was supported by findings that weapon carrying increased the number of friendship nominations received by peers and reduced the number of given nominations. In addition, peer-reported aggressiveness predicted weapon carrying 1 year later. These findings suggest that adolescent weapon carrying emerges from a complex interplay between the attraction of weapon carriers for affiliation, peer influence in friendship networks, and individual aggression.     

The characteristics of head wounds inflicted by "humane killer" (captive-bolt gun)--a 15-year study

The "humane killer" or captive-bolt gun, is the tool/weapon widely used in meat industry and private farmer households for slaughtering animal stock. Out of 17,250 autopsies performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Novi Sad during the 15-year period (1991-2005), 29 cases of suicides and two homicides were committed by captive-bolt pistols. Wounds inflicted by captive-bolt guns have specific morphological features, distinctive from wounds made by other kinds of hand firearms. Selected features of the captive-bolt wounds (punched round entrance and a double pattern of smoke soiling) depend on distance and angle of instrument at the time of firing. Autopsy findings were compared with an experimental model consisting of 20 domestic pigs. Obtained results confirmed that the appearance of the entrance hole and soot deposits, along with differences in shape, location, extent, and density of soot blackening, could be useful in identification of weapon, direction of discharge, shooting distance, and angle of the muzzle to the frontal and sagittal planes of the head at the moment of fire.     

Toward a typology of sexual burglary: Latent class findings

Purpose

To understand fully the nature of residential burglary one must examine the situational context, and offender's behavior during the burglary. Although several behaviors appear to be distinctly related to sexual burglaries, including voyeurism, fetishism, sexual violence, and sexual murder, a systematic typology of the characteristics of residential sexual burglary is lacking. The purpose of the study was to develop a typology of residential sexual burglary.

Methods

The present study investigated 224 incidents of residential burglary with recorded sexual components. A typology classifying these incidents was developed using Latent Class Analysis.

Results

Three types of sexual burglary were identified. Fetishistic noncontact burglaries typically occurred in unoccupied houses and involve fetishistic behavior, but no theft, violence, and weapon. Versatile contact burglaries were characterized by rapes occurring in apartments and involving theft, violence, and weapon. Finally, perpetrators of sexually oriented contact burglaries raped their victim in houses but these incidents rarely involved theft, violence, or weapon. Previous offenses were also analyzed; the three distinct types of burglary appear to be embedded in different prior offense histories. The practical implications are discussed.

Conclusions

This research underscores the importance of examining the situational context and offender's behavior during a residential burglary with sexual components.     

The Charge of Hooliganism

Proper attainment of the goals of the administration of justice is possible only if the criminally punishable act is properly charged in strict accordance with the law. The attainment of these goals, particularly in cases of hooliganism, is accompanied by considerable difficulties. The difficulties are due in considerable measure to the inadequate legal definition of the subjective criteria for that crime. Furthermore, such legislative concepts as "employment or attempted employment of a weapon" and "objects specially adapted to do bodily harm" are complicated in content and have given rise to many questions that are unclear or highly debatable.     

用新安全观的视角看加强国际警务合作的必要

冷战后,中国提出以“互信、互利、平等、协作”为核心的新安全观,努力营造长期稳定、安全可靠的国际安全环境。新安全观需要新思维。在以合作求安全、以协商求安全,建立新的安全机制维护安全和坚持反霸反恐并重的思维。新安全观强调重视非传统安全威胁的因素,而国际警务合作是对付恐怖主义和跨国犯罪的有力武器之一,因此,应该用新安全观的视角来看加强国际警务合作的必要。     

Formation of a "crow's foot pattern" in the smoke residue in homicide by forehead gunshot injury

We report a "crowsfoot-like" pattern in the smoke marks around the entrance of a close-range bullet wound in the center of the forehead; the weapon in this homicide was a revolver. This pattern only occurs if the facial muscles that form expression are completely contracted at the moment the shooting occurs and if the victim expects the event. The wrinkles gather around the entrance of the bullet, and this wound pattern may indicate that the shot was expected by the victim and represent a piece of the mosaic that might help clarify the circumstances in a case.     

Characteristics of firearms and gunshot wounds as markers of suicide.

Data from a total of 1,200 cases that the Medical Examiner of Dallas County, Texas, ruled as suicide with a firearm have been compared with the results of forensic laboratory examinations and tests; 75% are with handguns and 25% are with long guns. The incidence of suicides by gender yields 82% males and 18% females, with the most common entrance site being the head. With regard to racial distribution of persons committing suicide, > 88% are white in the study population group, which is 76% white. Data are presented for the incidence of blood detected inside and on the muzzle end of the barrel of the firearm, and for the persistence of blood inside the barrel even after the weapon was discharged to obtain test bullets. The analysis of handwipings for primer residues shows that "positive" results are obtained for approximately 50% of the revolvers and approximately 32% of the pistols when the caliber is > 22. Other projects such as transfer of gunshot residues to the hand by simply handling the weapon, the incidence of single-contact wounds in homicide versus suicide cases, and the percent of positive identification of bullets with weapons submitted are described.     

Atypical Suicide by Submachine Gun

In case of suicide, the presence of multiple entrance wounds is always suspicious. We report the case of a man who committed suicide by shooting himself three times in the chest and the skull with a submachine gun. The weapon seems to have been initially pointed in the precordium area with a lethal lesion of the proximal aorta. Two other projectiles were fired by the weapon and hit the neck and the skull of the deceased. The presence of three entrance wounds despite a first fatal wound could finally be explained by the characteristics of the weapon and wounds. Most suicides related to multiple gunshot wounds are explained by a first nonlethal shot but the use of an automatic weapon can also be found. In these last cases, medicolegal and criminalistics aspects become important in differentiating suicide and homicide.     

Some facts about “weapon focus”

“Weapon focus” refers to the concentration of acrime witness's attention on a weapon, and the resultant reduction in ability to remember other details of the crime. We examined this phenomenon by presenting subject-witnesses with a series of slides depicting an event in a fast-food restaurant. Half of the subjects saw a customer point a gun at the cashier; the other half saw him hand the cashier a check. In Experiment 1, eye movements were recorded while subjects viewed the slides. Results showed that subjects made more eye fixations on the weapon than on the check, and fixations on the weapon were of a longer duration than fixations on the check. In Experiment 2, the memory of subjects in the weapon condition was poorer than the memory of subjects in the check condition: In Experiment 1 similar, though only marginally significant, performance effects were obtained. These results provide the first direct empirical support for weapon focus.     

APPLYING A GENERAL STRAIN THEORY FRAMEWORK TO UNDERSTAND SCHOOL WEAPON CARRYING AMONG LGBQ AND HETEROSEXUAL YOUTH

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth are at a higher risk for school victimization, social isolation, and school weapon carrying compared with their heterosexual peers, yet few studies have been conducted to investigate their experiences. By using a general strain theory (GST) framework, data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) statewide probability sample of Delaware heterosexual (n = 7,688) and LGBQ (n = 484) youth in grades 9–12 show that there are both similarities and differences in the factors associated with school weapon carrying among LGBQ and heterosexual youth. LGBQ and heterosexual youth's weapon carrying is related to school victimization, but social support does not moderate the relationship between school victimization and school weapon carrying as suggested by GST. Furthermore, being male is significantly related to heterosexual youth's weapon carrying, but sex is not related to weapon carrying among LGBQ youth. Overall, the results highlight a need to reconceptualize GST to help center the experiences of LGBQ youth, a historically marginalized group, within mainstream criminological literature. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.     

A meta-analytic review of the weapon focus effect

This meta-analytic review examined 19 tests of the weapon focus effect—the hypothesis that the presence of a weapon during commission of a crime will negatively affect an eyewitness's ability to later identify the perpetrator. A significant overall difference between weapon-present and weaponabsent conditions was demonstrated, with weapon presence leading to reduced identification accuracy. Overall, the size of the effect was small (.13) for the dependent measure of lineup identification and moderate (.55) for feature accuracy. Discussion focuses on those factors that appear to mediate and facilitate the weapon focus effect. This research was supported by a grant from the Bush Foundation through Augsburg College.     

Macroscopic characteristics of hacking trauma

Hacking trauma is often encountered in forensic cases, but little experimental research has been conducted that would allow for the recognition of wounds caused by specific weapon types. In this paper, we report the results of a hacking trauma caused by machete, cleaver, and axe weapons and the characteristics of each weapon type on bone. Each weapon type was employed in multiple trials on pig (Sus scrofa) bones and then the wounds were examined macroscopically for several characteristics that serve to differentiate the weapons.     

The Cane Sword

This report provides an overview of the injuries caused by a unique blade‐type weapon known as a cane sword. The cane sword usually consists of a blade that is stored in a cylindrical “cane” that can be released at the handle to reveal the hidden blade within. The victim of the case was found to have a stab wound in the left mid‐back that caused perforation of both the lower and upper lobes of the left lung, resulting in a left hemothorax. Upon autopsy, it was concluded that the patient died from injuries caused by the stab wound to the back. Given the shape of the wound and the fact that the weapon itself was found at the site of the homicide, the weapon that caused the injury was believed to be a cane sword. This case will inform forensic pathologists, law‐enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel, and physicians about rare weapon, the cane sword.     

Young and armed: a cross-sectional study on weapon carrying among adolescents

The purpose of this study was to identify empirically, for the first time in France, the prevalence of adolescent weapon carrying with particular focus on the contribution of a broad range of social bonding, strain, social learning, and sociodemographic predictors. A multivariate logistic regression model was conducted using a backward elimination procedure to identify the significant predictors of weapon carrying controlling for age, gender, and SES in a sample of 12,706 French youth aged 11–19 years. Results revealed that the odds of weapon carrying increased among adolescents who suffered from past victimization, who had a negative relationship with their mother, and who repeated a grade at school. Moreover, holding pro-delinquent beliefs and having delinquent peers also increased the odds of weapon carrying. Our findings highlight the importance of the interpersonal and social context when examining the determinants of weapon carrying and showed a unique contribution of components of social bonding, strain, and social learning in weapon carrying among adolescents.     

‘May Piece Be with You’: A Typological Examination of the Fear and Victimization Hypothesis of Adolescent Weapon Carrying

The causes and correlates of adolescent weapon carrying have received considerable scholarly attention. One common explanation of adolescent weapon carrying, the “fear and victimization hypothesis,” identifies the fear of victimization as a motivating force behind this behavior. Empirical studies of this explanation, however, have produced mixed results. One potential source of this ambiguity is the myriad data and measurement issues that have arisen in prior studies of the topic. The current study addresses many of these limitations through the use of panel data from over 1,100 youth across the United States. Through a typological approach, results support a multiple pathways framework for explaining adolescent weapon carrying, as the perceived risk of victimization is positively associated with weapon carrying for those youth who report both victimization and offending experiences. For those youth who are “pure offenders,” fear of victimization is inversely related to weapon carrying, while the perceived risk of victimization is unrelated to carrying weapons. Consistent with prior literature, results indicate that gang members report a disproportionately high level of weapon carrying.