Development of Latent Fingermarks from Rocks and Stones

Since the beginning of recorded history, stones have been used in the commission of crimes due to their widespread availability. Stones can be used as a lethal weapon that sometimes might be the only evidence in a serious case. The common perception, even in professional fingermark circles, is that stones do not yield identifiable latent fingermarks. The authors of this research paper examined the feasibility of developing fingermarks from seven types of stones using three latent fingermark techniques: magnetic powder, cyanoacrylate fuming, and ninhydrin. The paper will demonstrate that by classifying stones and rocks according to their natural properties (porosity, permeability, and the nature of surface area), even application of the simplest development techniques can produce good results. In conclusion, chert and limestone yielded the most qualitative and quantitative results using magnetic powder. The time factor is also important in recovering latent fingermarks on stones and rocks.     

Lifting Bloody Footwear Impressions Using Alginate Casts Followed by Chemical Enhancement

A method for lifting bloody footwear impressions using alginate casts and enhancing the lifted impressions with amido black is presented. On rough or dark substrates, background interferences may conceal significant details of footwear impressions. Illumination with alternative light sources and chemically enhancing the bloody footwear impressions may reveal additional details, but sometimes, lifting footwear impressions prior to enhancing is the only way to expose hidden details (by using blood reagents not adequate on the original). Several cast formulations were tested for lifting the footwear impressions. The best results were achieved using Aroma fine^®. Enhancement of the footwear impressions was attempted with several reagents prior to lifting, during the casting process, and on the lifted footwear impressions. Applying amido black to footwear impressions lifted with alginate produced the sharpest and most detailed footwear impressions. Alginate castings followed by chemical enhancement with amido black may produce high‐quality footwear impressions for comparison.     

Fixers as Shadow “Public Servants”: A Case Study of Israel

Fixers can thrive in any level of political, bureaucratic, or institutional development. Paradoxically the academic research of the phenomenon of fixers is in its infancy. There exists no accepted definition of fixers; the boundaries between fixers and lobbyists remain murky, in terms of comparative administration only limited knowledge about the forces that breed different types of fixers in different political settings is available; and no deductive theory was articulated that might determine when and how fixing might become dysfunctional and corruptive. In an attempt to better understand the phenomenon of fixers more theoretically; this study analyzes fixers in view of three theories of bureaucratic corruption, and in view of the emerging theory of alternative politics. Using Israel as a case in point, the study shows that within certain national and local branches of government fixers not only create a shadow copy of official institutions, but also foster institutional corruption.     

DNA profiling from heroin street dose packages

A large amount of heroin street doses are seized and examined for drug content by the Israel police. These are generally wrapped in heat-sealed plastic. Occasionally it is possible to visualize latent fingerprints on the plastic wrap itself, but the small size of the plastic item and the sealing process makes the success rate very low. In this study, the possibility of extracting and profiling DNA from the burnt edge of the plastic wrap was investigated. The idea was based on the assumption that epithelial cells might be trapped during the sealing process. The results show that there are sufficient quantities of DNA deposited at the "amorphic" burnt edges of sealed street doses for DNA profiling to be carried out. A controlled experiment using a known donor was performed. This subject carried out sealing of "street drug" packages and consequent DNA extractions were performed to show that known DNA profiles could be recovered from such packages, as a result of handling by the "packer." "Square-like" burnt edges did not yield DNA profiles, probably because of differences in the sealing process. It was also shown that DNA could be recovered from the plastic wrap itself and not only from the amorphic burnt edges. As heroin dealers and drug users are often involved in other crimes and run-ins with the law, the effective extraction and addition of their DNA profiles from such items of evidence to the newly established DNA database in Israel provides new avenues in the continued fight against crime and drug traffickers.     

A new method for casting three-dimensional shoeprints and tire marks with dental stone

Dental stone is used as the major material for recovering three-dimensional shoeprints and tire tracks from crime scenes. The procedure for using dental stone sparsely changed over the years. There are two common methods for mixing dental stone: (i) a premeasured amount of dental stone is put in a zip-lock bag to which water is added, and (ii) the water and dental stone are mixed in a bucket. We suggest a novel rapid and efficient method of mixing dental stone and water in a bottle. These methods were compared at equal conditions. The parameters measured were the number of air bubbles, the strength of the cast, the ease of use, and the sharpness and quality of the accidental characteristics present in the cast. The proposed bottle method has the advantages of both the bucket and the zip-lock methods hence it combines strength, sharpness, high quality, and ease of use.     

Factors Influencing the Filing of Complaints,Their Investigation,and Subsequent Legal Judgment in Cases of Sexual Assault

In Geneva, examination of victims of sexual assault is performed by a gynecologist and a medical examiner. 48% of the victims file a complaint and we wanted to investigate the factors leading to file a complaint, those leading the Prosecutor to go to trial, and those influencing a conviction. Between 2006 and 2012, 676 victims of sexual assault were investigated (averaged age 26 year, mean 22). Information on injuries, perpetrators, and circumstances of the assault was collected and analyzed. The attacker being the ex‐spouse or a friend and the presence of semen were factors leading to file a complaint. The assailant being a family member or ex‐spouse and the presence of genital/anal lesions were factors influencing the Prosecutor. The presence of nongenital lesions, the assailant being known by the victim, influenced conviction. This study shows that the medical examiner plays a vital role in the investigation of cases of sexual assault.     

The identification of stolen paintings using comparison of various marks

Several oil paintings, suspected of being stolen, were found in the possession of an art dealer in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The authors were asked to determine if these paintings were the stolen ones, based on photographs, stretchers, and frames submitted by the alleged owners in France. A physical match was found between two of the questioned paintings and two stretchers. Another painting was identified as being previously affixed to the original frame by several nails. The fourth painting was identified as being the one photographed by the alleged owner. This identification was done by comparing micro-topography marks revealed by the illumination conditions of that photograph and of the questioned painting.     

Dataset of Digitized RACs and Their Rarity Score Analysis for Strengthening Shoeprint Evidence

In recent years, there is a growing demand to fortify the scientific basis of forensic methodology. During 2016, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) published a report that states there are no appropriate empirical studies that support the foundational validity of footwear analysis to associate shoeprints with particular shoes based on specific identifying marks, which is a basic scientific demand from the field. Furthermore, meaningful databases that can support such studies do not exist. Without such databases, statistical presentation of the comparison results cannot be fulfilled either. In this study, a database of over 13,000 randomly acquired characteristics (RACs) such as scratches, nicks, tears, and holes, as they appear on shoe sole test impressions, from nearly 400 shoe soles was collected semi-automatically. The location, orientation, and the contour of each RAC were determined for all the RACs on each test impression. The statistical algorithm Statistic Evaluation of Shoeprint Accidentals (SESA) was developed to calculate a score for finding another feature similar to a particular scanned and digitized RAC in the same shape, location, and orientation as the examined one. A correlation was found between the results of SESA and the results of real casework, strengthening our belief in the ability of SESA to assist the expert in reaching a conclusion while performing casework. The score received at the end of the process serves the expert as a guiding number, allowing more objective and accurate results and conclusions.     

The diminishing role of governments in cable policy

The article examines the role of governments in the transition in cable policy in the three largest media countries of Europe (Britain, France and Germany). In theoretical terms it is argued that the involvement of governments in determining the course of development of cable systems has comprised three main stages. In the first stage, governments tried to ignore cable and prevent the establishment of cable infrastructure. In the second stage, governments regulated the technology in order to promote a national cable policy and encourage the overall development of the broadcasting media. In the third stage, although at different speeds and perceptions, governments deregulated cable by giving permission to market forces to dominate cable's development and abandoning the social goals of cable policy.