Accusatorial and information-gathering interview and interrogation methods: a multi-country comparison

Suspect interviewing and interrogation practices have been studied in many different countries, including those in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. These studies have produced useful and interesting findings, while also leaving an opening for future inquiry. Specifically, previous research has noted that we might expect interrogation and interviewing practices to vary among different countries or regions, due to distinct approaches to suspect questioning. However, to our knowledge, few previous studies have examined the comparative use of tactics, techniques, and procedures employed to elicit confessions and information from criminal suspects across multiple countries. In the present study, using a consistent survey, we contrasted the interviewing and interrogation practices of 185 practitioners from America, Canada, and Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In large part, we found that American and Canadian interrogators were similar to one another, and conformed to an accusatorial approach (in both deception detection and questioning techniques). In contrast, interviewers from Europe, Australia, and New Zealand conformed more to an information-gathering approach.     

Analysis of Explosives by GC‐UV

A mixture of explosives was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) linked to ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry that enabled detection in the range of 178–330 nm. The gas‐phase UV spectra of 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4‐dinitrotoluene (DNT), ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN), glycerine trinitrate (NG, nitroglycerine), triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) were successfully recorded. The most interesting aspect of the current application is that it enabled simultaneous detection of both the target analyte and its decomposition products. At suitable elevated temperatures of the transfer line between the GC instrument and the UV detector, a partial decomposition was accomplished. Detection was made in real time and resulted in overlaid spectra of the mother compound and its decomposition product. Hence, the presented approach added another level to the qualitative identification of the explosives in comparison with traditional methods that relies only on the detection of the target analyte. As expected, the decomposition product of EGDN, NG, and PETN was NO, while TATP degraded to acetone. DNT and TNT did not exhibit any decomposition at the temperatures used.     

牛病毒性腹泻病毒RT-PCR检测方法的建立及应用

根据GenBank中登录的牛病毒性腹泻病毒(BVDV)5′UTR基因序列,设计合成了1对特异性引物,建立了检测BVDV218bp片段的RT-PCR方法。通过对该方法的特异性、敏感性和重复性进行试验,结果显示,该方法从BVDV标准毒株OregonC24V中扩增出了218bp的特异性片段,而对猪瘟病毒、蓝舌病病毒、牛传染性鼻气管炎病毒、猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒、猪伪狂犬病病毒、MDBK正常细胞的扩增结果均为阴性。经对标准毒株的细胞毒进行检测,其敏感度达10-1TCID50。不同人员用该方法进行检测,结果均一致,表明其重复性好。应用该方法对70份临床疑似发病猪样品进行检测,结果检出11份阳性,阳性检出率约为15.7%。在对5份细胞培养用犊牛血清的检测中,亦检出2份阳性。表明,建立的RT-PCR方法具有特异、灵敏、高效、快速的特点,可用于BVDV的临床检测及流行病学监测。     

Detection and quantification of the age-related point mutation A189G in the human mitochondrial DNA

Mutation analysis in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region is widely used in population genetic studies as well as in forensic medicine. Among the difficulties linked to the mtDNA analysis, one can find the detection of heteroplasmy, which can be inherited or somatic. Recently, age-related point mutation A189G was described in mtDNA and shown to accumulate with age in muscles. We carried out the detection of this 189 heteroplasmic point mutation using three technologies: automated DNA sequencing, Southern blot hybridization using a digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probe, and peptide nucleic acid (PNA)/real-time PCR combined method on different biological samples. Our results give additional information on the increase in mutation frequency with age in muscle tissue and revealed that the PNA/real-time PCR is a largely more sensitive method than DNA sequencing for heteroplasmy detection. These investigations could be of interest in the detection and interpretation of mtDNA heteroplasmy in anthropological and forensic studies.     

A motion detection-based framework for improving image quality of CCTV security systems

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) security systems have been widely used in banks, convenience stores, and other facilities. They are useful to deter crime and depict criminal activity. However, CCTV cameras that provide an overview of a monitored region can be useful for criminal investigation but sometimes can also be used for object identification (e.g., vehicle numbers, persons, etc.). In this paper, we propose a framework for improving the image quality of CCTV security systems. This framework is based upon motion detection technology. There are two cameras in the framework: one camera (camera A) is fixed focus with a zoom lens for moving-object detection, and the other one (camera B) is variable focus with an auto-zoom lens to capture higher resolution images of the objects of interest. When camera A detects a moving object in the monitored area, camera B, driven by an auto-zoom focus control algorithm, will take a higher resolution image of the object of interest. Experimental results show that the proposed framework can improve the likelihood that images obtained from stationary unattended CCTV cameras are sufficient to enable law enforcement officials to identify suspects and other objects of interest.     

Detecting Lies in Children and Adults

In this study, observers' abilities to detect lies in children and adults were examined. Adult participants observed videotaped interviews of both children and adults either lying or telling the truth about having been touched by a male research assistant. As hypothesized, observers detected children's lies more accurately than adults' lies; however, adults' truthful statements were detected more accurately than were children's. Further analyses revealed that observers were biased toward judging adults' but not children's statements as truthful. Finally, consistent with the notion that there are stable individual differences in the ability to detect lies, observers who were highly accurate in detecting children's lies were similarly accurate in detecting adults' lies. Implications of these findings for understanding lie-detection accuracy are discussed, as are potential applications to the forensic context.     

论立案与侦查的关系——关于初查的法律思考

我国侦查部门一直以来是采用先立案后侦查的提起侦查方式。然而,执法实践证明,一切侦查活动都必须在立案之后才能进行是不可能的。立案不能作为提起侦查的条件,提起侦查的条件应概括为;侦查主体获得犯罪线索之后,只要认为有可能存在犯罪事实时,就可以提起侦查。立案则可以在侦查的任何一个阶段,它标志着要追究犯罪嫌疑人的刑事责任。     

秘密侦查与侦查公开的冲突及解决——兼论侦查公开与侦查秘密原则

侦查公开和侦查秘密原则有各自的内涵,一般应主张侦查公开为原则,侦查秘密为例外.侦查公开原则要求侦查机关应当就侦查的一些情况向当事人及其律师或向社会公开.侦查公开具体而言涉及到公开的对象、时间、方式和公开内容等几个方面的内容.秘密侦查与侦查公开原则会产生严重的冲突,解决这种冲突的主要方法就是遵循基本原则、在秘密侦查和侦查公开间保持平衡,同时强化司法控制,并建立相应的救济机制.     

谈对犯罪嫌疑人的第一次讯问

对犯罪嫌疑人进行第一次讯问，在侦查讯问中起着举足轻重的作用。准确确定第一次讯问的目标和任务，可使讯问工作及以后的侦查工作少走或不走弯路。侦查人员在第一次讯问中，要认真研究案件材料，牢牢掌握讯问的主动权；深入调查、掌握犯罪嫌疑人心理，以便在讯问中有针对性地实施相应的心理对策；制定第一次讯问计划，使第一次讯问紧张而有序地进行；根据犯罪嫌疑人在第一次讯问中的不同表现实施相应的对策；对不同到案情形的犯罪嫌疑人，采取不同的讯问策略。     

诱惑侦查的人性分析

诱惑侦查是一种高效的侦查措施，但在理论和实践中备受争议，究其原因是我国还缺少对诱惑侦查的人性研究。在诱惑侦查中也存在人性的“善”与“恶”，对人性的拷问恰恰是诱惑侦查所急需解决的基础性伦理问题，是在法无明文规定下正确指导诱惑侦查的基础。对诱惑侦查所必然具有的人性风险的规制必须采取道德控制先行原则，制定优良的道德控制体系实现对其人性风险的规制。并且对诱惑侦查的立法也要实现人性化。