The Probabilistic Genotyping Software STRmix: Utility and Evidence for its Validity

Forensic DNA interpretation is transitioning from manual interpretation based usually on binary decision‐making toward computer‐based systems that model the probability of the profile given different explanations for it, termed probabilistic genotyping (PG). Decision‐making by laboratories to implement probability‐based interpretation should be based on scientific principles for validity and information that supports its utility, such as criteria to support admissibility. The principles behind STRmix? are outlined in this study and include standard mathematics and modeling of peak heights and variability in those heights. All PG methods generate a likelihood ratio (LR) and require the formulation of propositions. Principles underpinning formulations of propositions include the identification of reasonably assumed contributors. Substantial data have been produced that support precision, error rate, and reliability of PG, and in particular, STRmix?. A current issue is access to the code and quality processes used while coding. There are substantial data that describe the performance, strengths, and limitations of STRmix?, one of the available PG software.     

Withdrawn: Hair Analysis for Drug‐Facilitated Crime: The Critical Role of Hair Growth Rate

The following article from the Journal of Forensic Sciences, “Hair Analysis for Drug‐Facilitated Crime: The Critical Role of Hair Growth Rate” by Koren G, Bellaish E, Maman K, published online on 3rd September 2019 (1) on Wiley Online Library has been withdrawn at the authors’ request, and in agreement between the authors, the Journal’s Editorial Office, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The withdrawal has been agreed to by all parties due to material included in the article being involved in current litigation. Reference 1. Koren G, Bellaish E, Maman K. Hair analysis for drug‐facilitated crime: the critical role of hair growth rate. J Forensic Sci 2019;54(5):1574–5. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14013 .     

Marriage,Cohabitation, and Crime: Differentiating Associations by Partnership Stage

A wealth of scholarship generally finds that marriage protects against crime, but there is less consistent evidence for cohabitation. In this article, we contribute to scholarship on marriage and put forward new evidence about cohabitation by examining marital and cohabiting partnerships as transitions with distinct stages of entry, stability, and dissolution. We use within-person change models with contemporary data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to analyze these stages for the full sample and separately for men and women. The findings show differential protective associations of marriage and cohabitation depending on the stage of the partnership. Both recently formed cohabiting partnerships and stable cohabiting partnerships are associated with reductions in the level of offending, although to a lesser degree than marital relationships. Cohabiting partnerships that are stable, in that they have lasted at least a year, are associated with larger decreases in offending, particularly among women.     

The security of access to accounts under the PSD2

The revised Payment Services Directive (‘PSD2’) has been adopted to stimulate the development of an integrated internal market for payment services. In particular, it facilitates payment initiation services and account information services by granting the providers of these services access to the accounts of the payment service users. At the same time, the recitals state that the PSD2 guarantees a high level of consumer protection, security of payment transactions and protection against fraud.This paper answers the following question: To what extent does the access to accounts of the payment initiation service providers and account information service providers balance the development of the market for payment services with the security of the payment account and the privacy of the user? An analysis of the PSD2 shows that the development of the market for payment services has a higher priority. Security and privacy are ultimately subordinate.First, the PSD2 does not adequately protect the personal data of the users. The definition of ‘account information service’ is broad and covers a wide range of services. This allows the payment service providers to circumvent the limitations of the access to accounts.Next, the payment service providers have a ‘fall back option’ that allows ‘screen scraping’ if the dedicated interface is not functioning properly. Although this access is constrained by several safeguards, the fall back option gives the payment services provider unlimited access to the account of the user.Finally, the payment service providers have considerable freedom to arrange their authentication process as they see fit. The banks seem to be required to trust this process. The PSD2 and regulatory technical standards do not demand that a bank is able to verify the authentication or the integrity of the payment order.     

The Mr. Big technique on trial by jury

Mr. Big is a Canadian undercover police technique used to elicit confessions. Undercover officers befriend the suspect, and gradually draw them into a fictitious criminal organization. Upon meeting the boss of the organization, ‘Mr. Big’, the suspect is pressured to confess. When evidence from the sting operation, including the confession, is presented later in court, it may induce juror moral prejudice towards a defendant. We evaluated how situational and dispositional sting factors (crime task severity, financial incentive, and defendant intelligence) influence mock juror moral prejudice and decision-making in Mr. Big cases. Results from Experiment 1 (N?=?270) showed fewer guilty verdicts in the high incentive conditions. In Experiment 2 (N?=?1,666), high incentive and low defendant intelligence were related to fewer guilty verdicts, more favorable ratings of defendant character, and more skeptical evaluations of confession evidence. Additionally, there were differences between community and student participants on multiple outcomes.     

Characterization and differentiation of cyclopropylfentanyl from E-crotonylfentanyl, Z-crotonylfentanyl,and 3-butenylfentanyl

Recently, a sample containing cyclopropylfentanyl was analyzed at this laboratory. Cyclopropylfentanyl began to appear in the United States' illicit drug markets in 2017. Unfortunately, cyclopropylfentanyl presents an analytical challenge due to its mass spectrum being almost identical to that of crotonylfentanyl. There are two possible isomers of crotonylfentanyl, Z- and E- crotonylfentanyl. In order to provide sufficient analytical data to distinguish the two isomers of crotonylfentanyl and cyclopropylfentanyl, crotonylfentanyl was synthesized and fully characterized. Each isomer was analyzed via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. During the synthesis of crotonylfentanyl, an unknown compound was formed. The identification of this compound and the analytical characterization of the two isomers of crotonylfentanyl are presented. Through the comparison of these compounds, it was confirmed that cyclopropylfentanyl can be differentiated from crotonylfentanyl.     

Understanding the political goals of non-binding resolutions: evidence from the Mexican Chamber of Deputies

By primarily focusing on bill initiatives, the literature on legislatures and parliaments has understudied other important legislative instruments -such as non-binding resolutions, minutes or speeches- which might help parties and legislators achieve their electoral and policy goals. Non-binding resolutions (NBRs) do not carry the force of law and are primarily used for parties or legislators’ position taking and the request of government actions. This article examines the political goals of NBRs by examining these tools in the lower chamber of the Mexican Congress. Employing a novel dataset, we claim that legislators strategically utilise NBRs to strengthen their relationship with their political principals. We find differences on the use of these instruments across political parties, based on the types of policy areas they choose to target. The analysis also indicates that SMD legislators tend to introduce more particularistic NBRs that might further their political careers at the subnational level.     

The importance of dark adaptation for forensic examinations; an evaluation of the Crime-lite Eye™

Forensic practitioners are recommended to dark adapt their eyes prior to conducting evidential searches in the dark. The dark adaptation process remains poorly standardised across the discipline, with little quantified regarding the benefits of such preparative steps. Herein, we report the findings of a study that recruited 50 participants to assess the effectiveness of the Crime-lite Eye?, a darkness adaptation device developed to assist forensic practitioners both in the laboratory and in field. Participants were tasked with searching for the fluorescent signatures left by reaction of 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO) with amino acids, in a manner akin to the fluorogenic fingerprint treatment of porous evidence. Using an Epson Stylus Photo R265 inkjet printer, ink cartridges were filled with alanine solutions of various concentrations, allowing different motifs to be printed onto copy paper and subsequently developed using DFO. Participants searched for this ‘evidence’ both with and without dark adapted vision. On average, participants were able to locate and correctly recognise 16% more evidence once dark adapted using the Crime-lite Eye?.The increase in evidence located by participants once dark adapted suggests that crime scene officers should be dark adapting in order to visualise as much as possible. The time taken to dark adapt, 10?min on average during this study, is not excessively long, and should not significantly slow the investigation.     

Can analysis of a small clod of soil help to solve a murder case?

Soil forensics utilizes extensive soil information to answer legal questions and test hypotheses. The main difficulty often is the determination of different variables from a small amount of soil sample collected on the suspect. We developed a sequential mineralogical and chemical analyses to assess a limited quantity of soil vestiges (0.5 g) from a suspect's vehicle (adhered to the outside rear-view mirror and to the left front fender) involved in a murder case and compared them with the surface samples found at the victim's body disposal site at the Graciosa Road, Paraná State, Brazil. All results affirm that the suspect’s vehicle could have been in contact with the edge of the Graciosa Road, approximately the place where the victim’s body was located. As a result of the soil analysis and comparison, the results support the likely contact of the suspect’s vehicle with the crime scene.