Determination of average vehicle speed utilizing reverse projection

Reverse projection photogrammetry has long been used to estimate the height of an individual in forensic video examinations. A natural extrapolation would be to apply the same technique on a video to estimate the speed of an object by determining the distance traveled between two points over a set amount of time. To test this theory, five digital video recorders (DVRs) were connected to a single fixed camera to record a vehicle traveling down a track. The vehicle's speed was measured through Doppler radar by a trained operator and the speedometer of the vehicle was also recorded with a video camera. The recorded video was examined and the frames that best depict the beginning and end of the vehicles course were selected. Two reverse projection photogrammetric examinations were performed on the selected frames to establish the position of the vehicle. The distance between the two points was measured, and the time elapsed between the two points was examined. The outcome provided an accurate speed result with a standard degree of uncertainty. This study proves the feasibility of using video data and reverse projection photogrammetry to determine the speed of a vehicle with a limited set of variables. Further research is needed to determine how additional variables would impact the standard degree of uncertainty.     

Forensic Facial Reconstruction: A Systematic Review of Nasal Prediction Techniques

Prediction facial features from the skull are recurring theme on the forensic literature. The nose has been investigated since it has a significant role in facial recognition and the literature shows that there is not an universal method for nasal prediction. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review to analyze what are the most consistent techniques of nasal reconstruction. Primary studies describing or validating nasal reconstruction techniques in adults and published in journals of Forensic Sciences were included in this review. Tedeschi‐Oliveira's method positioned nasal tip with acceptable accuracy as Gerasimov's method. The Krogman's and Iscan's technique underestimated nasal projection in North Americans. The Prokopec's and Ubelaker's method obtained accuracy in Caucasoid. George's method presented results similar to reference standard in Caucasoid. In a supplementary way, studies are needed to accurately estimate the nasal width.     

Swedish crime scene technicians: facilitations,epistemic frictions and professionalization from the outside

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the role of crime scene technicians in the Swedish criminal justice system, and particularly how Swedish crime scene technicians not only examine crime scenes but also facilitate the criminal justice system’s joint production of forensic evidence. It proposes thinking about the criminal justice system as a conglomeration of epistemic cultures, that is, of communities with different ways of producing and understanding forensic evidence. Such a perspective makes it possible to understand interprofessional frictions as epistemic frictions as well as to draw attention to the facilitations, mediations and translations that crime scene technicians perform. This perspective also makes it possible to illuminate how the crime scene technicians’ professionalization – a professionalization from the outside – affects both their future crime scene work and their facilitations.     

论“套路贷”犯罪的刑事规制及其完善

“套路贷”犯罪是以非法占有为目的,假借民间借贷之名、行非法侵占他人财物之实的新型犯罪,具有犯罪意图的侵财性、犯罪手段的隐蔽性、犯罪团伙的组织性和犯罪后果的严重性等特征。我国对“套路贷”犯罪的立法规制,总体上契合惩处“套路贷”犯罪的情势与实际需要,但也存在一些问题。当前,对“套路贷”犯罪的司法规制呈现民多刑少的格局,规制的主要罪名是诈骗罪、敲诈勒索罪,规制的核心标准是划清“套路贷”犯罪与高利贷、非法讨债行为的界限。改进“套路贷”犯罪的刑事规制,应确立“重重轻轻,以重为主”的刑事政策,在《刑法》中增设套路贷诈骗罪,健全“套路贷”案件的刑民衔接机制,探索“套路贷”犯罪案件专业化办理机制,积极推行“套路贷”犯罪案例指导制度。     

刑法现代化理论的续造

根据党的十九届四中全会决议,在国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的背景下,刑法现代化需要继续发展。反观我国刑法学领域,现代化刑法的追求还占据着当代刑法学人的思维,遮蔽了中国刑法现代化之未来图景的真实面貌,妨碍了中国刑法现代化的进一步发展。为此,我们有必要从现代性的一般特征出发,尝试着以现代之后的视角看待刑法现代化发展及其遭遇的“陷阱”。在对现代性中的基础主义、表象主义,以及普遍主义的批判基础上,实现现代刑法经由自由刑法向风险刑法、单一法典化向立法多样化和实践理性向交往理性三个维度的转化,并为中国刑法的现代化事业提供更为充足的理论动力。     

Criminal thinking as a moderator of the perceived certainty–offending relationship: age variations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the perceived certainty of punishment and general criminal thinking interact and whether the effect varies as a function of age. Data from all 1354 members (1170 males, 184 females) of the Pathways to Desistance study were used to test whether perceived certainty, general criminal thinking, and their interaction predicted subsequent offending during late adolescence (16–18 years of age) and emerging adulthood (20–22 years of age). The results showed that while perceived certainty and general criminal thinking failed to interact at age 17, general criminal thinking moderated the effect of perceived certainty at age 21. During emerging adulthood, offending was more common and varied in young adults with low certainty perceptions and high criminal thinking than it was in emerging adults with high criminal thinking and high certainty perceptions or low criminal thinking and either high or low certainty perceptions.     

Rethinking police education in the United States

ABSTRACT

Higher education for police in the United States began as police science and police administration in the early-to-middle 1900s but morphed into criminal justice starting in the 1960s, continuing in that mold to the present. This paper examines curricula at a handful of universities to provide a snapshot of U.S. police education today, illustrating that modern criminal justice programs do not focus very much on police at either the undergraduate or graduate level. The paper then considers alternative models that could provide students a more in-depth encounter with the now-robust policing body of knowledge, something that barely existed 50 years ago but could, at this point, serve as the foundation for a respectable and relevant academic and professional education.     

刑事诉讼信息共建共享问题研究

对比司法信息化建设整体迅猛发展，刑事诉讼信息的共建共享明显滞后，公检法机关的信息化建设呈现信息孤岛现象。这造成司法资源的大量浪费，成为阻碍司法信息化发展的基础性难题。刑事诉讼信息互联互通协议是指公安、检察院、法院等办案机关就办案信息共享和传递问题达成共识。这种协议可以有效地打破刑事办案机关之间的数据壁垒，是推进刑事诉讼共建共享的现实路径。协议需要充分应对信息共建共享可能给以审判为中心的诉讼架构、卷宗移送模式、控辩平等关系、司法责任带来的负面效应，协调技术理性和司法规律的关系。同时，刑事诉讼信息共建共享在运行中需处理好以下具体问题：建议将政法委作为协议主责机关，制定长远的发展计划；进一步推动卷宗电子化；实行涉案财物统一管理；妥善解决信息保密问题。     

论英国的犯罪信息公开制度——以加拉格尔案为切入点

在英国,犯罪信息公开制度一直是一个备受争议的话题。《欧洲人权公约》第8条规定,每个人都享有隐私权,任何侵犯隐私权的行为必须以“合法”和“必要”为前提。2019年初,在加拉格尔系列案的上诉程序中,犯罪记录披露措施是否违反《公约》第8条规定成为英国社会关注的焦点。在该案判决中,英国最高法院虽然支持了前科被披露人员的请求,驳回了上诉,但是,法官们对于犯罪信息公开制度是否符合合法性和必要性标准却存在明显的分歧。通过对该案的基本案情、主要争议点、英国最高法院法官的不同意见的分析,可以为发展和完善我国犯罪记录登记和查询机制提供参考依据。     

论“办案信息共享平台”建设及对公安讯问新挑战

跨公检法的“办案信息共享平台”建设从提出以来，不同模式先后在实际运行并各有利弊。从应然价值定位角度评析现有模式，并就平台建设主体、客体范围、运行规则方面展望其发展方向。在此背景下，刑事案件办理的关键节点均将嵌入平台，建议进行讯问同步录音像等制度“平台留痕化”相关改革，为侦查终结前讯问合法性核查等制度构建提供便利。侦查讯问行为将受到更严格的过程性监督与合法性考验，提出若干机制和具体措施应对公安侦查讯问新挑战。