Old police styles and new police technology in the US have helped slash Big City crime rates
Across America, major cities have experienced a significant drop in violent crime. Much seems due to more police on the streets, making best use of technology.
Once-notorious crime hubs like Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles, are on track for their lowest homicide rates in 40 years. Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Minneapolis are among other cities seeing notable reductions in murders.
Police say a return to beat policing combined with the introduction of sophisticated new crime fighting technology are responsible for slashing crime rates. Among the technologies which play a greater and greater part are mobile systems which keep officers on the street better informed about what's going on around them . more on this topic.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8190226.stm
Thursday, August 13, 2009
New technology : Mobile microwave scanner could detect guns
British scientists have developed a portable microwave scanner which could help identify individuals carrying concealed guns and knives. Unlike existing scanning systems, it does not need to be used in close proximity of suspects.
Unlike airport scanners, the portable machine does not produce an image of the subject, it only analyses signals. It is designed to work out on the streets and is not restricted to a closed, controlled environment.
A human operator would transport the device, using it to direct microwave emission at a person of interest. Return signals - microwaves reflected back towards the device - are picked up, sensed and analysed. The device, which is under development at Manchester Metropolitan University, could help increase the effectiveness of stop-and-search. The existing prototype is suitable for the detection of guns, but researchers say subsequent versions of the technology will be able to identify concealed knives as well. This kind of device would be of great service to officers, helping them to catch people carrying guns and knives without putting themselves in increased danger. It could also help to target stop and search to further increase its effectiveness." More on this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8089959.stm
British scientists have developed a portable microwave scanner which could help identify individuals carrying concealed guns and knives. Unlike existing scanning systems, it does not need to be used in close proximity of suspects.
Unlike airport scanners, the portable machine does not produce an image of the subject, it only analyses signals. It is designed to work out on the streets and is not restricted to a closed, controlled environment.
A human operator would transport the device, using it to direct microwave emission at a person of interest. Return signals - microwaves reflected back towards the device - are picked up, sensed and analysed. The device, which is under development at Manchester Metropolitan University, could help increase the effectiveness of stop-and-search. The existing prototype is suitable for the detection of guns, but researchers say subsequent versions of the technology will be able to identify concealed knives as well. This kind of device would be of great service to officers, helping them to catch people carrying guns and knives without putting themselves in increased danger. It could also help to target stop and search to further increase its effectiveness." More on this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8089959.stm
Ingenious new bullet tagging technology
Criminals who use firearms may find it much harder to evade justice in future, thanks to a new bullet tagging technology developed in the UK.
The tiny tags – just 30 microns* in diameter and invisible to the naked eye – are designed to be coated onto gun cartridges. They then attach themselves to the hands or gloves of anyone handling the cartridge and are very difficult to wash off completely.
Some of these 'nanotags' also remain on the cartridge even after it has been fired. This should make it possible to establish a robust forensic link between a cartridge fired during a crime and whoever handled it. "The tags primarily consist of naturally-occurring pollen, a substance that evolution has provided with extraordinary adhesive properties," says Professor Paul Sermon from the University of Surrey, who has led the research. "It has been given a unique chemical signature by coating it with titanium oxide, zirconia, silica or a mixture of other oxides. The precise composition of this coating can be varied subtly from one batch of cartridges to another, enabling a firm connection to be made between a particular fired cartridge and its user."
In addition to this breakthrough, the team has also developed a method of trapping forensically-useful amounts of DNA on gun cartridges. It involves increasing the abrasive character of the cartridge case with micro-patterned pyramid textures, or adding an abrasive grit, held in place by a thin layer of resin, to the cartridge base. This rough surface is able to retain dead skin cells from a thumb as it loads a cartridge into a firearm. A key benefit is also the affordability – a cost-effective way of reliably capturing sufficient DNA from a gun cartridge has never been available before. The technology has been designed to avoid damage to the DNA captured which is caused (i) by temperatures generated as the gun is fired, when heat is rapidly transferred from the burning propellant into the cartridge case and (ii) when copper is extracted from the cartridge case by lactic acid in sweat.
The nanotag and DNA capture technologies could potentially be available for use within as little as 12 months. There may also be scope to apply them in other fields, such as knife crime, in future.more on this article:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/eaps-got080108.php
Criminals who use firearms may find it much harder to evade justice in future, thanks to a new bullet tagging technology developed in the UK.
The tiny tags – just 30 microns* in diameter and invisible to the naked eye – are designed to be coated onto gun cartridges. They then attach themselves to the hands or gloves of anyone handling the cartridge and are very difficult to wash off completely.
Some of these 'nanotags' also remain on the cartridge even after it has been fired. This should make it possible to establish a robust forensic link between a cartridge fired during a crime and whoever handled it. "The tags primarily consist of naturally-occurring pollen, a substance that evolution has provided with extraordinary adhesive properties," says Professor Paul Sermon from the University of Surrey, who has led the research. "It has been given a unique chemical signature by coating it with titanium oxide, zirconia, silica or a mixture of other oxides. The precise composition of this coating can be varied subtly from one batch of cartridges to another, enabling a firm connection to be made between a particular fired cartridge and its user."
In addition to this breakthrough, the team has also developed a method of trapping forensically-useful amounts of DNA on gun cartridges. It involves increasing the abrasive character of the cartridge case with micro-patterned pyramid textures, or adding an abrasive grit, held in place by a thin layer of resin, to the cartridge base. This rough surface is able to retain dead skin cells from a thumb as it loads a cartridge into a firearm. A key benefit is also the affordability – a cost-effective way of reliably capturing sufficient DNA from a gun cartridge has never been available before. The technology has been designed to avoid damage to the DNA captured which is caused (i) by temperatures generated as the gun is fired, when heat is rapidly transferred from the burning propellant into the cartridge case and (ii) when copper is extracted from the cartridge case by lactic acid in sweat.
The nanotag and DNA capture technologies could potentially be available for use within as little as 12 months. There may also be scope to apply them in other fields, such as knife crime, in future.more on this article:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/eaps-got080108.php
NASA 'Shoots' for Crime Investigators with New Technology
What do a NASA engineer and a detective have in common? The answer is a new NASA photographic laser device that helps look for damages on NASA’s Space Shuttle that can also be used to "shoot" more details in crime scenes. The Laser Scaling Device attaches directly to a camera and projects a pattern of dots into the field of view. This pattern appears in the photograph along with the image of the object under investigation, enabling the viewer to measure the size of the object. The greatest contribution that the Laser Scaling Measurement software offers to law enforcement is it ‘un-cuffs’ the investigators hands with digital image evidence by facilitating fast and accurate measurement analysis of anything in a crime scene photo, not just the intended target. This aspect opens up the possibility for serendipitous evidence detection after the fact that may not have been obvious at the crime scene. For example, the software may be instrumental in attaining dimensions of articles or their proximity locations within a room that were not previously part of the investigation.Not only can they use it to fully view photos of components from crime scenes such as blood-spatter pattern and graffiti, but can also see the images from different angles (including diagonally, horizontally and vertically) to better analyze and understand the scenes.In fact, just recently, Ballard was asked by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to add more capabilities to the LSMDPI software to enable forensics experts to zoom in and out of the image to measure blood spatter details across a wall as well as specific areas. more on this article http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/crime_technology.html
What do a NASA engineer and a detective have in common? The answer is a new NASA photographic laser device that helps look for damages on NASA’s Space Shuttle that can also be used to "shoot" more details in crime scenes. The Laser Scaling Device attaches directly to a camera and projects a pattern of dots into the field of view. This pattern appears in the photograph along with the image of the object under investigation, enabling the viewer to measure the size of the object. The greatest contribution that the Laser Scaling Measurement software offers to law enforcement is it ‘un-cuffs’ the investigators hands with digital image evidence by facilitating fast and accurate measurement analysis of anything in a crime scene photo, not just the intended target. This aspect opens up the possibility for serendipitous evidence detection after the fact that may not have been obvious at the crime scene. For example, the software may be instrumental in attaining dimensions of articles or their proximity locations within a room that were not previously part of the investigation.Not only can they use it to fully view photos of components from crime scenes such as blood-spatter pattern and graffiti, but can also see the images from different angles (including diagonally, horizontally and vertically) to better analyze and understand the scenes.In fact, just recently, Ballard was asked by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to add more capabilities to the LSMDPI software to enable forensics experts to zoom in and out of the image to measure blood spatter details across a wall as well as specific areas. more on this article http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/crime_technology.html
Future Technology
With so many advancements in the past 30 years, there is no way to put a limit on where police work will go in the next 30 years.
With so many advancements in the past 30 years, there is no way to put a limit on where police work will go in the next 30 years.
- There are many technologies in biometrics expected to be the next thing to gain a following.
- That includes facial-recognition software to identify suspects and retinal scanning, which can aid as a security device.
- Gait recognition, another technology, deals with identifying a person’s pattern of walk.
- Touch DNA is a technology that would help identify a suspect from DNA on any object they touch at a crime scene. It’s a few years down the road.
- Most recently, police departments started implementing a new data-mining tool called WebFOCUS, which allows law enforcement officers in multiple jurisdictions to cross-reference crimes daily to find trends.
- Another technology, the automated vehicle location system, allows officers’ whereabouts to be monitored through a global positioning system. In return, dispatchers can direct officers to calls more efficiently.
- more on this article: http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090111/LOCAL/901110393/1002/local
Keyence: microscopy in the palm of your hand
For the forensic scientist on the go, Keyence Corp. of Osaka, Japan, offers a 3-D digital microscope that isn’t chained to the crime lab worktable. “Unlike conventional microscopes,” said Leila Javidi, applications engineer for the company’s Micro Analysis Group in Chicago, “the VHX-600 has a handheld camera, enabling anyone to take the microscope out to the field and make their observations outside of a laboratory setting.”
Javidi said the magnification powers of the VHX-600 range from 0.1× to 5000×, and the built-in camera can capture 54-megapixel images as well as video. The stage can rotate 360°, and the camera can be tilted almost 180° from side to side.
“By doing this,” Javidi said, “we can see almost around the entire part without touching or mounting the part.” The light source has been integrated into the tip of the lens, she added, “to ensure optimal reproducible lighting.”
The 3-D profile capabilities of the VHX-600 allow for more sophisticated measurement of evidence specimens. “Perhaps you need to measure the depth of a crack in a sample,” Javidi said. “The 3-D profiling and measurements eliminate the guesswork and enable this analysis.”
http://www.photonics.com/Content/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=36341
Javidi said the magnification powers of the VHX-600 range from 0.1× to 5000×, and the built-in camera can capture 54-megapixel images as well as video. The stage can rotate 360°, and the camera can be tilted almost 180° from side to side.
“By doing this,” Javidi said, “we can see almost around the entire part without touching or mounting the part.” The light source has been integrated into the tip of the lens, she added, “to ensure optimal reproducible lighting.”
The 3-D profile capabilities of the VHX-600 allow for more sophisticated measurement of evidence specimens. “Perhaps you need to measure the depth of a crack in a sample,” Javidi said. “The 3-D profiling and measurements eliminate the guesswork and enable this analysis.”
http://www.photonics.com/Content/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=36341
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Research and Development
RSID-Urine: an addition to our existing line of rapid stain identification product, RSID-Urine is in development. For purely technical reasons, this test will use polyclonal antibodies for the detection of human urine. The laboratory is working to complete development and testing of this product. Anticipated release, Q1,2009.Laser Capture Microdissection: This technique has the potential to dramatically increase the success rate of obtaining a CODIS quality DNA-STR profile from sexual assault evidence. In conjunction with P.A.L.M./Zeiss, Independent Forensics is developing the procedures, protocols, methods and kits that will be required to make this research quality instrument into arobust, reproducible work-horse for the forensic laboratory. Laser capture microdissection kits will of course make use of SPERM HY-LITER technology for the identification of sperm.
Technical Improvements in the Future
There are two general kinds of improvements that can be expected:
The first of these is better techniques applied to existing systems, STRs in particular. We can expect more foolproof systems that can provide unambiguous tests for more loci at once. Even now, some systems have added additional loci to the Core 13. This surely will continue. We can expect more automation; it is already happening. There will be more integration of computerized analysis with the laboratory tests. Capillary electrophoresis will require less material and produce faster results. We can also expect miniaturization with attendant portability. I recently read of a hand-held chipthat will analyze 8 STRs in a few minutes. We can foresee the time when analysis can take place at the crime scene. If immediate results are produced this can provide prompt clearance of erroneously identified suspects, avoiding much needless apprehension. I would emphasize, however, that what can be done in pilot experiments will usually not be good enough for forensic use, for which a system must be thoroughly tested and validated.
The first of these is better techniques applied to existing systems, STRs in particular. We can expect more foolproof systems that can provide unambiguous tests for more loci at once. Even now, some systems have added additional loci to the Core 13. This surely will continue. We can expect more automation; it is already happening. There will be more integration of computerized analysis with the laboratory tests. Capillary electrophoresis will require less material and produce faster results. We can also expect miniaturization with attendant portability. I recently read of a hand-held chipthat will analyze 8 STRs in a few minutes. We can foresee the time when analysis can take place at the crime scene. If immediate results are produced this can provide prompt clearance of erroneously identified suspects, avoiding much needless apprehension. I would emphasize, however, that what can be done in pilot experiments will usually not be good enough for forensic use, for which a system must be thoroughly tested and validated.
Future of Forensics
EPSRC Crime Prevention and Detection Technologies Event:Forensic ScienceImproved fingerprint recovery from metals such as gun cartridges and bomb fragments
Using the chemistry of colour to identify chemical and biological weapons
Portable DNA profiling techniques that could be used at the scene of a crime
More accurate ways of ascertaining the age at death of victims of crime
Latest developments in scanning and sensing technology that are improving the detection of drugs and explosives at security check points
These are just some of the current research areas being supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. This event will focus on the contribution that EPSRC-funded science and engineering is making to the development of forensic science.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Forensics Standardization
Here's is the introduction to very interesting article on the state of forensics and how the field needs to be changed for the future(link to the full article in title):
Professor of Medical Science Constantine Gatsonis co-chaired a committee appointed by the National Academy of Sciences in 2007, and presented a report, entitled "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward," to Congress last month. Congress mandated the study after receiving several complaints from individuals in the forensic science community about discrepancies in techniques and procedures, Gatsonis said. Over the course of eight meetings, the committee examined documents, procedures and educational programs across the country. It also received presentations from chiefs of laboratories, coroners, medical examiners and members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The report made 13 recommendations to improve forensic science, the most important being the establishment of a national institute for the discipline, according to Gatsonis.
DNA links to your surname
New research out of the United Kingdom is finding that a mans DNA can be linked to his surname using the Y chromosome. The current research has a relatively small success rate with common names and has a much greater success rate with rare ones. (Like in title)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Forensic Technology Widens Net for Drugs of Abuse: The Rise of LC/MS/MS for Toxicology Testing
Everyone outside the toxicology field seems to believe the forensic toxicology laboratory can identify any drug or compound of interest with a simple push of a button.
Popular belief is that a lab can obtain an unknown sample, analyze it, and have a report printed out – complete with pictures, graphs, chemical structures, and compound identifications – in a matter of minutes.
However, those of us in the field know that the challenges many forensic toxicology labs include: limited resources, increasing demands, emergence of new “designer” drugs, and an increasingly larger number of samples being submitted for analysis.
Toxicology results and scientific evidence are getting more scrutiny than ever before. The criminal justice system increasingly relies on the output of forensic toxicology laboratories to provide evidence relevant to forensic cases, including homicides, sexual assaults, and impaired driving linked to fatalities.
http://www.forensicmag.com/articles.asp?pid=169
Popular belief is that a lab can obtain an unknown sample, analyze it, and have a report printed out – complete with pictures, graphs, chemical structures, and compound identifications – in a matter of minutes.
However, those of us in the field know that the challenges many forensic toxicology labs include: limited resources, increasing demands, emergence of new “designer” drugs, and an increasingly larger number of samples being submitted for analysis.
Toxicology results and scientific evidence are getting more scrutiny than ever before. The criminal justice system increasingly relies on the output of forensic toxicology laboratories to provide evidence relevant to forensic cases, including homicides, sexual assaults, and impaired driving linked to fatalities.
http://www.forensicmag.com/articles.asp?pid=169
The future of DNA
The link in the title of this post is a publication from the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence. This group of experts from around the DNA industry has generated a report of their prediction for the future of DNA evidence. Although this report is starting to get outdated there are still some predictions of the future that are very interesting.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
XBox Forensics
A forensics toolkit for the Xbox gaming console is described by US researchers in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics. The toolkit could allow law enforcement agencies to scour the inbuilt hard disk of such devices and find illicit hidden materials easily.
Criminals often hide illicit data on the XBox in the hope that a gaming console will not be seen as a likely evidence target especially when conventional personal computers are present in the same premises, for instance. The toolkit developed by Collins will allow police and other investigators the chance to lay bare the contents of XBox hard disks.
Cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, game consoles and other devices provide a convenient means to store data of all kinds, including images, video, audio and text files. But they also provide a simple way for criminals to possess and hide illegal material too
Inderscience Publishers. "XBox Forensics." ScienceDaily 1 May 2009. 4 August 2009.
Criminals often hide illicit data on the XBox in the hope that a gaming console will not be seen as a likely evidence target especially when conventional personal computers are present in the same premises, for instance. The toolkit developed by Collins will allow police and other investigators the chance to lay bare the contents of XBox hard disks.
Cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, game consoles and other devices provide a convenient means to store data of all kinds, including images, video, audio and text files. But they also provide a simple way for criminals to possess and hide illegal material too
Inderscience Publishers. "XBox Forensics." ScienceDaily 1 May 2009. 4 August 2009
3D crime scene scanner
Some future jurors can expect to be dazzled in the courtroom by a remarkable technology making evidence more evident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDuA6_LxLc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDuA6_LxLc
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Predicting Future Crime Is it Ethical?
The Philadelphia Police Department is experimenting with an advanced computing system that statisticians and criminologists believe can predict future violent crime with some accuracy. Using a learning computer, the city is working to predict which of the city's 49,000 parolees are most likely to commit violent crimes in the future.The predictors that mattered most were age, age at first contact with adult courts, prior crimes involving guns, being male, and past violent crimes. Officials considered including race in the equation - an extremely scary thought - but decided against it. There may be other questionable factors included in the computer's calculations.While this system raises some serious red flags, it also has potential to improve the efficiency of our parole system if it is used with restraint. But there are major concerns about the new system: it could lead us to spend too much energy on "high-risk" parolees and ignore the needs of "low-risk" people, denying them opportunities for support and services. And would an increased reliance on this system mean more minor technical violations for parolees considered high-risk?
"The main ethical concern," said Richard Bonnie, a law professor at the University of Virginia, "is the possible unfairness to the 'selected' offenders."
If the high-risk people do get more supervision, it means they face a greater risk of being caught in a technical violation that will send them back to prison. Should such power be relegated to a computer?
The experimental results from Philly:
To "train" the system, (University of California statistician Richard) Berk fed in data on 30,000 past cases; about 1 percent had committed homicide or attempted homicide within two years of beginning probation or parole.
The data included the number and types of past crimes, sex, race, income, and other factors.
To test its power, he fed in a different set of data on 30,000 other parolees. This time he didn't tell the computer who would go on to kill.
Applying what it had previously learned, the system identified a group of several hundred who were considered especially dangerous. Of those, 45 in 100 did commit a homicide or attempted homicide within two years - much higher than the 1 in 100 among the general population of probationers and parolees. http://criminaljustice.change.org/blog/view/predicting_future_crime
Forensic Watermarks in Mobile Devices
The most common way to deter illegal distribution of music and movies is through digital rights management technology (DRM): instructions embedded in the files that limit their use. But, as video content shows up on more and more cell phones, content providers are looking for new ways to curb illegal distribution. Researchers at Cinea, are working on a system that embeds a unique digital signature called a forensic watermark into a video after it's downloaded. The watermark contains bits of data, hidden from view, that allow content providers to trace a video back to the phone or device on which it was downloaded. The goals are to deter people from widely distributing a downloaded video and to have a method of finding individuals who illegally share video. Securing forensic watermarks is still an active area of research, and perfecting the technology is still a few years out. Within the next decade, technology can change the way content providers protect their digital goods and the way people share and use them. http://www.technologyreview.com/business/17879/page2/
The most common way to deter illegal distribution of music and movies is through digital rights management technology (DRM): instructions embedded in the files that limit their use. But, as video content shows up on more and more cell phones, content providers are looking for new ways to curb illegal distribution. Researchers at Cinea, are working on a system that embeds a unique digital signature called a forensic watermark into a video after it's downloaded. The watermark contains bits of data, hidden from view, that allow content providers to trace a video back to the phone or device on which it was downloaded. The goals are to deter people from widely distributing a downloaded video and to have a method of finding individuals who illegally share video. Securing forensic watermarks is still an active area of research, and perfecting the technology is still a few years out. Within the next decade, technology can change the way content providers protect their digital goods and the way people share and use them. http://www.technologyreview.com/business/17879/page2/
Future Cops: Laser-guided GPS to Catch Criminals
A suspected felon flees from the Police.
Rather than engage him in a dangerous, high-speed chase, the police pursue the suspect for just a few blocks.
Then the cops tag his car with a laser-guided, GPS tracking system, launched from the front grille of the squad car and guided by a laser-sight targeting system.
Once the "sticky" transmitter attaches to the fleeing car, the police track the suspect via real-time feeds over a wireless network. They drop back, and let the crook slow down. When he stops, the cops speed up, and nab the lawbreaker as he is leaving his car.
This technology will potentially give police officers yet another tool to minimize the damaging risks associated with high-speed pursuits. The developer, StarChase, LLC, is moving forward with plans to commercialize the technology and is aiming to bring the product to market early next year. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312953,00.html
A suspected felon flees from the Police.
Rather than engage him in a dangerous, high-speed chase, the police pursue the suspect for just a few blocks.
Then the cops tag his car with a laser-guided, GPS tracking system, launched from the front grille of the squad car and guided by a laser-sight targeting system.
Once the "sticky" transmitter attaches to the fleeing car, the police track the suspect via real-time feeds over a wireless network. They drop back, and let the crook slow down. When he stops, the cops speed up, and nab the lawbreaker as he is leaving his car.
This technology will potentially give police officers yet another tool to minimize the damaging risks associated with high-speed pursuits. The developer, StarChase, LLC, is moving forward with plans to commercialize the technology and is aiming to bring the product to market early next year. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312953,00.html
The Future of Forensic Science: In 2007, University at Buffalo computer scientist Sargur Srihari, Ph.D., was selected by the National Academy of Sciences to explore the current status of the forensic sciences and to guide future research that would best serve the U.S. justice system and its citizens.
Dr. Sargur Srihari explains how science will be applied to forensics in the future. "Given sufficient time and resources, specific intelligent tasks that humans perform can be automated. One of the areas that I hope we will be able to develop is something I call "computational forensics." It is about developing algorithms and software to perform forensic analysis. The results of such analysis will be less prone to criticism that forensic testimony is tainted by bias. My research for the past 30 years has been in the field of computer science known as "pattern recognition." It is an area of artificial intelligence that is about developing algorithms to get computers to perform cognitive tasks normally performed by skilled humans. An example of such a skill is that of recognizing handwriting. The first task we considered was developing algorithms to compare handwriting samples. Computers allowed us to perform large-scale tests to show that indeed this kind of comparison can be done with a high degree of accuracy (Journal of Forensic Sciences, July 2002). We were also able to develop computational tools to assist the handwriting examiners.
Then my colleagues and I at CEDAR decided to look at fingerprints, specifically friction ridge patterns, the swirling lines that make up the print. With high-speed computers, we found we were able to conduct large-scale tests to determine the degree of individuality and uniqueness in a given fingerprint."
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/9915
Dr. Sargur Srihari explains how science will be applied to forensics in the future. "Given sufficient time and resources, specific intelligent tasks that humans perform can be automated. One of the areas that I hope we will be able to develop is something I call "computational forensics." It is about developing algorithms and software to perform forensic analysis. The results of such analysis will be less prone to criticism that forensic testimony is tainted by bias. My research for the past 30 years has been in the field of computer science known as "pattern recognition." It is an area of artificial intelligence that is about developing algorithms to get computers to perform cognitive tasks normally performed by skilled humans. An example of such a skill is that of recognizing handwriting. The first task we considered was developing algorithms to compare handwriting samples. Computers allowed us to perform large-scale tests to show that indeed this kind of comparison can be done with a high degree of accuracy (Journal of Forensic Sciences, July 2002). We were also able to develop computational tools to assist the handwriting examiners.
Then my colleagues and I at CEDAR decided to look at fingerprints, specifically friction ridge patterns, the swirling lines that make up the print. With high-speed computers, we found we were able to conduct large-scale tests to determine the degree of individuality and uniqueness in a given fingerprint."
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/9915
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Forensic Accounting
Accounting has been around for centuries and has been used to organize one's financial matters. Unfortunately the people who are supposed to organizing and keeping track of finances are also frequently responsible for stealing money from the company they are working for. This is where forensics comes into play. Forensic accounting is using the abilities of an accountant and a detective to find how and when someone may have stolen money from a company. A brief description of forensic accounting is described in this youtube video (link in title)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Touch DNA Clears Ramseys--a forensic scientist explains how technology helps exonerates Ramseys in the Jon Bonnet Ramsey case.
http://www.comcast.net/video/touch-dna-clears-ramseys/790616852/
http://www.comcast.net/video/touch-dna-clears-ramseys/790616852/
x-ray vision
Engineers Develop Technology To See Through Walls
Video: http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0706-seeing_through_walls.htm
X-ray vision is no longer just for sci-fi movies and superheroes. Now, superhuman powers are closer to real life than you might think. Engineers have developed a new device, called the Xaver that can see straight through walls.The military and law enforcement agencies have orders in for the new technology. And seeing what's behind closed doors could help rescue teams save lives.The new technological gadget boasts visual penetration through wood, plaster, brick and reinforced concrete. The device uses sound waves at a particular frequency and a series of algorithms in the computer software to capture images through a wall or door and create 3D images. The military and law enforcement agencies hope to incorporate the device into their projects.
"A fireman doesn't have a lot of time ý he can go in and not waste time searching parts of the building where no one is, or he can go immediately to someone in a room where's he's found a life," says aerospace engineer John Reingruber
Engineers Develop Technology To See Through Walls
Video: http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0706-seeing_through_walls.htm
X-ray vision is no longer just for sci-fi movies and superheroes. Now, superhuman powers are closer to real life than you might think. Engineers have developed a new device, called the Xaver that can see straight through walls.The military and law enforcement agencies have orders in for the new technology. And seeing what's behind closed doors could help rescue teams save lives.The new technological gadget boasts visual penetration through wood, plaster, brick and reinforced concrete. The device uses sound waves at a particular frequency and a series of algorithms in the computer software to capture images through a wall or door and create 3D images. The military and law enforcement agencies hope to incorporate the device into their projects.
"A fireman doesn't have a lot of time ý he can go in and not waste time searching parts of the building where no one is, or he can go immediately to someone in a room where's he's found a life," says aerospace engineer John Reingruber
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Digital Forensics at Binghamton University featured on FOX News
Binghamton University faculty Jessica Fridrich talks about Digital Forensics on FOX News.
Research links digital images, cameras
Child pornographers will soon have a harder time escaping prosecution thanks to a stunning new technology that can reliably link digital images to the camera with which they were taken, in much the same way that tell-tale scratches are used by forensic examiners to link bullets to the gun that fired them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjgyQN8wSmw
Research links digital images, cameras
Child pornographers will soon have a harder time escaping prosecution thanks to a stunning new technology that can reliably link digital images to the camera with which they were taken, in much the same way that tell-tale scratches are used by forensic examiners to link bullets to the gun that fired them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjgyQN8wSmw
Leave No Trace - Footprint Evidence
This clip demonstrates how footprints can be used by forensics to identify people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlmZZoLGMpM&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlmZZoLGMpM&NR=1
Advances in DNA Technology
The technology of DNA "fingerprinting" has advanced greatly in the past few years. It is now possible to test smaller pieces of biological matter and get a DNA fingerprint. It has also become possible to get a DNA profile from matter which has degraded, or is not fresh. In addition, the tests are faster and the matching easier because there are more and more data banks. DNA evidence is used not only to convict the guilty. It can also be used to free the innocent. In fact, the number of convicted felons found to be innocent after subsequent DNA analysis of evidence, has caused states to reconsider prior cases. Some states have even devised Post Conviction Plans which involve going back and taking another look at cases where DNA evidence still exists, or cases where the DNA evidence would be pivotal.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Applied Biosystems Advances Forensic Science
Forensic DNA expert Dr. Arthur Eisenberg, Professor in the Department of Pathology and Human Identification at the University of North Texas Health Science Center and Director of the University of North Texas System, Center for Human Identification, discusses how a new technology for analyzing degraded DNA is expected to significantly aid law enforcement in solving crimes and making identifications in missing persons cases.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWGsC2uGqGU
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWGsC2uGqGU
Mobile Forensics
This article talks about today's forensic examiners and how they look at mobile devices and digital information just like any other piece of evidence- examining every possible detail, in a forensically sound process. Just like physical evidence at a crime scene can be contaminated if carelessly observed or manipulated, it is a digital forensic examiners duty to analyze a device without causing any changes, to the original evidence- a cell phone in this case, in a 'read only' fashion.Sunday, June 28, 2009
New Fingerprint Test Tells What a Person Has Touched ,Reveals Drug Use and Medical History: method raises privacy issues, and provides breakthrough in surgery
Fingerprints can reveal critical evidence, as well as an identity, with the use of a new technology developed at Purdue University that detects trace amounts of explosives, drugs or other materials left behind in the prints. It reads and provides an image of a fingerprint's chemical signature and can determine specific medical conditions.
Fingerprints can reveal critical evidence, as well as an identity, with the use of a new technology developed at Purdue University that detects trace amounts of explosives, drugs or other materials left behind in the prints. It reads and provides an image of a fingerprint's chemical signature and can determine specific medical conditions.
Writing in Friday’s issue of the journal Science . Graham Cooks, a professor of chemistry at Purdue University, describe how a laboratory technique, mass spectrometry, could find a wider application in crime investigations. "The classic example of a fingerprint is an ink imprint showing the unique swirls and loops used for identification, but fingerprints also leave behind a unique distribution of molecular compounds," Cooks said. "Some of the residues left behind are from naturally occurring compounds in the skin and some are from other surfaces or materials a person has touched."In Dr. Cooks’s method, a tiny spray of liquid that has been electrically charged, either water or water and alcohol, is sprayed on a tiny bit of the fingerprint. The droplets dissolve compounds in the fingerprints and splash them off the surface into the analyzer. The liquid is heated and evaporates, and the electrical charge is transferred to the fingerprint molecules, which are then identified by a device called a mass spectrometer. The process is repeated over the entire fingerprint, producing a two-dimensional image.The researchers call the technique desorption electrospray ionization, or Desi, for short.Because the spatial resolution is on the order of the width of a human hair, the Desi technique did not just detect the presence of, for instance, cocaine, but literally showed a pattern of cocaine in the shape of the fingerprint, leaving no doubt who had left the cocaine behind.
Computer Facial Reconstruction (Muscle & Skin)
Applying muscle and skin to the bone requires computer tomography (CT) scans of actual living people, which acquire images showing where bones cast shadows onto the skull and record hard/soft tissue (bones and flesh) in a 3 dimensional, view. Using CT scans, data files record the shape of the skull as well as the tissue depth. Forensic anthropologist's knowledge is also utilised in choosing an appropriate form of CT scan. Any clothing found with the bones can provide a clothing size, which is useful, as it allows scientists to adjust any tissue depth measurements to account for obesity or thinness. Merging the two scans, the CT scan is applied to the digital scan of the skull, becoming two skulls on top of each other. At this stage of the process, the two skulls are different shapes. The computer program distorts the skulls' marks on both so they match each other and at the same time, distorting the facial tissue properties, creating a facial shape that resembles the victim.Article: http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/1/evison.html
Digital Imaging Technology
The diagram to the left illustrates the hyoid bone in the neck. A broken hyoid bone in decedent can be a sign of manual strangulation.Digital imaging technology has raised the bar for evidence in court. Poor quality photo can be enhanched, scene photos can be arranged and displayed in a way easy to follow, and digital animations can be reconstructed to the act or incident of the crime.
Digital Courtroom
In today's age of technology juries almost expect to see state of the art technology employed in both criminal investigations, as well as criminal and civil trials. "Further, the amount of electronic information available, (such as phone records, credit records/financial records, e-mails communications, automated tolls pass transponders, etc...) to support or refute issues that arise in any investigation, need to be sorted, analyzed, and legibly displayed, in order for those records to have an impact on the case"(crime scene forensics).Modern technology provides us with a variety of different software applications that can turn mountains of records into concise, easy to comprehend courtroom exhibits.Sketches can be the most important part of telling the story. A good diagram of the scene will make it much easier for juries to follow the testimony of witnesses. Each item of evidence, or point of interest can be laid out in the diagram to give more accurate understandings of the scene.Diagrams can be displayed in the center of an exhibit, surrounded by actually scene photos.
Work Cited: Crime Scene Forensics, LLC, New York; www.crimescene-forensics.com
DNA Identity Testing
Today, DNA identity testing is widely used in the field of forensics and paternity identification. Other clinical applications are based upon the methods developed for forensic testing. They include assessment of donor hematopoietic engraftment after bone marrow transplantation and chimerism analysis after solid organ transplantation. Other uses include confirming a diagnosis of hydatidiform mole and resolving issues of specimen identity in cases of specimen mislabeling or misidentification. Finally, DNA identity testing can be used to evaluate tumor transmission after transplantation and thus determine whether a malignancy is of donor or recipient origin.VNTR and STR are useful for identity testing because they are polymorphic and are inherited in a mendelian fashion. Each individual inherits one paternal and one maternal allele of a specific STR locus, leading to further diversity in STR pattern.
Article: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1200713
Saturday, June 27, 2009
CSI: X-Ray Fingerprints helps find missing and lost children.
Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence Also Provides Chemical Information
Ordinary invasive fingerprinting techniques, such as dusting, are prone to damaging evidence. Micro-X-ray fluorescence images fingerprints without touching them. The process, called MXRF, zaps a print with a tiny X-ray beam that mixes with atoms left behind from sweat or evidence to form an image.
HOW MXRF WORKS: The new technique rapidly reveals the elemental composition of a sample by shining a thin beam of X-rays onto it without disturbing the sample. All chemical elements emit and absorb radiation at a "signature" frequency of light. For instance, sodium emits primarily orange light, while oxygen emits green light. Scientists can pass collected light through an instrument called a spectrograph to spread it into a spectrum, much like visible light spreads into a rainbow of colors by a prism. By carefully studying how the spectrum becomes brighter or darker at each wavelength, scientists can tell what chemical elements are present in a given sample. Chemicals, like potassium,sodium and chlorine from salts excreted in human sweat, then form an image of a fingerprint. This is a new way of visualizing fingerprints in cases where we couldn't detect a fingerprint with the traditional methods. This method also detects unusual chemical elements and their location on the fingerprint, giving valuable clues to investigators.
Scientists say the MXRF technique could be used to better track down lost or missing children. Children's fingerprints are more difficult to detect -- the new method could better detect prints based on chemicals left behind in a child's fingerprints due to food, soil or saliva and this information can be used to track down evidence of the child’s movements. http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/1208csi_xray_fingerprints.htm
Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence Also Provides Chemical Information
Ordinary invasive fingerprinting techniques, such as dusting, are prone to damaging evidence. Micro-X-ray fluorescence images fingerprints without touching them. The process, called MXRF, zaps a print with a tiny X-ray beam that mixes with atoms left behind from sweat or evidence to form an image.
HOW MXRF WORKS: The new technique rapidly reveals the elemental composition of a sample by shining a thin beam of X-rays onto it without disturbing the sample. All chemical elements emit and absorb radiation at a "signature" frequency of light. For instance, sodium emits primarily orange light, while oxygen emits green light. Scientists can pass collected light through an instrument called a spectrograph to spread it into a spectrum, much like visible light spreads into a rainbow of colors by a prism. By carefully studying how the spectrum becomes brighter or darker at each wavelength, scientists can tell what chemical elements are present in a given sample. Chemicals, like potassium,sodium and chlorine from salts excreted in human sweat, then form an image of a fingerprint. This is a new way of visualizing fingerprints in cases where we couldn't detect a fingerprint with the traditional methods. This method also detects unusual chemical elements and their location on the fingerprint, giving valuable clues to investigators.
Scientists say the MXRF technique could be used to better track down lost or missing children. Children's fingerprints are more difficult to detect -- the new method could better detect prints based on chemicals left behind in a child's fingerprints due to food, soil or saliva and this information can be used to track down evidence of the child’s movements. http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/1208csi_xray_fingerprints.htm
Friday, June 26, 2009
Forensic Art Solves Many Crimes Today
A forensic artist doing an age progression of a missing person's face has to take into consideration a great deal of information about that person, such as; including lifestyle, personal habits, and family genes. This article talks about how identifying a person using a family photo can be extremly useful. This can make the difference in someone simply recognizing the subject and actually speaking up or phoning in a tip.Thursday, June 25, 2009
Today's Forensics Tools
Today’s computer forensic research is largely divided according to the kind of data being analyzed, rather than the kind of analysis being performed. There is disk forensics, network forensics, RAM forensics, cell phone and small device forensics, document forensics and software forensics. "Research in all of these areas is limited by the inability of experimenters to obtain large datasets that are realistic, varied, and representative of the data from the field. Becausethey lack data, researchers can’t pursue many of the problems faced by today’s forensic practitioners" (Garfinkel).
Today much of the work in the field of computer forensics is focused on visualizing tools, data extraction techniques, and algorithm development. But this work is generally performed on small data sets provided by the experiment. "Few algorithms are validated on a wide range of data, and few tools developed by researchers work reliably in the field when they are exposed to data that is not conformant with the test sets" (Garfinkel). Even more troubling, researchers are missing algorithms and techniques that require massive amounts of information for proper operation.
Work Cited: Garfinkel, Simon L. "Forensic Corpora:A Challenge for Forensic Research". 10 April 2007. http://simson.net/ref/2007/Forensic_Corpora.pdf
Today much of the work in the field of computer forensics is focused on visualizing tools, data extraction techniques, and algorithm development. But this work is generally performed on small data sets provided by the experiment. "Few algorithms are validated on a wide range of data, and few tools developed by researchers work reliably in the field when they are exposed to data that is not conformant with the test sets" (Garfinkel). Even more troubling, researchers are missing algorithms and techniques that require massive amounts of information for proper operation.
Work Cited: Garfinkel, Simon L. "Forensic Corpora:A Challenge for Forensic Research". 10 April 2007. http://simson.net/ref/2007/Forensic_Corpora.pdf
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
STR Analysis
Short tandem repeat (STR) technology is a forensic analysis that evaluates specific regions (loci) that are found on nuclear DNA. The variable (polymorphic) nature of the STR regions that are analyzed for forensic testing intensifies the discrimination between one DNA profile and another. For example, the likelihood that any two individuals (except identical twins) will have the same 13-loci DNA profile can be as high as 1 in 1 billion or greater.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has chosen 13 specific STR loci to serve as the standard for CODIS. The purpose of establishing a core set of STR loci is to ensure that all forensic laboratories can establish uniform DNA databases and, more importantly, share valuable forensic information. If the forensic or convicted offender CODIS index is to be used in the investigative stages of unsolved cases, DNA profiles must be generated by using STR technology and the specific 13 core STR loci selected by the FBI.
Article: http://www.dna.gov/training/strdata/
Polymerase Chain Reaction - Xeroxing DNA
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enables researchers to produce millions of copies of a specific DNA sequence in approximately two hours. This automated process bypasses the need to use bacteria for amplifying DNA. It is one of the latest technological advances. This article talks about the copying of DNA and the implications.What Today's Fingerprints Reveal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYU1Td47PHU
This video shows Ronelle Coburn, Master IIHA Hand Analyst and author of Destiny at Your Fingertips, Discover the Inner Purpose of Your Life and What It Takes to Live It, decodes the fingerprints of hosts Lester Holt and Jenna Wolfe on NBC's The Today Show for their Life Purposes. Today fingerprints can reveal a lot about yourself.
This video shows Ronelle Coburn, Master IIHA Hand Analyst and author of Destiny at Your Fingertips, Discover the Inner Purpose of Your Life and What It Takes to Live It, decodes the fingerprints of hosts Lester Holt and Jenna Wolfe on NBC's The Today Show for their Life Purposes. Today fingerprints can reveal a lot about yourself.
Mobile Phone Data Forensics
Mobile Phone Forensics is the retrieval and examination of data found or recovered from mobile phones, PDAs, SIM/USIM cards, computer memory cards and hard drives. Worldwide mobile phone usage has increased dramatically in recent years and as such the convenience of easy communication, any time and anywhere, has lead to this communication tool being regularly utilised in a large number of the cases we investigate. The inevitable trace of evidence from mobile phone usage to clues about people's whereabouts, actions, and intentions delivers the need for mobile phone forensics. Information that can be retrieved from a phone include contact lists, SMS messages, address books, call logs, and location information. This kind of information can make or break a case both in investigations into infidelity right through to corporate fraud investigations.Here is an interesting article on Mobile Forensics: http://www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ecii/publications/articles/1C33DF76-D8D3-EFF5-47AE3681FD948D68.pdf
Digital Forensics vs. Computer Forensics
Digital Forensics or Computer Forensics?
In the past, computer forensic investigations have had PC and Laptop systems as their primary target for examination. Within the past years, the computer forensic field has been forced to broaden its scope, tools and investigative techniques in order to keep abreast of the personal technology being used by common citizens. Equipment such as Cell phones, PDA's, Blackberrys and GPS systems are used on a daily basis, and can contain vital information from sms test messages, emails, phone logs and previous GPS destination coordinates. Therefore the term Digital Forensics is becoming very popular as the computer forensic field expands and incorporates the digital analysis of new technological devices.
Work Cited: "Digital Forensics for Private Investigators". EzineArticles.com. 2009. 05 June 2009. http://ezinearticles.com/?Digital-Forensics-For-Private-Investigators&id=2062795.
In the past, computer forensic investigations have had PC and Laptop systems as their primary target for examination. Within the past years, the computer forensic field has been forced to broaden its scope, tools and investigative techniques in order to keep abreast of the personal technology being used by common citizens. Equipment such as Cell phones, PDA's, Blackberrys and GPS systems are used on a daily basis, and can contain vital information from sms test messages, emails, phone logs and previous GPS destination coordinates. Therefore the term Digital Forensics is becoming very popular as the computer forensic field expands and incorporates the digital analysis of new technological devices.
Work Cited: "Digital Forensics for Private Investigators". EzineArticles.com. 2009. 05 June 2009. http://ezinearticles.com/?Digital-Forensics-For-Private-Investigators&id=2062795.
Modern Polygraph Machine
The polygraph is used as a lie detector by police departments, the FBI, the CIA, federal and state governments, and numerous private agencies. The underlying theory of the polygraph is that when people lie they also get measurably nervous about lying. The heartbeat increases, blood pressure goes up, breathing rhythms change, perspiration increases, etc.There are three basic approaches to the modern test:
1. The Control Question Test- "This test is often used to determine whether certain criminal suspects should be prosecuted or classified as uninvolved in the crime" (Caroll0.
2. The Direct Lie Test- detects lying by comparing physiological responses when the subject is told to deliberately lie to responses when they tell the truth.
3. The Guilty Knowledge Test- This test compares physiological responses to multiple-choice type questions about the crime, one choice of which contains information only the crime investigators and the criminal would know about.
Work Cited: Carroll, Robert. Criminal Profiling: Cold Reading for Cold Cases. American Psychological Association, 2007.
Friday, June 19, 2009
PAST TECHNOLOGY
VIDEO: HOW TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY AND PROVE THAT IT WORKS!
MODERN MARVELS: POLICE GEAR - KEVLAR 1975 IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING KEVLAR LESTER SHUMAN ESTABLISHED A MODEL FOR FUTURE POLICE TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS SAVED MANY LIVES. MODERN MARVELS: KEVLAR
http://www.history.com/video.do?name=modernmarvels&bcpid=1766638695&bclid=1803311455&bctid=1606752448
VIDEO: HOW TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY AND PROVE THAT IT WORKS!
MODERN MARVELS: POLICE GEAR - KEVLAR 1975 IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING KEVLAR LESTER SHUMAN ESTABLISHED A MODEL FOR FUTURE POLICE TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS SAVED MANY LIVES. MODERN MARVELS: KEVLAR
http://www.history.com/video.do?name=modernmarvels&bcpid=1766638695&bclid=1803311455&bctid=1606752448
Visible Proof
The Bertillon system
"Every measurement slowly reveals the workings of the criminal. Careful observation and patience will reveal the truth."
—Alphonse Bertillon, French criminologist
Surveying the suspect's body
After the invention of photography, police began to keep "rogues' galleries," disorganized photographic collections of suspects and convicts. What was needed was a way to retrieve images and information quickly. In 1879, Alphonse Bertillon invented a method that combined detailed measurement and classification of unique features with frontal and profile photographs of suspects—and which recorded the information on standardized cards in orderly files. Bertillon's system was based on five primary measurements: (1) head length; (2) head breadth; (3) length of the middle finger; (4) the length of the left foot; (5) the length of the "cubit" (the forearm from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger). Each principal heading was further subdivided into three classes of "small," "medium" and "large." The length of the little finger and the eye color were also recorded. Bertillon's system was later overtaken by fingerprinting, but the Bertillon "mug shot" endures.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/galleries/technologies/bertillon.html
"Every measurement slowly reveals the workings of the criminal. Careful observation and patience will reveal the truth."
—Alphonse Bertillon, French criminologist
Surveying the suspect's body
After the invention of photography, police began to keep "rogues' galleries," disorganized photographic collections of suspects and convicts. What was needed was a way to retrieve images and information quickly. In 1879, Alphonse Bertillon invented a method that combined detailed measurement and classification of unique features with frontal and profile photographs of suspects—and which recorded the information on standardized cards in orderly files. Bertillon's system was based on five primary measurements: (1) head length; (2) head breadth; (3) length of the middle finger; (4) the length of the left foot; (5) the length of the "cubit" (the forearm from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger). Each principal heading was further subdivided into three classes of "small," "medium" and "large." The length of the little finger and the eye color were also recorded. Bertillon's system was later overtaken by fingerprinting, but the Bertillon "mug shot" endures.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/galleries/technologies/bertillon.html
ENTERTAINMENT:CSI FUNNY--(this is TV: NOT real)
SOCIETY FORCES TECHNOLOGY?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7-10_CP45Y
SOCIETY FORCES TECHNOLOGY?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7-10_CP45Y
Forensic scientists dust fingerprints with magnetic particles to reveal the hidden swirls and curls that differentiate each person on the planet. The iron oxide particles attach themselves to the tiny bits of water, minerals, and oils that accumulate on the fingers as they touch various objects and other parts of the body. Coming up: in the "Present" new fingerprinting techniques that use antibodies on your fingers to reveal drug use,gun use, and much more. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/10/fingerprint-drugs.html
VIDEO:The ballistics pendulum was invented in 1742 to measure the speed of bullets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNGm4mVWMuY
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Forensic Ballistics
Forensic ballistics is concerned with analysing bullets and firearms that have been used in crimes.
Rifling
Identification of a bullet became possible with the advent of rifling as far back as the 1400s. Rifling is a process of applying grooves to a gun barrel which cause the bullets fired to have grooves, indentations and scratches on them. These marks on the bullets are unique to the weapon that fired them. The first recorded case of firearm identification being used to identify the shooter was back in 1835 in England. Oliver Wendell Holmes
In 1902 Oliver Wendell Holmes became the first person to produce ballistics information in a court of law. Having done some reading on firearm identification he used a gunsmith to fire the suspected firearm into cotton wool. This test bullet was then compared to the one recovered from the victim. Under microscope it was proven that both had been fired by the same gun.
Calvin Goddard
Calvin Goddard compiled a database of all the guns available from twelve different manufacturers, including test firing data. He later invented the comparison microscope that allowed two bullets to be viewed side by side for ease of examination.
In 1925 Goddard wrote a piece for the “Army Ordnance” in which he described in detail the use of his comparison microscope for firearm investigations. He titled this article “Forensic Ballistics”, a term which has been retained ever since.
http://forensicsfaq.com/forensic-ballistics.html
Identification of a bullet became possible with the advent of rifling as far back as the 1400s. Rifling is a process of applying grooves to a gun barrel which cause the bullets fired to have grooves, indentations and scratches on them. These marks on the bullets are unique to the weapon that fired them. The first recorded case of firearm identification being used to identify the shooter was back in 1835 in England. Oliver Wendell Holmes
In 1902 Oliver Wendell Holmes became the first person to produce ballistics information in a court of law. Having done some reading on firearm identification he used a gunsmith to fire the suspected firearm into cotton wool. This test bullet was then compared to the one recovered from the victim. Under microscope it was proven that both had been fired by the same gun.
Calvin Goddard
Calvin Goddard compiled a database of all the guns available from twelve different manufacturers, including test firing data. He later invented the comparison microscope that allowed two bullets to be viewed side by side for ease of examination.
In 1925 Goddard wrote a piece for the “Army Ordnance” in which he described in detail the use of his comparison microscope for firearm investigations. He titled this article “Forensic Ballistics”, a term which has been retained ever since.
http://forensicsfaq.com/forensic-ballistics.html
Computer Analysis and Response Team (CART)
The premiere computer forensic group in the United States is the FBI's Computer Analysis and Response Team or CART. CART dates back to the mid 1980's and it derived from the FBI's magnetic media program. The link in the title of this post is the FBI's webpage for CART. It gives a brief background of the team and also highlights some of their accomplishments. (Link in Title)
Computer Froensics Time line
Computer Forensics is really still in its infancy. Its history only goes back about two decades. Here is a basic time line of the history of computer forensics around the world.
(Link in Title)
(Link in Title)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Polygraph Machine Video
This video shows the beginning of the polygraph machine and development. The real question is can the machine scientifically measure if someone is lying or are all those graphs and numbers just pseudoscience? The examiner starts off with control questions and then goes to guilt questions. Can we tell if someone is lying through body language or facial expressions? Their are many questions and no reliable way to detect if someone is lying.
Polygraph Machine
An earlier and less successful lie detector or polygraph machine was invented by James Mackenzie in 1902. However, the modern polygraph machine was invented by John Larson in 1921. John Larson, a University of California medical student, invented the modern lie detector (polygraph) in 1921. Used in police interrogation and investigation since 1924, the lie detector is still controversial among psychologists and is not always judicially acceptable. The name polygraph comes from the fact that the machine records several different body responses simultaneously as the individual is questioned.Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Digital Evidence: Its True Value
Here is an interesting article on digital evidence. It talks about how a floppy disk led investigators to a serial killer. The evolution and new technology advances have solved many crimes as you can see by reading this article. Many cases and criminals were found using a simple floppy disk. Read the following article...
DNA Laboratories have come a long way..
Before 1990, the majority of U.S. forensic laboratories were associated with law enforcement agencies, yet received a relatively small portion of their given agency’s total budget. In general, laboratories performed a range of services including drug testing, firearm examinations, bullet comparisons, paint chip characteristics, assessment of tool marks, serology, handwriting analysis, and fingerprint comparisons. Laboratory personnel received training in fingerprints, basic and advanced blood stain and bullet pattern analysis, evidence collection, and crime scene processing. Due to the length of time and high cost required to obtain probative information, large numbers of samples were not processed.
Law enforcement relied upon forensic laboratories to provide a basic level of discrimination of biological evidence. Analyses of this evidence in cases involving intimate contact were conducted using serological tests such as ABO blood typing and analysis of polymorphic isoenzymes such as Esterase D to enhance the power of discrimination. Discrimination of protein markers was achieved largely through immunological methods or electrophoretic methods using starch gels or isoelectric focusing plates. Phenotyping of biological evidence was possible but required technical expertise and was subject to certain limitations such as the need for fresh semen samples in the analysis of sexual assault evidence. Overall, the typing methods in use provided limited discrimination and lacked the capability to individualize biological evidence. In some cases, individuals who could not be excluded on the basis of serological analysis were exonerated years later through DNA testing.
More on article go to: http://www.forensicmag.com/articles.asp?pid=30
Law enforcement relied upon forensic laboratories to provide a basic level of discrimination of biological evidence. Analyses of this evidence in cases involving intimate contact were conducted using serological tests such as ABO blood typing and analysis of polymorphic isoenzymes such as Esterase D to enhance the power of discrimination. Discrimination of protein markers was achieved largely through immunological methods or electrophoretic methods using starch gels or isoelectric focusing plates. Phenotyping of biological evidence was possible but required technical expertise and was subject to certain limitations such as the need for fresh semen samples in the analysis of sexual assault evidence. Overall, the typing methods in use provided limited discrimination and lacked the capability to individualize biological evidence. In some cases, individuals who could not be excluded on the basis of serological analysis were exonerated years later through DNA testing.
More on article go to: http://www.forensicmag.com/articles.asp?pid=30
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
DNA Forensics in Marine Ecology
DNA Forensics in Marine Ecology
This video speaks about rapid mothods for sequencing DNA which has resulted in major advances in our understanding of the evolution and distribution of a wide variety of different marine organisms. Researcher, Ron Burton describes applications and the evolution of marine life throughout this video. It puts a great perspective to DNA forensics on Ocean Science and Marine Ecology.
This video speaks about rapid mothods for sequencing DNA which has resulted in major advances in our understanding of the evolution and distribution of a wide variety of different marine organisms. Researcher, Ron Burton describes applications and the evolution of marine life throughout this video. It puts a great perspective to DNA forensics on Ocean Science and Marine Ecology.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Forensic Science Center Update
FOR MOST PEOPLE, "forensic science" means cops and fingerprints and DNA analysis. All of that is still true, but these days forensic science encompasses much more. Some "whodunits" are more complicated and can involve an international cast of characters. Forensic science now also is used to verify and monitor compliance with such international agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention, and to learn whether a country is developing a clandestine nuclear weapons program. The Laboratory's Forensic Science Center was established in 1991, and in its short life has become a leader in law enforcement, national security, defense, and intelligence applications. Using sophisticated analytical equipment, experts in organic, inorganic, and biological chemistry can determine the composition and often the source of the most minute samples of material. Lasers are also being used to "interrogate," or examine, a variety of materials. The March 1994 issue of Energy & Technology Review described in detail the workings of the Forensic Science Center. It reported on the Center's excellent performance in a "round-robin" series of exercises with analytical chemistry facilities from around the world. The Center has done so well in these exercises over the years that it is no longer just a participant. Its staff also prepares samples for other laboratories to analyze. Following is an update on activities at the Forensic Science Center since early 1994.
Miniaturizing the GC/MS The Forensic Science Center is also at the forefront in developing new, portable systems capable of real-time analysis in the field. These units have numerous applications, from identifying materials to support verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention to investigating criminal activities. Almost five years ago, the Center developed a suitcase-size gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) for on-site identification of ultratrace (microgram or less) quantities of certain compounds in complex mixtures. The system weighed 68 kg (150 lb), which made it portable, but only barely. Three years later, the system's weight had been cut by more than half to 32 kg (70 lb), still a hefty load. Today, at 20 kg (44 lb), with an accompanying laptop computer, this system can realistically be considered portable. This rugged, all-metal vacuum vessel can be carried on board an airplane and put into the overhead compartment, while its accompanying generator and off-line vacuum reconditioning pumping unit travel in the baggage compartment.
Works cited: Science and Technology Review, August 1995
Miniaturizing the GC/MS The Forensic Science Center is also at the forefront in developing new, portable systems capable of real-time analysis in the field. These units have numerous applications, from identifying materials to support verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention to investigating criminal activities. Almost five years ago, the Center developed a suitcase-size gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) for on-site identification of ultratrace (microgram or less) quantities of certain compounds in complex mixtures. The system weighed 68 kg (150 lb), which made it portable, but only barely. Three years later, the system's weight had been cut by more than half to 32 kg (70 lb), still a hefty load. Today, at 20 kg (44 lb), with an accompanying laptop computer, this system can realistically be considered portable. This rugged, all-metal vacuum vessel can be carried on board an airplane and put into the overhead compartment, while its accompanying generator and off-line vacuum reconditioning pumping unit travel in the baggage compartment.
Works cited: Science and Technology Review, August 1995
Saturday, June 6, 2009
History of Fingerprinting
There are records of fingerprints being taken many centuries ago, although they weren't nearly as sophisticated as they are today. The ancient Babylonians pressed the tips of their fingertips into clay to record business transactions. The Chinese used ink-on-paper finger impressions for business and to help identify their children. However, fingerprints weren't used as a method for identifying criminals until the 19th century. In 1858, an Englishman named Sir William Herschel was working as the Chief Magistrate of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India. In order to reduce fraud, he had the residents record their fingerprints when signing business documents.A few years later, Scottish doctor Henry Faulds was working in Japan when he discovered fingerprints left by artists on ancient pieces of clay. This finding inspired him to begin investigating fingerprints. In 1880, Faulds wrote to his cousin, the famed naturalist Charles Darwin, and asked for help with developing a fingerprint classification system. Darwin declined, but forwarded the letter to his cousin, Sir Francis Galton. Galton was a eugenicist who collected measurements on people around the world to determine how traits were inherited from one generation to the next. He began collecting fingerprints and eventually gathered some 8,000 different samples to analyze. In 1892, he published a book called "Fingerprints," in which he outlined a fingerprint classification system -- the first in existence. The system was based on patterns of arches, loops and whorls.
Article Cited: Watson, Stephanie. "How Fingerprinting Works". May 26 2008. Hand News, Boston 2008. 06 June 2009. http://www.handresearch.com/news/how-fingerprinting-works.htm
Is Fingerprint Identification a "Science"?
Fingerprint identification has been around for a long time. It has nearly a century of court acceptance in the United States. Yet, in the aftermath of United States Supreme Court cases like Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) and Kumho Tire v. Carmichael (1999), requiring courts to determine the reliability (validity) of underlying techniques before admitting expert opinion based on it, questions are bound to be raised about the scientific legitimacy of many of the techniques commonly used in crime laboratories, fingerprint identification among them.
Skilled examiners of fingerprint evidence agree that the process of comparing latent fingerprints of unknown origin with inked impressions of known origin is an "art," rather than a science. It requires an examiner to assess, on the basis of experience in dealing with thousands of fingerprints, what parts of an incomplete and partially blurred latent print show visible friction ridge detail that can be used for identification purposes. But whether fingerprint identification is "art" or "science" is clearly no longer relevant to a Daubert inquiry. What needs to be examined is whether the underlying premises upon which fingerprint identification are based have been empirically validated. And these premises are three-fold: (1) the friction ridge detail of the epidermis on the palm side of the hands2 remains unchanged during the lifetime of an individual, except for accidental or intentional scarification or alteration; (2) friction ridge pattern areas exhibit so much variety of detail that no two patterns are ever found to be exactly the same on the digits (or palms or soles of feet) of one individual or on the digits (or palms or soles of feet) of other individuals; (3) while these friction ridge patterns exhibit an infinite variety of detail, they nevertheless fall within certain broad classes or categories that permit police to store and retrieve millions of prints according to classification formulae.
Article: Moenssens, Andre A. "Is Fingerprint Identification a "Science"?". April 5 2006. Forensic-evidence.com. 06 June 2009. <http://www.forensic-evidence.com/site/ID/ID00004_2.html>
Skilled examiners of fingerprint evidence agree that the process of comparing latent fingerprints of unknown origin with inked impressions of known origin is an "art," rather than a science. It requires an examiner to assess, on the basis of experience in dealing with thousands of fingerprints, what parts of an incomplete and partially blurred latent print show visible friction ridge detail that can be used for identification purposes. But whether fingerprint identification is "art" or "science" is clearly no longer relevant to a Daubert inquiry. What needs to be examined is whether the underlying premises upon which fingerprint identification are based have been empirically validated. And these premises are three-fold: (1) the friction ridge detail of the epidermis on the palm side of the hands2 remains unchanged during the lifetime of an individual, except for accidental or intentional scarification or alteration; (2) friction ridge pattern areas exhibit so much variety of detail that no two patterns are ever found to be exactly the same on the digits (or palms or soles of feet) of one individual or on the digits (or palms or soles of feet) of other individuals; (3) while these friction ridge patterns exhibit an infinite variety of detail, they nevertheless fall within certain broad classes or categories that permit police to store and retrieve millions of prints according to classification formulae.
Article: Moenssens, Andre A. "Is Fingerprint Identification a "Science"?". April 5 2006. Forensic-evidence.com. 06 June 2009. <http://www.forensic-evidence.com/site/ID/ID00004_2.html>
Friday, June 5, 2009
Forensic Art Video
Video by UF News and Public Affairs, from the University Archives in the UF Libraries.
This video is showing a forensic artist in 1984 who does reconstructions of the faces of those who have died using their skeletons. She is an advisor to the TV show Quincy and also was an advisor for the movie Gorky Park. Recently she worked with a team who solved the problem of identifying the real remains of Pizarro. This video contributes to history and identifies a famous historic figure that we all know who went missing. The video shows the details performed of forensic art with one of the best known forensic artists.
This video is showing a forensic artist in 1984 who does reconstructions of the faces of those who have died using their skeletons. She is an advisor to the TV show Quincy and also was an advisor for the movie Gorky Park. Recently she worked with a team who solved the problem of identifying the real remains of Pizarro. This video contributes to history and identifies a famous historic figure that we all know who went missing. The video shows the details performed of forensic art with one of the best known forensic artists.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Computer Forensics
Not only has technology changed the science of forensics but it has also created a new forensics field, computer forensics. Michael Anderson is considered to be the father of computer forensics. He helped to develop the first computer forensic training classes for law enforcement officials. He also trained many college professors in the field and in turn helped create some of the first college level computer forensics classes.
"NTI - Michael R. Anderson." NTI - Home Page. 02 June 2009 http://www.forensics-intl.com/mra.html.
- Modern Marvels Video: Police Gear-Evidence Tech: Fingerprinting
- This video from the History Channel explains some early methods of obtaining evidence and the history of fingerprinting. It shows how problems with fingerprinting were solved with technology and Dna. http://www.history.com/video.do?name=modernmarvels&bcpid=1766638695&bclid=1803311455&bctid=1604855423
Start of Forensic Art
"Forensic art is a law enforcement artistic technique used in the identification, apprehension, or conviction of wanted persons. Forensic art encompasses several disciplines including composite art, image modification, age progression, post-mortem reconstruction and demonstrative evidence. However, composite art is traditionally the most commonly known discipline of forensic art" (Mancusi). The art of composite drawing has been used by police forces throughout time.
"Composite Art is an unusual marriage of two unlikely disciplines, police investigative work and art. The cop-artist, almost an oxymoron, possesses both skills. The artist can create a quality facial drawing with assured confidence. Though drawing skills are important parts of composite art, the real challenge is in the ability to interview and relate to a victim or witness. The purpose is to successfully gather, interpret and illustrate the information obtained from the victim's memory" (Mancusi).
In the past twenty years, composite art has evolved into forensic art. Forensic art possesses knowledge of victim psychology, post-mortem reconstruction and human aging.
works cited: Mancusi, Stephen. "Forensic Art." 2000. Forartist.com 02 June 2009
Here is a picture of a composite sketch. The composite sketch is completed in three stages; proportions, characteristics, and rendering.
"Composite Art is an unusual marriage of two unlikely disciplines, police investigative work and art. The cop-artist, almost an oxymoron, possesses both skills. The artist can create a quality facial drawing with assured confidence. Though drawing skills are important parts of composite art, the real challenge is in the ability to interview and relate to a victim or witness. The purpose is to successfully gather, interpret and illustrate the information obtained from the victim's memory" (Mancusi).
In the past twenty years, composite art has evolved into forensic art. Forensic art possesses knowledge of victim psychology, post-mortem reconstruction and human aging.
works cited: Mancusi, Stephen. "Forensic Art." 2000. Forartist.com
Here is a picture of a composite sketch. The composite sketch is completed in three stages; proportions, characteristics, and rendering.
First DNA fingerprint
Dr. Alec Jeffreys is holding a copy of the first DNA fingerprint profile. In 1985, Jeffrey introduced the idea of the DNA fingerprint while studying the myoglobin gene. He revealed that nucleotides were repeated several times in a specific order. His study also showed that these nucleotides varied from an individual to individual and could be identified using restriction enzymes and the technique was known as Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). Within six months of Jeffreys discovery, genetic fingerprinting was used in a case to prove a Ghanaian boy was his parents' son.
more infromation on this article go to: http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/20031115/technology01.shtml
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The beginnings of Forensic Psychology
Not all forensics is a search of the crimscene. When people are involved the need for Forensic Psychology becomes center stage. Some of the beginings of forensic psychology started in 1895 with the work of J McKeen Cattell of Columbia Universery. The early work was noted to to have a great degree of inaccuracy which generated intrest among the psychological community. The earliest studies were on witness recall, and why multiple witnesses who saw the same thing would have different details. The studies of other psychologists now interested in the work have led to studies showing that emotions decrease the accuracy of witness recall. This was pointed out by Stern in 1939, who using these studies went to create the first academic journal about Applied Psychology, or Forensic Psychology.
Timeline (click link)
Here I have a relatively short timeline showing the beginnings of forensics. The earliest known use of medical knowledge to a crime situation was done in China. In 1248 their was even an early book writen in china, The Hsi Duan Yu, in which the author made a distinguishment between drowning and strangulation. Early evidence of Roman culutre haveing a basic understanding of crime scene investigation has also been recorded. It's not until 1784 that real investigation of crimes moves into Engrland. Where as before the court system just did what ever the monarch said was right. It took a little over 300 years to move from the early Chinese and Roman ideas of investigation over the England. The first forensic lab was established in France about 200 hundred years after that. The world was slowly takeing steps toward honest investigation instead of quick justice. It's not until 1932 that the US establishes the FBI twenty two years after France's first forensic lab. The progress after that is much more fast paced until 1998/1999 when the FBI developed a DNA database and set up a system to automaticaly match fingerprints.
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