Ballistic fingerprinting databases

This article discusses a number of questions regarding the setting up of ballistic fingerprinting databases, consisting of ammunition components fired by all the firearms held in legal possession. These questions can be classified into three categories--the efficiency of the database, forensic issues, and practical issues to be dealt with. The current New York State legislation is used as an illustration of the choices to be made when setting up a ballistic fingerprinting database. Three important arguments are formulated against the installation of a ballistic fingerprinting database.     

Crime Trends in the EU

The paper’s aim is to show to EU policy makers, academics, journalists and the general public what the available information tells us about crime levels, trends in crime and public opinion about crime among Member States. The paper centres on an analysis of current trends on crime levels and trends based on the data available both from victimisation surveys and police statistics. The victimisation survey source is the published data collected in the International Crime Victimisation Survey. A separate analysis based on the Eurobarometer was also carried out. Data on police statistics present two separate sources i.e. the Council of Europe Sourcebook and the crime data published annually by the UK Home Office. These two sources both add considerable value to the raw police statistics by their choice of data, their commentary and their technical explanations and definitions. The paper compares data on three crime types (robbery, domestic burglary and theft of a motor vehicle) across the 15 Member States of the European Union (as in 2003). These three types were selected in line with the priorities of the EU Commission and as types of crime that are a major concern for EU-citizens. The paper has been modified from a report produced by the European Crime prevention network for the EU Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs with the permission of the EU. The members of the network are listed in the appendix.     

The decomposition and graphical analysis of crime and sanctions data: A cross-national application

This article attempts to illustrate the utility of isoquant map analysis from the field of production theory in microeconomics for the analysis of criminal justice data. Cross-national comparisons of aggregate crime and justice data are used to demonstrate the ability of this technique to reveal important patterns that are often obscured by simple rate comparisons and multivariate treatments such as pooled time-series analysis. For each jurisdiction, aggregate trends in criminal justice processing rates are systematically analyzed as a sequence of two-input production processes: gross imprisonment rates (prison population divided by resident population) can be partitioned in terms of the crime rate and punitiveness (prison population divided by the number of offenses); punitiveness can, in turn, be partitioned in terms of severity and certainty of punishment; certainty of punishment can then be partitioned, seriatim, in terms of the incarceration rate, the conviction rate, and the arrest or clearance rate and the rate at which citizens report crimes. Cross-national data collected by Farrington, Langan, and Wikström are used to illustrate the utility of the method for displaying comparisons of the decomposition of aggregate criminal justice data for the United States, England, and Sweden.     

Cross-national comparison of homicide: Age/sex-adjusted rates using the 1980 U.S. homicide experience as a standard

Cross-sectional studies of crime have typically relied on crude crime rates when making comparisons between countries. Crude rates control for population size but implicitly assume that all members of the population are equally at risk. Empirical studies have shown that, cross-nationally, risk varies by age and sex. Standardization of crime rates removes the confounding effects of variable age and sex population distributions. Since age/sex-specific crime rates are generally unavailable for many countries, the method of indirect standardization is the most desirable technique. Age/sex-adjusted homicide rates for 76 countries are presented, and two comparative measures are suggested. It is shown that while the United States has a higher homicide rate than all but 15 countries; in most cases, the magnitude of the difference, not controlling for age/sex differences, is overestimated. Crude rates underestimate differences between the United States and countries with higher rates of homicide.     

Experimental results on data analysis algorithms for extracting and interpreting edge feature data for duct tape and textile physical fit examinations

A physical fit is an important observation that can result from the forensic analysis of trace evidence as it conveys a high degree of association between two items. However, physical fit examinations can be time-consuming, and potential bias from analysts may affect judgment. To overcome these shortcomings, a data analysis algorithm using mutual information and a decision tree has been developed to support practitioners in interpreting the evidence. We created these tools using data obtained from physical fit examinations of duct tape and textiles analyzed in previous studies, along with the reasoning behind the analysts' decisions. The relative feature importance is described by material type, enhancing the knowledge base in this field. Compared with the human analysis, the algorithms provided accuracies above 90%, with an improved rate of true positives for most duct tape subsets. Conversely, false positives were observed in high-quality scissor cut (HQ-HT-S) duct tape and textiles. As such, it is advised to use these algorithms in tandem with human analysis. Furthermore, the study evaluated the accuracy of physical fits when only partial sample lengths are available. The results of this investigation indicated that acceptable accuracies for correctly identifying true fits and non-fits occurred when at least 35% of a sample length was present. However, lower accuracies were observed for samples prone to stretching or distortion. Therefore, the models described here can provide a valuable supplementary tool but should not be the sole means of evaluating samples.     

Dental hygiene students' matching accuracy when comparing antemortem dental radiographs and oral photographs to simulated postmortem WinID3® odontograms

Matching dental antemortem (AM) and postmortem (PM) data for human identification is especially challenging when the workforce is limited. Dental hygienists have served mass fatality incidents (MFIs) due to dental-related expertise. However, forensics within dental hygiene education and research on transferable skills is limited. This qualitative balance design study assessed senior dental hygiene students' match accuracy of simulated cases varying in dental identifiers based on AM full mouth series (FMS) radiographs and oral photographs to PM WinID3^® odontograms to demonstrate possible disaster victim identification (DVI) transferable skills gained during formal education. A convenience sample of senior dental hygiene students (n = 31) was presented information on WinID3^® interpretation, then presented with 5 mismatched cases and asked to visually interpret each to make 10 total matches; five based on AM FMS with simulated PM WinID3^® odontograms and five based on AM photographs with PM WinID3^® odontograms. Match accuracy scores ranged from 41.9% to 58.1% for cases with 1–10 identifiers, and 77.4% to 93.5% for cases with 11–40 identifiers. Accuracy when matching AM radiographs to PM odontograms versus AM photographs to PM odontograms was compared and revealed no statistical differences in match accuracy depending on image type (p = 0.388 to 1.000). Results of this pilot study suggests transferable match accuracy skills resulted from the participants' dental hygiene formal education. These baseline skills with additional specialized training support the rationale for dental hygienists serving on DVI teams. More research is needed in education and practice when preparing dental hygienists for forensic-based service.     

The impact of fentanyl on DUIDs and traffic fatalities: Blood and oral fluid data

Fentanyl has emerged as the most prolific drug in the ongoing opioid epidemic and has greatly impacted traffic safety in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate fentanyl prevalence and concentrations in blood and oral fluid in driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases in three different regions (i.e., Alabama, Orange County, CA, and Houston, TX) from 2017 to 2022. Furthermore, traffic fatalities were evaluated for Alabama and Orange County, CA. Fentanyl positivity in DUID and traffic fatalities increased for most years in this study. In Alabama, the prevalence of fentanyl DUID cases increased 4-fold in 2022 compared to 2017. Orange County's increase from 2017 to 2022 was 14-fold. In Houston, the increase was approximately 2-fold from 2019 to 2022. The greatest increase for all laboratories coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the median fentanyl DUID blood concentrations were 4.7, 11, and 4.7 ng/mL in Alabama, Orange County, and Houston, respectively. Most fentanyl cases were polydrug cases (≥90%). Methamphetamine, THC, and alprazolam were the most frequently detected drugs in combination with fentanyl. Alabama has collected oral fluid and blood in DUID cases since 2018. The detection of fentanyl in oral fluid was comparable to blood. However, 59% and 8.7% of fentanyl-positive cases had concentrations of >20 ng/mL in oral fluid and blood, respectively. Therefore, oral fluid as an alternative or supplemental specimen to blood is an attractive approach for fentanyl in DUID cases. This study contributes to understanding recent fentanyl trends and their impact on traffic safety.     

关于我市开展劳动竞赛的调研报告

目前我市劳动竞赛呈现的主要特点是:普遍重视了找准劳动竞赛的切入点;与企事业单位中心工作的融入不断深化;竞赛体制进一步得到健全与完善。今后应注重推动劳动竞赛向系统化、专业化、精细化方向发展,进一步突出竞赛过程的科学管理,并将其与全面提高职工整体素质作紧密的结合。     

Making Things More Public: On the Political Responsibility of the Media Intellectual

Rosen, Jay. (1994). Making Things More Public: On the Political Responsibility of the Media Intellectual. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 11(4), 363–388.