Controlling the variable of pressure in the production of test footwear impressions

Footwear impression lifting and enhancement techniques may be affected by several variables introduced during the production of test footwear impressions, thus limiting the usefulness of enhancement technique comparisons and the results obtained. One such variable is the force applied when the impressed mark is being made. Producing consistent test impressions for research into footwear enhancement techniques would therefore be beneficial. This study was designed to control pressure in the production of test footwear impressions when mimicking a stamping action. Twenty-seven volunteers were asked to stamp on two different surfaces and the average stamping force was recorded. Information from the data obtained was used to design and build a mechanical device which could be calibrated to consistently deliver footwear impressions with the same force onto a receiving surface. Preliminary experiments using this device and different contaminants on the footwear sole have yielded consistent and repeatable impressions. Controlling the variable of pressure for the production of test impressions in this study demonstrated that the differences observed were visual (due to the amount of contaminant transferred and subsequent enhancement) and did not affect the replication of outer sole characteristics. This paper reports the development of the device and illustrates the quality of the impressions produced.     

The economics of environmental law enforcement: end-of-life vehicles

Abandoned End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) have been an environmental concern for a long time in a number of countries. This article examines different ways to address the issue by changing the incentive structure for agents. Following (Polinsky A. M., & Shavell, S. (2000). The Economic theory of public enforcement of law. Journal of Economic Literature, 38, 45–76.) a model is used to compare a fine-based system with a deposit-refund system; a combination of the two is then considered. It is shown that when the environmental harm is relatively low and constant, a deposit-refund system is preferred. When cases of high environmental harm are included, the optimal choice would be a combined system.      

Second‐hand Emotion? Exploring the Contagion and Impact of Trauma and Distress in the Asylum Law Context

Applicants' accounts of experiences of fear, trauma, violence, and persecution are central to the process of claiming asylum. These narratives are, at a human level, primed to provoke emotional responses, not only in the narrator but also in those to whom the account is relayed. In this article, we explore the vectors of emotionality that permeate asylum decision‐making in the United Kingdom, focusing particularly on the risk faced by the professionals involved of suffering vicarious trauma. More specifically, based on a series of 104 semi‐structured interviews with asylum stakeholders and observation of 48 appeals to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First‐tier Tribunal, this article identifies the adoption by legal and quasi‐legal professionals of emotional coping strategies – of detachment and denial of responsibility – that risk being deployed in maladaptive ways that jeopardize the prospects for justice.     

DNA fingerprints and rape: A feminist assessment

Can the use of DNA fingerprinting reduce the frequency of rape? Feminist technology assessment is used here to evaluate this new forensic technique, which distinguishes between persons by differences in DNA sequences in variable regions of their chromosomes. Although everyone's DNA pattern is unique, the statistical degrees of difference among sub-populations within ethnic and racial groups are not fully known. The technique is beset by laboratory errors, difficulties in interpretation, and lack of quality control. Policy analysts may also be troubled by the politics behind the harassment of expert witnesses, the rejection by journals of critical articles, the influence of the FBI on federal assessment reports, and the inequitable distribution of costs and benefits. The cases of British rapist-murderer Colin Pitchfork, San Diego rape victim Alicia Wade, and eight exonerated convicts demonstrate how the technique can clear probably innocent rape suspects, but they illustrate little rape-prevention capacity. If DNA testing accurately exonerates a suspect, then the police may continue searching; yet, a test with greater power to exonerate may let criminals escape and may lower the credibility of rape victims' eyewitness testimony. Furthermore, any accurate DNA typing might foster behavior to avoid apprehension or the reduction of sentences through plea-bargaining, thus having a negative effect on deterrence. Despite clear benefit to individual women in specific circumstances, this technique is likely, overall, to be disadvantageous to women. The rape victim identifies her assailant in a police line-up again before the jury in court. He is convicted and put behind bars. Some years later he hears about DNA testing and convinces his lawyer to get tests on the semen that was fund on the victim's clothes. when results show that he could not have been the rapist, he is released from prison. Yet the victim remains convinced that he was the man who attacked her and lives in fear that will find her and rape her again.¹     

Understanding the Relationship Between Mental Disorder and Violence: The Need for a Criminological Perspective

This paper offers a criminologically informed framework to guide research on the relationship between mental disorder and violence. Criminological theories examined include social learning, social stress, social control, rational choice, and social disorganization. In addition, the "criminal careers" and "local life circumstance" methodologies are reviewed. It is argued that adopting a criminologically informed framework that takes into account within-person changes over time will contribute greatly to our understanding of the factors that affect violence among people with mental disorder living in the community, and enhance the capacity of research to support effective evidenced-based case management programs aimed at reducing violence.     

Bite mark or bottle top?

An alleged assault was reported by a 42-year-old female, with initial medical examination revealing an apparent bite mark on the right buttock. Odontological examination, including visual assessment, full history and photographs showed that the injury did not meet the class characteristics of a human bite. Subsequent digital overlay production showed that the injury pattern was consistent with a corrugated bottle top. This case highlights the need for careful assessment of injuries alleged to be caused by human teeth.     

Stable isotope ratios as a tool in microbial forensics--Part 1. Microbial isotopic composition as a function of growth medium

The stable isotope ratios of a seized pathogen culture could potentially reveal information about the environment in which the agent was produced. In this paper we describe general relationships between stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen in bacteriological culture media and spores of Bacillus subtilis, an endospore-forming soil bacterium. In numerous media that varied both in nutrient composition and water stable isotope ratios, medium to spore enrichment in carbon isotopes was 0.3 +/- 2.0% per thousand (parts per thousand), and in nitrogen, 4.5 +/- 0.7% per thousand. We achieved mass balance for the contribution of hydrogen isotopes from nutrients (70%) and water (30%) to spores in independent experiments by varying the isotope ratios of nutrients or water. A model was derived for predicting the isotope ratio values of spores from those in nutrients and water.