Interoperability-Enhanced Knowledge Management in Law Enforcement: An Integrated Data-Driven Forensic Ontological Approach to Crime Scene Analysis

Abstract

Nowadays, more and more sciences are involved in strengthening the work of law enforcement authorities. Scientific documentation is evidence highly respected by the courts in administering justice. As the involvement of science in solving crimes increases, so does human subjectivism, which often leads to wrong conclusions and, consequently, to bad judgments. From the above arises the need to create a single information system that will be fed with scientific evidence such as fingerprints, genetic material, digital data, forensic photographs, information from the forensic report, etc., and also investigative data such as information from witnesses’ statements, the apology of the accused, etc., from various crime scenes that will be able, through formal reasoning procedure, to conclude possible perpetrators. The present study examines a proposal for developing an information system that can be a basis for creating a forensic ontology—a semantic representation of the crime scene—through descriptive logic in the owl semantic language. The Interoperability-Enhanced information system to be developed could assist law enforcement authorities in solving crimes. At the same time, it would promote closer cooperation between academia, civil society, and state institutions by fostering a culture of engagement for the common good.