Science & Justice最新文献

{"title":"CSI-CSI: Comparing several investigative approaches toward crime scene improvement","authors":"Anna S. Knes ,&nbsp;Madeleine de Gruijter ,&nbsp;Matthijs C. Zuidberg ,&nbsp;Christianne J. de Poot","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Crime scene investigations are highly complex environments that require the CSI to engage in complex decision-making. CSIs must rely on personal experience, context information, and scientific knowledge about the fundamental principles of forensic science to both find and correctly interpret ambiguous traces and accurately reconstruct a scene. Differences in CSI decision making can arise in multiple stages of a crime scene investigation. Given its crucial role in forensic investigation, CSI decision-making must be further studied to understand how differences may arise during the stages of a crime scene investigation. The following exploratory research project is a first step at comparing how crime scene investigations of violent robberies are conducted between 25 crime scene investigators from nine countries across the world.</p><p>Through a mock crime scene and semi-structured interview, we observed that CSIs have adopted a variety of investigation approaches. The results show that CSIs have different working strategies and make different decisions when it comes to the construction of relevant hypotheses, their search strategy, and the collection of traces. These different decisions may, amongst other factors, be due to the use of prior information, a CSI’s knowledge and experience, and the perceived goal of their investigation. We suggest the development of more practical guidelines to aid CSIs through a hypothetico-deductive reasoning process, where (a) CSIs are supported in the correct use of contextual information, (b) outside knowledge and expertise are integrated into this process, and (c) CSIs are guided in the evaluation of the utility of their traces.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030623001284/pdfft?md5=05b28bcdd885ab713e9d9383afc047ef&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030623001284-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138549476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can criminal justice be predicted? Using regression analysis to predict judges’ decisions on petitions for new criminal trials","authors":"Moa Lidén","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.12.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Predictability of legal decisions is usually considered a prerequisite for the rule of law, following the maxim ‘like cases should be treated alike’. Yet, this presupposes that the case outcome can be predicted based on the <em>merits</em> of the case, rather than other factors. The purpose of this study was to test whether and to what extent legal decisions on petitions for new criminal trials can be predicted on the basis of other fairly superficial criteria that one could access without even reading the case file, e.g. which Court decided, whether the applicant had legal representation etc. To this end, all petitions for new criminal trials submitted to the Swedish Supreme Court and the six Courts of Appeal in the time period 2010–2020 (n = 3915) were reviewed. This data formed the basis of a regression model which was then used to predict decisions regarding petitions in 2021. On the basis of access to legal representation and crime type, the regression model predicted accurately 100 % of the decisions made in 2021. This raises questions about the evidentiary basis for the decisions and also the role of judges in situations where their decisions are fully predictable.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030623001296/pdfft?md5=0c812f8727ec4eda645080cd6066114f&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030623001296-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138490975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Use of pollen assemblages as forensic evidence in non-seasonal high-altitude soils","authors":"Vanesa Serrudo Gonzáles ,&nbsp;Teresa Ortuño Limarino ,&nbsp;Pablo Duchen","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Forensic palynology is a tool in criminalistics that uses spores and pollen grains to link a certain geographical location with a crime scene. The comparison of the pollen assemblage of a crime-scene soil and that of footwear of suspects and victims proved to be very useful as judicial evidence in multiple environments with marked seasonality. However, its usefulness in non-seasonal high-altitude soils has not been experimentally evaluated to the same extent. For this reason, the present study addressed this information gap by undertaking a palynological study in areas with high crime rates in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. To do this, we carried out multiple experimental samplings in three locations with different types of soil and different degrees of urbanization. Specifically, we compared whether the vegetation present at the time of taking the reference samples, was reflected in the pollen rain. Results showed that the vast majority of the species present in the vegetation were found in the pollen rain, with the exception of some plant species with entomophilous pollination syndrome. We also show that the transfer between assemblages from pollen rain to footwear happened effectively, which helped identify their geographical origin, and unveiled a great number of useful indicator species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030623001272/pdfft?md5=c9a94791e9e1de85aaa70fa06f8bd0f3&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030623001272-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138504200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interpreting digital traces:- 8 foundational pillars to support the formation of opinion in digital forensics","authors":"Graeme Horsman","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The field of digital forensics (DF) is facing increasing scrutiny of the quality of the work it produces. Fundamental to it is the need for its practitioners to be able to accurately determine the meaning of potentially relevant digital traces found during an examination of a device. As the reliance on digital evidence continues to grow, so does the importance of digital trace-interpretation. It is therefore imperative that this task is conducted robustly, where this work describes ‘eight pillars’ that should underpin how a practitioner has gone about interpreting any given digital trace.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138475375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-destructive latent fingerprint development and background elimination by Mueller Polarimetry","authors":"Emanuel Chironi ,&nbsp;Claudio Iemmi","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this article we have explored the use of Mueller polarimetry for the simultaneous and non-destructive latent fingerprint development and background elimination. This proposal not only expands previously reported uses of the polarization state of light for fingerprint development, but offers some advantages. Samples of a few donors, taken on different heavily back grounded substrates, were measured and processed. Several strategies for background removal were applied. The results are very promising, since the background was successfully erased in all cases and the quality of the developed fingerprints was excellent for most substrates and donors. Considering that the method is non-destructive and that the proposed measurement instrument is inexpensive and portable the method could be tried in real cases with no risk for the evidence. In addition, the success of the procedure for background removal raises the possibility of exploring if it would work for the enhancement of fingerprints developed with other methods.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138472090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancing forensic research: An examination of compositional data analysis with an application on petrol fraud detection","authors":"M. Templ ,&nbsp;J. Gonzalez-Rodriguez","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In recent years, numerous studies have examined the chemical compounds of petrol and petrol data for forensic research. Standard quantitative methods often assume that the variables or compounds do not have compositional constraints or are not part of a constrained whole, operating within an Euclidean vector space. However, chemical compounds are typically part of a whole, and the appropriate vector space for their analysis is the simplex. Biased and arbitrary results result when statistical analysis are applied on such data without proper pre-processing of such data. Compositional analysis of data has not yet been considered in forensic science. Therefore, we compare classical statistical analysis as applied in forensic research and the new proposed paradigm of compositional data analysis (CoDa). It is demonstrated how such analysis improves the analysis in petrol and forensic science. Our study shows how principal component analysis (PCA) and classification results are affected by the preprocessing steps performed on the raw data.</p><p>Our results indicate that results from a log ratio analysis provides a better separation between subgroups of the data and leads to an easier interpretation of the results. In addition, with a compositional analysis a higher classification accuracy is obtained. Even a non-linear classification method - in our case a random forest - was shown to perform poorly when applied without using compositional methods. Moreover, normalization of samples due to laboratory/unit-of-measurement effects is no longer necessary, since the composition of an observation is in compositional thinking equivalent to a multiple of it, because the used (log) ratios on raw and log ratio transformed data are equal.</p><p>Petrol data from different petrol stations in Brazil are used for the demonstration. This data is highly susceptible to counterfeit petrol. Forensic analysis of its chemical elements requires non-biased statistical analysis designed for compositional data to detect fraud.</p><p>Based on these results, we recommend the use of compositional data methods for gasoline and petrol chemical element analysis and gasoline product characterization, authentication and fraud detection in forensic sciences.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030623001223/pdfft?md5=728396c163cfdc0d530930c03d594831&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030623001223-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138471994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Once upon a twine: The Donna Steele murder investigation and an improved methodology for the comparison of synthetic twine","authors":"Jasper R. Bowman ,&nbsp;Sarah L. Cresswell ,&nbsp;Tony Peter ,&nbsp;James F. Carter","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In 2017 Cooktown resident Donna Steele was murdered and the case remained unsolved for more than a year. The forensic evidence from the investigation included two lengths of synthetic twine and a new protocol for the comparison of twine was developed to enhance the potential value of any evidence. The method was developed using 23 samples of similar twine collected across Australia. Traditional methods of physical and microscopic comparisons and polymer analysis by infrared spectroscopy were retained. Micro-spectrophotometry was used as an objective assessment of colour and was able to identify five groupings within the background samples. Measurements of hydrogen and carbon stable isotopic composition provided further delineation of the background samples. Combining traditional methods with micro-spectrophotometry and stable isotope measurements, the two case samples were found to be distinct from the background population and were indistinguishable when compared to each other.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138472003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic application of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) for human identification","authors":"Lesley A. Chesson ,&nbsp;Gregory E. Berg ,&nbsp;Amelia J. Edwards ,&nbsp;Thuan H. Chau ,&nbsp;Lyndi Low ,&nbsp;Daniel L. Johnson ,&nbsp;Alina C. Tichinin","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Application of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to skeletal remains has become an important tool to investigate human behavior and history. Isotopic variations in collagen, enamel, and keratin reflect variations in an individual’s diet and drinking water. Since food and water sources typically are geographically linked, isotope testing can assist in forensic identification by classifying remains to a likely geographic or population origin. If remains are commingled, differences in diet or geographic origin also can support their separation.</p><p>The usefulness of IRMS in forensic science is dependent on the underlying quality and surety of the isotope test results; in other words, we need to understand their reliability in interpretations. To take ownership of isotopic data quality, we recommend asking a series of questions:</p><ul><li><span>1.</span><span><p>How well are the mass spectrometer and associated peripheral(s) operating?</p></span></li><li><span>2.</span><span><p>Are test results reproducible (over time and between locations)?</p></span></li><li><span>3.</span><span><p>Can we differentiate between populations that we would like to?</p></span></li><li><span>4.</span><span><p>How variable are the populations of interest?</p></span></li><li><span>5.</span><span><p>Have the samples been isotopically altered?</p></span></li><li><span>6.</span><span><p>How variable are the samples?</p></span></li></ul>Here, we use data collected during the buildout and accreditation of an isotope testing program at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to answer the above questions for the forensic application of IRMS for human identification. While our primary focus is on the preparation and analysis of bone collagen, the questions above should be considered whenever isotope testing is used in forensic casework. Whether the populations of interest are drugs or humans, olives or explosives, users need to evaluate their isotopic data and interpretations to ensure they are scientifically sound and legally defensible.</div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138472002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Use of different imaging techniques in stab wound analysis","authors":"Linnea Bergman,&nbsp;Fiona Brock,&nbsp;David Errickson","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.11.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Stab wound analysis is a relatively new field of study in forensic science, and there is currently much debate regarding the effectiveness of the analysis due to a lack of validation studies. Furthermore, the underlying viewpoints on the success of stab wound analysis vary. Examination of cut marks, for example, can reveal a variety of characteristics which can be used to determine the type of weapon that was used to inflict them. However, published studies are not consistent when identifying knife blade characteristics, instead considering a wide variety of morphological aspects and their potential value in forensic scenarios. The existing research methodology is therefore inadequate to reliably inform in such contexts, and future experimental design should be influenced by the conditional variance in stabbings in order to provide reliable findings.</p><p>The research presented here takes a systematic approach to the problem, compiling the published literature (up to September 2023) on the use of different imaging methods applied to stab wound examination to create a taxonomy to examine trends in methodological approaches in both research and investigative settings. This approach identified that published studies could be classified as either morphological or morphometrical, and further sub-classified based on their degree of success and the findings reached. This emphasises the importance of prioritising research into mark data, and the need for a multi-technique, multi-disciplinary approach. A decision tree was created to illustrate which mark attributes should be studied for which purpose, and using which imaging method(s). Furthermore, the research presented identifies two key areas in stab wound research which should be the focus of standardisation efforts, namely methodological procedures and mark characteristic collection. Knife markings are difficult to interpret, but further research and standardisation of kerf mark analysis, as highlighted here, will improve the efficiency and reliability of both forensic investigations and future experimental studies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030623001211/pdfft?md5=b9c799c1a4d37e619c50b81cab0f7784&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030623001211-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138502002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"BM1: Events Guide","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1355-0306(23)00115-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/S1355-0306(23)00115-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030623001156/pdfft?md5=59a4f4c81b8356dd435d7cfef13edd99&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030623001156-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138453884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}