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• S tability and regularity analysis of bare footprint measurements at different motion speeds. • Significant differences were found in length measurements (A1-A5). • MPJ and Calc width showed no significant differences across different speeds. • Mean length measurements decreased gradually as walking speed accelerated among young adults in eastern China. In some crime scenes, there may be bare footprints. Analyzing and testing the linear measurements of bare footprints in crime scenes can play an important role in personal analysis and individual identification. However, the linear measurements of bare footprints may be influenced by different motion states, leading to changes in length and width or even significant deviations. Previous studies focused on the linear differences between static and dynamic footprints, and failed to take the speed factor into consideration. This paper studied the stability and change regularities of the linear measurements of bare footprints in four different motion states: standing, normal walking, fast walking and trotting. Dust footprints of the right feet were collected from 80 healthy young adults under these four motion states. Seven linear measurements were obtained for each footprint using the Reel method, totaling 2240 data sets. One-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess the measurement variations across the four states. The results showed that there were statistically significant variances in the length measurements (A1-A5) between the standing state and other motion states, whereas no statistically significant variances were observed between the three dynamic states. It was found that the mean values of the five length measurements (A1–A5) increased from static to dynamic state, and then gradually decreased slightly as the walking speed increased. Additionally, no significant differences were found in the two width measurements (MPJ Width and Calc Width) between the four motion states. As a preliminary study, this study can provide a reference for the analysis of bare footprints in different motion states extracted from crime scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA technology is the gold standard with respect to the identification of individuals from biological evidence. The technology offers the convenience of a universally similar approach and methodology for analysis across the globe. However, the technology has not realised its full potential in India due to the lack of a DNA database and lacunae in sample collection and preservation from the scene of crime and victims (especially those of sexual assault). Further, statistical interpretation of DNA results is non-existent in the majority of cases. Though the latest technologies and developments in the field of DNA analysis are being adopted and implemented, very little has been enacted practically to improve optimise sample collection and preservation. This article discusses current casework scenarios that highlight the pitfalls and ambiguous areas in the field of DNA analysis, especially with respect DNA databases, sampling, and statistical approaches to genetic data analysis. Possible solutions and mitigation measures are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of forensic medicine in forensic investigations is to provide evidence on the basis of which suspects can be identified and the suspect's guilt can be proved or refuted. Forensic experts must ensure that evidence is treated with the utmost care so that it is not contaminated, damaged or misused. Forensic experts restore the order of events in which the crime was committed, combining evidence, investigation and scientific recommendations. This order of action is used in order to understand the mechanism of the crime, the roles of the persons involved in it and the possible objectives of the commission of the crime and etc. The restoration of the crime helps legal experts and subsequently law enforcement representatives to create and present to the court a logical chain of events. This article analyzes the role of forensic medicine at the place of death. The article analyzes the actions of a forensic expert after finding a corpse at the scene or recording the injury of a living person. The article presents the actions of a forensic expert on the basis of national legislation and the individual expertise gained, and describes the sequence of questions asked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 150 mock jurors viewed bloodstain pattern analysis evidence. • Split into two groups, the test group also viewed a 3D flythrough of the scene. • The test group had significantly better knowledge retention. • There was no significant difference in emotion and confidence between the groups. There are numerous crime scene investigation applications of 3D scanning that have been previously documented. This paper documents the application of a 3D point cloud in the presentation of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence to mock jurors. 150 mock jurors viewed a presentation of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence from a murder trial in the UK. After viewing the evidence, the participants were tested on their knowledge of the evidence and repeated the test again 2 weeks later; to simulate criminal trial conditions; whereby there is a time lapse between the initial viewing of evidential material and deliberation. This paper found that the mock jurors who additionally viewed a 3D flythrough of a point cloud of the crime scene, better retained knowledge of the evidence over time, reported a greater ability to visualise the crime scene and had higher levels of interest in the evidence. Crucially, the 3D flythrough group did not report different levels of confidence in the accuracy of their memories of the evidence, nor different levels of emotional arousal to the group that viewed the evidence without the 3D presentation. Together, these findings suggest that 3D scanning of crime scenes, and the resultant point cloud's presentation to jurors, could add further value to the justice system when spatial information, such as Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence, is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ghosting occurred most frequently on the 1st and 2nd toe of the footprint. • Ghosting was present on all ten toes of the footprints in only 2.94% of participants. • Footprint measurements with ghosting are significantly higher. • More accurate estimates of stature are from measurements with ghosting. In cases where multiple footprints are found at a crime scene, it is unusual that all are static, and some are likely dynamic. Depending on how the footprint was made, we distinguish between dynamic and static footprints. A distinguishing feature that has only recently been associated with dynamic footprints is the fact that dynamic footprints differ from static footprints by the presence of additional markings around the back of the heel and the tops of the toe prints, the so-called ghosting phenomenon. The present study aims to analyse the ghosting phenomenon on dynamic footprints – its occurrence in relation to sex, laterality, and different areas of footprints as well as length features. Additionally, it aims to investigate the assessment of the ghosting phenomenon on dynamic footprints when estimating stature for biological profiling in the forensic field. The study sample comprised of 170 young adults aged 18 – 30 years of both biological sexes. Stature was measured and dynamic footprints were obtained where the ghosting phenomenon was analysed together with length measurements of the same footprint with and without ghosting. In the first and second toes of footprints, the ghosting phenomenon occurred most frequently in both sexes and in the sex-mixed group. Sex differences were not significant in ghosting occurrence on right and left footprints (p > 0.05), except for the area of the left fifth toe (p = 0.045). All the footprints' lengths with ghosting were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than those without ghosting. Statures calculated from footprint length measurements with ghosting predicted stature more accurately than statures calculated from the same footprint length measurements without ghosting. In the case of finding dynamic footprints at crime scenes, it is necessary to correctly identify and evaluate ghosting of the footprint. This comparison can be helpful in interpreting how ghosting should be taken into account when estimating a person's stature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Crime scene investigation training and education has to address specific problem solving and psychomotor skills. • AR technology could improve current training and education approaches when used as a supplementary tool. • Potential challenges and considerations are highlighted that are to be explored before implementing AR technology. The role of the crime scene investigator is complex, and investigators need to be able to conduct multiple frequently performed tasks. Appropriate training and education are critical to impart the crime scene investigator with the necessary capabilities. For a range of reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for multi-disciplinary capabilities, training and education requirements have evolved in recent times to be more flexible and accessible. The skills of a crime scene investigator can be broadly categorised into two types of fundamental skills: decision-making and psychomotor skills. Both these skills need to be taught and assessed within training and education programs. The most common approach to impart these skills is by incorporating a crime scene simulation facility; however, not everyone has access to these facilities. Furthermore, crime scene staff often undertake refresher courses and are required to complete proficiency assessments. Conducting these activities in a dedicated crime scene simulation facility is time consuming and costly. Virtual tools have been developed in recent years to address this, but these tools only assess decision-making skills and not psychomotor skills. This paper argues that the implementation of augmented reality (AR) technology should be considered in crime scene investigator training and university education, because it can provide significant advantages when paired with conventional methods of training and education. When appropriately managed, AR can provide an avenue of training where both decision-making and psychomotor skills can be addressed simultaneously, while providing a more flexible and accessible approach. The implementation of AR has the potential to significantly improve the standards of teaching, resulting in better equipped crime scene investigators. The paper will explore how AR has the potential to improve accessibility of training, increase safety, enhance the student experience, enhance collaboration and feedback through connectivity and potentially reduce cost. This paper will also provide an insight into what would need to be considered before implementing AR technology into crime scene investigation training and education alongside current approaches. It is argued that the inclusion of AR into the current training and education arsenal provides significant benefits that are worthy of exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This case report shows how databases can be used to determine likelihood ratios. • The evaluation of a two-way transfer is detailed. • Using evaluative reporting allows for a transparent conclusion to court. In forensic paint examination, paint traces retrieved on a crime scene are regularly compared to painted objects seized from a suspect. Less often, traces are only observed on the seized objects and compared to a damaged painted object on the crime scene. In some specific cases, paint traces may be found both on the crime scene and on one or multiple seized painted objects. The latter may be the result of a cross-transfer that occurred during the illicit act. However, mere coincidence is another possible explanation for these observations and may not be neglected. Proper consideration of the relevant populations and sufficient analytical data permits the evaluation of the results given activity level propositions. This allows the forensic expert to present a transparent and well-balanced statement on the value of their findings concerning the disputed issues in court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contraventional liability is one of the three forms of liability specific to administrative law, which has a criminal origin, being decriminalized in Romania and other former totalitarian states since the middle of the last century. In its legal regime, some "reminiscences" of criminal liability continue to be preserved, but, at the same time, in the more than seven decades since it "left" the criminal sphere, it has acquired an autonomy, which determines many of the contemporary theorists to talk about the need to outline a contravention law, distinct from administrative law. At the same time, in jurisprudence there are solutions that, in our opinion, reveal visions that move away from the philosophy of this form of liability, which enjoys an independent law, represented by the current Government Ordinance no. 2/2001 regarding the legal regime of contraventions, as well as numerous special laws that either regulate specific contraventional regimes, or regulate special rules applicable to distinct contraventional sanctions, such as the performance of an activity for the benefit of the community. One of these is the substantiation, through jurisprudence, of the "presumption of the validity of the contraventional act," which is based on the fact that the ascertaining agent has ascertained the fact himself, which makes the tendency of the violator to defend himself and the steps taken to prove the contrary they are ab initio doomed to failure. This is because they hit the "wall" of the judge's conviction that, since the investigating agent himself was at the scene of the crime and recorded it in the minutes, you have to work hard and, as a rule, in vain, to prove the opposite. It is a jurisprudence that we are trying to counter, but the results obtained so far make us remain skeptical that we will succeed in this until a legislative instrument intervenes that creates a jurisprudential river, likely to cause the courts to abandon this "plateau" of the merits of the contraventional act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Investigates previously unknown ethical issues in forensic entomology. • Examines the application of Codes of Ethics in Forensic Entomology. • Places a premium on interdisciplinary collaboration to promote transparency and sustain ethics. This article investigates a critical part of professional careers: adhering to a code of ethics that defines proper behavior within the context of one's specialized practice. It aims to improve the setting of forensic entomology work by highlighting the ethical issues that frequently emerge. The primary goal is to uncover common ethical issues involved in this field's everyday activities and provide informed advice on appropriate resolution options. This investigation dives into the complex interaction of religious beliefs, cultural aspects, and issues of ethics, evaluating their relevance in forensic entomology. It examines a wide range of ethical issues, from the ethics involved in collecting samples at crime scenes and morgues to the ethics created into scientific investigations, report writing, and court testimony. These guiding principles are critical in setting scientific standards and building public trust in forensic entomology's ability to provide exceptional services. Notably, regardless of whether the forensic entomology service provider is accredited by any validating organization, these ethical requirements remain critical, emphasizing their global application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Varied hypothetico-deductive reasoning styles impact trace search and collection. • CSIs could benefit from external knowledge for investigation's many decision points. • There is no clear consensus over how much information CSIs should receive. • CSIs need better tools to aid in reasoning processes and improve CSI outcomes. 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. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mueller polarimetry develops latent fingerprints and removes their backgrounds. • The procedure is non-destructive, so it preserves evidence for further analysis. • The method is flexible and robust against measurement errors. • The proposed instrument is inexpensive which makes it accessible for any crime lab. • The Mueller polarimeter is portable so it is suitable for crime scene work. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RACs in dust impressions were similar size/larger than their test impression mates. • RACs with positional and geometric similarity occurred between unrelated outsoles. • A minimum of 3.1% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features = 2.8 mm. • A maximum of 32% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features of any size. This study serves as Part II of an investigation into the random match frequency of randomly acquired characteristics (RAC-RMF) in footwear evidence. In Part I, RAC-RMF was estimated in a dataset of laboratory-simulated crime scene impressions deposited in blood. For Part II, a second dataset was created composed of impressions deposited in dust on paper or tile, with the latter lifted using gelatin or Mylar film. A total of 1,513 RACs were identified from more than 160 dust impressions and compared to RACs with positional similarity in test impressions from 1,299 non-mated outsoles. RACs of any size deposited in dust exhibited a 31% decrease in shoes with non-zero RAC-RMFs as compared to their mated test impressions, while those deposited in blood exhibited a 45% increase. When only considering shoes with at least one RAC deemed forensically-reliable (length ⩾ 2.8 mm), 3.1% of shoes contributing dust impressions and 3.4% of shoes contributing blood impressions exhibited relative RAC-RMFs at a value ⩾ 0.0008. Although each dataset resulted in a comparable rate for encountering non-zero RAC-RMFs, the estimate for dust was based on twice the number of RAC comparisons (154,477) than those performed when assessing blood (77,566). While these results are considered specific to the non-mated impressions and methods of analysis described herein, and continued work is required before rates can be fully understood and reported in forensic casework, this study encountered non-zero RAC-RMFs for shoes exhibiting at least one forensically-reliable RAC at a more frequent rate than any estimates previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RACs in blood impressions were often smaller than their test impression mates. • RACs with positional and geometric similarity occurred between unrelated outsoles. • A minimum of 3.4% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features = 2.8 mm. • A maximum of 34% of shoes had a non-zero RAC-RMF based on features of any size. The aim of this study was to estimate random match frequency of randomly acquired characteristics (RAC-RMF) for laboratory-simulated crime scene impressions. Part I of this investigation reports this metric using a dataset of more than 160 questioned impressions created in blood and deposited on tile. A total of 759 RACs were identified in the blood impressions and compared to RACs with positional similarity in test impressions from 1,299 unrelated outsoles. Geometric similarity was quantified using a combination of visual comparisons and mathematical modeling based on percent area overlap. Results indicated that RACs in blood impressions were typically smaller, and therefore exhibited a two-thirds increase in the number of indistinguishable pairs compared to their mated test impressions. For shoes contributing at least one RAC, relative RAC-RMF values ⩾ 0.0008 were encountered at a rate between 3.4% and 34% for the blood impressions examined in this study. Part II of this investigation provides analogous results based on dust impressions deposited on paper and tile. Although the results in Part I and Part II are specific to randomly acquired characteristics and do not translate into an impression-wide RMF estimate, this research shows that RACs in questioned impressions of the type expected in casework co-occur in position and geometry with RACs in non-mated test impressions. Since theoretical models have traditionally been the basis for estimating RAC-RMF in footwear, the overall contribution of this research to the forensic footwear community is a calibration of this estimate based on empirical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barbara Browning's book "The Miniaturists" delves into various aspects of miniaturism, blending autobiography and essayistic prose in a fictocritical style. The book explores topics such as entomology, feminism, shrinking narratives in movies, and miniature writing, among others. Browning's work reflects her enjoyment of learning and includes personal anecdotes, making it a multi-layered and engaging exploration of the concept of "the miniature" throughout history. [Extracted from the article]

FORENSIC CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE JUSTICE INVESTIGATION PROCESS. IT IS OFTEN THE FIRST STAGE AT WHICH EVIDENCE IS COLLECTED, DOCUMENTED AND ANALYSED, AND THE QUALITY OF THIS INVESTIGATION CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE SUBSEQUENT SUCCESS OF SOLVING THE CASE. TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS EVIDENTIAL PROCESS, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE CONTEXT AND MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE CRIME SCENE FORENSIC INVESTIGATION. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES HAVE BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS TO THE FIELD, ALLOWING INVESTIGATORS TO OBTAIN MORE ACCURATE EVIDENCE AND SOLVE CASES MORE EFFICIENTLY. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS HAVE BROUGHT WITH THEM THE EXPANDED USE OF ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNIQUES, DNA AND BIOMETRICS ANALYSIS, COMPUTER SIMULATIONS AND MORE, PROVIDING INVESTIGATIONS WITH A RICHER ARSENAL OF TOOLS. ONE OF THE MOST OBVIOUS PURPOSES OF CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION IS THE IDENTIFICATION AND APPREHENSION OF OFFENDERS. BY COLLECTING EVIDENCE, INCLUDING PHYSICAL TRACES, BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE AND INTELLIGENCE, FORENSIC SCIENTISTS HELP ESTABLISH THE IDENTITY OF SUSPECTED CRIMINALS, WHICH FACILITATES THE PROSECUTION PROCESS. THE QUALITY OF EVIDENCE COLLECTED AND DOCUMENTED AT THE SCENE HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE JUDICIAL PROCESS. WEAK OR INADEQUATE EVIDENCE CAN LEAD TO FAILURES IN COURT, WHILE STRONG AND WELL-MANAGED EVIDENCE CAN STRENGTHEN THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION OR DEFENCE. THIS UNDERLINES THE IMPORTANCE OF CRIME SCENE FORENSICS IN ENSURING A FAIR AND JUST TRIAL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• TiO 2 -coated self-cleaning glasses are challenging substrates for trace DNA analysis. • TiO 2 -coated glasses, Bioclean® and SaniTise™, most likely degrade trace DNA via photocatalysis. • Rapid trace DNA sample collection reduces impact of photocatalytic DNA degradation. Titanium dioxide (titania, TiO 2) is frequently used as a coating for a variety of self-cleaning products, such as antifogging vehicle mirrors, ceramic tiles, and glass windows because of its distinct physiochemical features. When exposed to light TiO 2 causes photocatalytic decomposition of organic contaminants, potentially compromising DNA integrity. The impact of TiO 2 -coated commercial glasses, Bioclean® and SaniTise™, on trace DNA persistence, recovery, and profiling was investigated. DNA in saliva and touch samples deposited on self-cleaning glass slides exposed to indoor fluorescent light for up to seven days was more degraded than control samples indicating some degree of fluorescent light-induced photocatalytic activity of the self-cleaning surfaces. When exposed to sunlight, DNA yields from saliva and touch samples deposited on the titania-coated substrates decreased rapidly, with a corresponding increase in DNA degradation. After three days no DNA samples applied to self-cleaning glass and exposed to natural sunlight yielded STR profiles. These results suggest that the photocatalytic activation of TiO 2 is the likely mechanism of action underlying the extreme DNA degradation on the Bioclean® and SaniTise™ glasses. Consequently, rapid sample collection and use may be warranted in casework scenarios involving TiO 2 -coated materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Odors are valuable memory cues and can act as memory triggers. • We tested if odor exposure can aid recall of a virtual reality crime scene. • The crime scene content recall was tested in a free recall and a forced-response test. • We found no significant effects of odor exposure on a virtual crime scene recall. Environmental context reinstatement has a particular value for recall of information in forensic interviews. Since odors are valuable memory cues and can act as memory triggers, in our preliminary study we explored whether odor exposure can help people recall details of a crime scene. The study comprised 58 women and 15 men aged 22–35 who immersed in a carefully controlled environment closely resembling an actual crime setting, i.e., a virtual reality crime. Participants were exposed to an odor at encoding, recall, both or neither of these instances, yielding a total of 4 experimental groups that further completed a memory recall task. The crime scene content recall was tested in a free recall and a forced-response test immediately after seeing the crime scene and one month later. We found no significant effects of odor exposure on the free or the cued recall of the crime scene. The memory scores correlated neither with the self-assessed olfactory/visual sensitivity of the subjects, nor with the perceived odor pleasantness. These preliminary findings suggest that introduction of a vanilla odor while encoding and recalling a crime scene does not aid witness recall accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using machine learning and computer vision for automatic shoeprint image retrieval. • Automated crime scene linking with shoeprint images. • Advance performance for shoeprint image retrieval process. A shoeprint image retrieval process aims to identify and match images of shoeprints found at crime scenes with shoeprint images from a known reference database. It is a challenging problem in the forensic discipline of footwear analysis because a shoeprint found at the crime scene is often imperfect. Recovered shoeprints may be partial, distorted, left on surfaces that do not mark easily, or perhaps come from shoes that do not transfer marks easily. In this study, we present a shoeprint retrieval method by using a convolutional neural network (CNN) and normalized cross-correlation (NCC). A pre-trained CNN was used to extract features from the pre-processed shoeprint images. We then employed NCC to compute a similarity score based on the extracted image features. We achieved a retrieval accuracy of 82% in our experiments, where a "successful" retrieval means that the ground truth image was returned in the top 1% of returned images. We also extend our shoeprint retrieval method to the problem of linking shoeprints recovered from crime scenes. This new method can provide a linkage between two crime scenes if the two recovered shoeprints originated from the same shoe. This new method achieved a retrieval accuracy of 88.99% in the top 20% of returned images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence is a multifaceted issue within today's society. Acts of violence perpetrated against individuals constitute a blatant infringement upon human rights. The majority of such instances are directed at women and children. The legal regulation of domestic violence is defined in Lithuanian and international legal acts. However, shortcomings within the legal framework concerning domestic violence hindered the effectiveness of police assistance to victims. It is of utmost significance to highlight that the new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence came into effect on July 1, 2023. This legislation has introduced a novel legal mechanism in the form of a Domestic Violence Protection Order. The legal aspect of domestic violence is examined in the scientific literature; however, it lacks analysis of the personal positions of police officers who are the first to go to the crime scene after receiving a domestic violence call. Thus, the aim of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of legal regulation of domestic violence and empirically investigate the insights from the perspective of police officers. In order to achieve this goal, the analysis of scientific literature and legal acts were used for defining the concept of domestic violence and the peculiarities of legal regulation. A written survey was conducted for the empirical investigation of police officers' insights about domestic violence; the collected data were processed using quantitative analysis methods. The analysis has shown that domestic violence is understood as all intentional physical, mental, economic, sexual and other actions of the abuser towards the victim, if these actions violate the victim's constitutional rights and freedoms, and cause economic, physical, mental or moral damage to the victim. Police officers must respond immediately to a call of domestic violence and be the first to arrive at the crime scene. The newly adopted 15-day order restraining the abuser from the victim is a very important tool for solving the problems of domestic violence. However, as the experience of foreign countries shows, even after the adoption of appropriate laws to solve this problem, there are psychological and organizational obstacles in providing qualified assistance to victims of domestic violence. After conducting a survey of police officers, it was found that in most cases the reasons of domestic violence are alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment and poverty. Most frequently the age of abusers is between 31-40 years; in most cases violence occurs in families after living together from 1 to 12 years. The victims of violence are mostly women. When preventing domestic violence, first of all, continuous prevention is necessary. Police officers lack psychological and practical knowledge the most when solving these issues. Police officers are not capable of solving these problems alone, the involvement of the prosecutor's office, courts, psychologists, and social workers is also needed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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• Crime scene investigators' (CSIs) collection of traces is studied using heat maps. • CSI's collection of blood is impacted by awareness of limited resources. • Irrelevant contextual information indicating homicide or suicide biases trace collection. • CSI's trace collection show both similarities and differences with that of novices. When crime scene investigators (CSIs) encounter crime scenes with large volumes of blood, some selection and prioritization is often needed, and this will impact on what blood is and is not available for forensic analysis. What factors influence CSIs decision making process is largely unknown. This study examines the effects of awareness of limited resources and irrelevant contextual case information indicating either a homicide or a suicide on CSIs collection of blood traces. To this end, two scenario-based experiments with CSIs and novices were conducted. Overall, the results suggest that even when CSIs decisions are made under identical conditions, their trace selection varies both when it comes to numbers and locations. Furthermore, awareness of limited resources made CSIs collect fewer traces and their selections also varied following the contextual case information, showing similarities and differences with novices. Since blood traces can be used to establish both activity and identity the findings can have important implications for the subsequent investigation as well as trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Development of the systematic Standard Operating Procedure using photogrammetry technology to reproduce the indoor scene in Virtual Reality accurately. • Early and accurate crime scene visualisation enables investigative teams to conduct a fast, agile, and informed decision-making process. • The accurate documentation of a crime scene is paramount as part of the recording process associated with the assurance of the continuity of evidence required by the courts. Early and accurate visualisation of a crime scene is highly desirable such that a rapid, agile, and informed decision-making process can be undertaken by an investigative team. We present a new standard operating procedure for imaging an indoor scene using DSLR cameras conventionally used by crime scene investigators and examiners. The standard operating procedure (SOP) enables the systematic photography of indoor spaces in such a way that the Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry technique can be implemented, allowing the scene to be recreated in Virtual Reality (VR). To demonstrate the method's validity, we compare two VR-rendered representations of an example scene using (a) photographs taken by an experienced crime scene examiner using a conventional photographic method and (b) photographs taken by a novice photographer following the developed SOP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Botanical materials have potential to be used as forensic evidence. • Forensic experts work with plant remains more frequently than with whole specimens. • Pig carcasses are a common model for experiments in forensic mycology. • Diatom tests can confirm a post-mortem drowning. • Forensic botany is routinely used in the criminal investigations in few countries. Plants are a good source of biological forensic evidence; this is due to their ubiquity, their ability to collect reference material, and their sensitivity to environmental changes. However, in many countries, botanical evidence is recognised as being scientifically. Botanical evidence is not mostly used for perpertration, instead it tends to serve as circumstantial evidence. Plant materials constitute the basis, among others, for linking a suspect or object to a crime scene or a victim, confirming or not confirming an alibi, determining the post-mortem interval, and determining the origin of food/object. Forensic botany entails field work, knowledge of plants, understanding ecosystem processes, and a basis understaning of geoscience. In this study, experiments with mammal cadavers were conducted to determine the occurence of an event. The simplest criterion characterising botanical evidence is its size. Therefore, macroremains include whole plants or their larger fragments (e.g. tree bark, leaves, seeds, prickles, and thorns), whereas microscopic evidence includes palynomorphs (spores and pollen grains), diatoms, and tissues. Botanical methods allow for an analysis to be repeated multiple times and the test material is easy to collect in the field. Forensic botany can be supplemented with molecular analyses, which, although specific and sensitive, still require validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Holistic review of the sexual assault investigative process. • Complete bioanalytical workflow emphasising recovery and examination of evidence. • Prosecution numbers falling despite little change in forensic support. • Literature supports RapidDNA testing at SARC or by Police. • Post-covid familiarity of lateral-flow tests mean victims could test own swabs. Sexual assault casework requires the collaboration of multiple agency staff to formalise an investigative pipeline running from crime scene to court. While the same could be said of many other forensic investigations, few require the additional support of health care staff and the combined forensic involvement of body-fluid examiners, DNA experts and analytical chemists. The sheer amount of collaborative effort between agencies is laid out through a detailed examination of the investigative workflow from crime scene to courtroom with each step in the pipelines detailed and discussed. Beginning with a review of sexual assault legislation in the United Kingdom this article details how sexual assault investigations are initiated by police and supported by sexual assault referral centre (SARC) staff who are often the first responders providing primary healthcare and patient support to victims while simultaneously collecting and assessing forensic evidence. Detailing the myriad of evidential material that can be documented and collected at the SARC, the review identifies and categorises key forensic tests to first detect and identify body-fluids recovered from evidence through to the secondary analysis of DNA to help identify the suspect. This review also focusses on the collection and analysis of biological material used to support the allegation that the sexual activity was non-consensual and provides a breakdown of common marks and trauma as well as a review of common analytical methods used to infer Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA). The culmination of the investigative pipeline is discussed by reviewing the Rape and Serious Sexual Assault (RASSO) workflow used by the Crown Prosecution Service before providing our thoughts on the future of forensic analysis and possible changes to the described workflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:Human identification plays a vital role in crime investigation. Lip impressions are one of the evidences that may be left at crime scenes, which aid in the precise documentation process. The objectives of the current systematic review and meta-analysis (CMA) are to provide a deeper understanding of the use of cheiloscopy as a reliable method in sex identification and to establish the predominant lip print pattern found among different genders using the classification proposed by Suzuki and Tsuchihashi. Study Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis Result:The most likely lip print present among males in the selected studies was type III (30.2%), followed by type II (29.9%), and type I comprised one-fifth of the sample size (21.1%). While among females, almost one-third were reported with type I lip print pattern (36.5%), followed by type II (28.9%). Furthermore, the results showed that the rate of type IV lip print pattern was similar between males and females (18.3% and 13.4%, respectively; P<0.059). Conclusion: Along with the other traditional methods of human identification, this study proved the distinctiveness of lip print (cheiloscopy) as an adjuvant tool for human identification and sex determination and no identically similar lip-print patterns appeared in two subjects. Further studies with larger sample sizes, different methodologies of assessing lip print are needed to confirm the current findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic genetic analyses aim to retrieve as much information as possible from biological trace material recovered from crime scenes. While standard short tandem repeat (STR) profiling is essential to individualize biological traces, its significance is diminished in crime scenarios where the presence of a suspect's DNA is acknowledged by all parties. In such cases, forensic (m)RNA analysis can provide crucial contextualizing information on the source level about a trace's composition, i.e., body fluids/tissues, and has therefore emerged as a powerful tool for modern forensic investigations. However, the question which of several suspects contributed a specific component (body fluid) to a mixed trace cannot be answered by RNA analysis using conventional methods. This individualizing information is stored within the sequence of the mRNA transcripts. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) represents a promising alternative, offering not only higher multiplex capacity, but also the typing of individual coding region SNPs (cSNPs) to enable the assignment of contributors to mixture components, thereby reducing the risk of association fallacies. Herein, we describe the development of an extensive mRNA/cSNP panel for targeted sequencing on the IonTorrent S5 platform. Our panel comprises 30 markers for the detection of six body fluids/tissues (blood, saliva, semen, skin, vaginal and menstrual secretion), along with 70 linkage-controlled cSNPs for contributor assignment. It exhibited high reliable detection sensitivity with RNA inputs down to 0.75 ng and a conservatively calculated probability of identity of 0.03 – 6 % for individual body fluid-specific cSNP profiles. Limitations and areas for future work include RNA-related allele imbalances, inclusion of markers to correctly identify rectal mucosa and the optimization of specific markers. In summary, our new panel is intended to be a major step forward to interpret biological evidence at sub-source and source level based on cSNP attribution of a body fluid component to a suspect and victim, respectively. • Comprehensive panel comprising 30 genes for body fluid identification. • 70 linkage-controlled coding region SNPs (cSNPs) for contributor assignment. • Capability of detecting body fluids down to an RNA input amount of 75 pg. • Association of a body fluid component from a mixed trace to its individual donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid, sensitive and specific test for blood is reported based on a novel application of recombinase polymerase amplification integrated with CRISPR-Cas and lateral flow assay (LFA). The blood specific marker ALAS2 was used as the target to record the presence of blood. The assay used either RNA extracted from a body fluid as a template, or omitting this extraction step and using a direct approach where the questioned body fluid was added directly to the assay. The assay only detected blood (all peripheral blood and some menstrual blood samples) and no other body fluid (semen, saliva, or vaginal fluid). The limit of detection varied from an initial template of 0.195 ng extracted RNA (27 dilution) or 0.0218 μL (26 dilution) liquid peripheral blood. The assay gave the expected result when peripheral blood was mixed with saliva: ratios of peripheral blood/saliva at 19:1, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3 and 1:19 all gave a positive result using extracted RNA. By contrast, only three ratios of peripheral blood and saliva gave a positive result for blood (19:1, 3:1 and 1:1) when adding these two body fluids directly. When peripheral blood was mixed with semen there was a strong inhibition of the assay and ALAS2 could only be detected at ratio of 19:1 using RNA. Using reconstituted peripheral bloodstains gave comparable results to liquid peripheral blood. This is the first application of RT-RPA integrated CRISPR and combined with a LFA assay to detect body fluid-specific RNA. The proposed method opens up the potential to perform this method remote from laboratories such as at crime scenes. [Display omitted] • Peripheral blood can be detected based on using RT-RPA integrated with CRISPR-Cas. • A lateral flow test exhibited high specificity and repeatability/reproducibility for the presence of peripheral blood. • Detection of the ALAS2 marker was inhibited by the presence of semen. • The lateral flow test has the potential to be performed remote from a laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Incorporating simulated crime scenes at undergraduate institutions. • Use of inquiry-based, active, and cooperative learning in forensic sciences. • High impact practices in forensic science pedagogies. • Teaching forensic science with limited resources. Incorporating a simulated crime scene into one's pedagogy in forensic science undergraduate courses allows students the opportunity to experience a realistic scenario while demonstrating their knowledge and enhancing their critical thinking skills. The purpose of this paper is to examine an active learning approach to using simulated crime scenes to provide an impactful learning experience for students. While potentially challenging for the instructor, constructing a crime scene scenario can provide students with hands-on practical experience while helping to dispel forensic science misconceptions. Through many years of creating crime scenes, best practices for using such high impact activities in forensic science courses are described in detail, including preparatory exercises that culminate in the final crime scene scenario, considerations in preparing and constructing a crime scene activity, and supervising and assessing students once the activity begins. Three major challenges to implementing active learning exercises such as simulated crime scenes in undergraduate forensic science programs include high workload for instructors, limited supplies, and lack of suitable facilities. Workload solutions include instructors and departments considering the cost and benefit of course releases to improve curriculum and student enrollment. Supplies and facilities solutions involve innovation in reuse and repurposing of supplies, and instructor flexibility in using classroom and outdoor spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite enhanced forensic collaborations between law enforcement agencies and universities, crime scene management remains a domain seen more as technical than scientific, largely carried out by sworn police officers qualified as scene of crime officers (SOCOs), confining forensic graduates to specialized expertise fields. Under such circumstances, we must ask ourselves why and how do we provide a generalised dedicated course to academic pupils who are not primarily intended to join such teams, excepting sometimes to assist them on a specialized field (explosion, arson, etc.)? Currently in Quebec, forensic graduates cannot join crime scene units attached to police forces, mainly because of unions, which argue about the need to be an experienced police officer before qualifying for a crime scene course. Based on the operational experience of the author, who created the foundational graduate forensic programme in Quebec, Canada, this paper will explain why such an academic course is still of high importance, its rationale within an academic curriculum, its goal and its implementation. Challenges are still to be considered, but selected feedback from students who understood that the aim of this course is distinct from their formal support disciplines, encourage such an approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Forensic case investigation is taught through problem-based learning activities. • Digital technologies allow for simulating some parts of a forensic case investigation. • Digital tools facilitate this teaching to large student cohorts. • Digitised activities promoted students' critical thinking. • Blended teaching with on-line and on-site activities is more efficient. Forensic practice is the concluding practical course of the forensic science bachelor program at the School of Criminal Justice of the University of Lausanne. Learning activities are constructed around five main objectives for the resolution of simulated forensic case problems: 1) select relevant traces and items to be collected at the scene and perceive their potential value in the reconstruction process, 2) apply appropriate detection techniques in sequence to obtain clues of good quality, 3) process traces using Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation and Verification (ACE-V) methodology, 4) produce and summarise information in oral and written forms to help an investigation, and 5) work collaboratively to benefit from the diversity of group members. Simulating and supervising realistic activities is a complex task that became more and more challenging with a continuously increasing number of students over the years (from ca. 30 in 2016 to more than 60 in 2021). Thus, an educational innovation project was launched and aimed at implementing digital technologies to support the teaching staff. A computer-based crime scene simulation tool (allowing students to visualize 360° crime scenes and relevant items) and a communication tool (to simplify and centralise the communication between the students and the teaching staff) were implemented. This article describes the implementation, added value and limitations of these digital technologies in problem-based learning activities. Prior to 2020, the practical course forensic practice was delivered entirely on-site without specific technologies, and entirely on-line in 2020 (due to the sanitary restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic). Finally, in 2021, on-line and on-site activities were implemented with success, combining the best of both approaches in a blended teaching mode. An overall increase in the satisfaction of students and teaching staff was observed with the implementation of these tools. Limiting presence on-site allowed students to take a step back from the activities and collected items. This promoted critical thinking, and together with an increase in structured (on-line and on-site) interactions allowed for a positive, continuous learning experience. While the evaluations of these novel technologies were very positive, students still expressed their willingness to perform certain tasks on-site and a preference for face-to-face interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three different types of TreadMatch (TM) scans were compared with validated test marks. • Dynamic TM footwear scans showed good repeatability compared with test marks. • Zoomed TM scans were as reliable as dynamic TM scans. • Hand-rolled TM footwear scans are not as reliable as dynamic TM scans. • Using TM for preliminary footwear comparisons could save time and resources. Currently in the UK, if a person is arrested or charged with a recordable offence, they can have prints of their footwear taken whilst in custody. The tread pattern recorded in these prints can be searched for using the National Footwear Database to find out if the same footwear pattern has been recovered at previous crime scenes, generating forensic intelligence. TreadMatch is a digitised system for collecting footwear prints seized from detainees in custody for this purpose. Whilst its use for generating intelligence is accepted, validation experiments have not been conducted to understand its level of performance in assisting in forensic comparison purposes for identification, because in the absence of an incorporated scale, it is not known how well TreadMatch reproduces the pattern size of a tread, threatening the validity of the comparison. If it can be determined that the measurements of TreadMatch scans are consistent with the more commonly used aluminium powder test marks, this could save Police time and resources if the digital scans could be used for preliminary assessment prior to the footwear being physically submitted for evidential comparison. Therefore, this study set out to compare three different types of TreadMatch scans ('dynamic', 'zoomed' and 'rolled') for thirty different pieces of footwear, with test marks of the same footwear using the traditional method (fingerprint powder). Length and width measurements were obtained from each tread pattern using GNU Image Manipulation Program software. The resulting data were analysed to assess for agreement between TreadMatch scans and test marks using 95% Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and 95% Bland-Altman plots of Limits of Agreement (LOA). Additionally, an intra-sample study using fifteen repeated measurements of the same piece of footwear for different TreadMatch scanning methods was carried out to support the larger validity study. 95% ICC 3,1 resulted in coefficients ranging from 0.99 to 1.00 across all measurements. 95% LOA displayed close agreement. There was less agreement and more variation displayed between the test marks and the TreadMatch rolled scans for both length and width measurements. This variation for hand-rolled prints must be taken into consideration and a standard approach developed. The study suggests TreadMatch can be used for preliminary assessments in assisting forensic comparisons, particularly for dynamic and zoomed prints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research examining the psychological impact of public mass-shootings and terrorist attacks focuses on the immediate victims (i.e., those at/near the scene of the crime or living nearby). Research consistently demonstrates that these directly targeted individuals experience a wide-array of adverse mental health outcomes following these traumatic events (Lowe & Galea, 2017; Wilson, 2014). What remains less understood, however, is how these violent episodes afflict the broader public who are exposed to the trauma largely through indirect means, such as media and word of mouth. While prior scholarship in this area remains quite limited, it also tends to suffer from several methodological limitations (e.g., cross sectional research design or case-study analysis of singular events). To address these limitations, this study employed a Time Series Cross Sectional (TSCS) framework, enabling an estimation of the impact of mass-shooting and terrorist attacks on the public across 72 deadly events during a 6-year period (2012-2017). In addition, this study involved an empirical testing of dose-response theory (APA, 1980), utilizing characteristics of each event (casualty rates and level of media exposure) as proxy measures for trauma dosage. Overall, findings from this study indicate that remotely exposed communities are not seriously affected psychologically by these incidents. Research and policy implications for public health and media reporting are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SE33 or ACTBP2 is the most polymorphic locus in many national DNA databases and in the commercial STR kits used to type both crime scene samples and reference samples to populate these databases. We describe the molecular reason for a three band pattern of SE33 seen in several samples. A SNP in the flanking SE33 region causes the binding of the unlabelled D3S1358 primer. As a result, a "chimeric" PCR product of the labelled SE33 primer and the D3S1358 primer is generated that is smaller than the regular SE33 amplicon. We call this "Type 3 three band pattern" as the genetic base differs from the Type 1 three band pattern caused by somatic mosaicism and the Type 2 that results from copy number variation. • We describe a novel and so far undescribed molecular reason for a three band pattern at STR loci. • This was observed at the locus SE33. A SNP in the flanking region causes the binding of a D3S1358 primer also present in the PCR multiplex kit. • As a result, a "chimeric" PCR product of the labelled SE33 primer and the D3S1358 primer is generated that is smaller than the regular SE33 amplicon. • We call this "Type 3 three band pattern" as the genetic base differs from the Type 1 and Type 2 three band pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) is increasingly applied in forensic short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. The presence of stutter artefacts and other PCR or sequencing errors in the MPS-STR data partly limits the detection of low DNA amounts, e.g. , in complex mixtures. Unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) have been applied in several scientific fields to reduce noise in sequencing. UMIs consist of a stretch of random nucleotides, a unique barcode for each starting DNA molecule, that is incorporated in the DNA template using either ligation or PCR. The barcode is used to generate consensus reads, thus removing errors. The SiMSen-Seq (Simple, multiplexed, PCR-based barcoding of DNA for sensitive mutation detection using sequencing) method relies on PCR-based introduction of UMIs and includes a sophisticated hairpin design to reduce unspecific primer binding as well as PCR protocol adjustments to further optimize the reaction. In this study, SiMSen-Seq is applied to develop a proof-of-concept seven STR multiplex for MPS library preparation and an associated bioinformatics pipeline. Additionally, machine learning (ML) models were evaluated to further improve UMI allele calling. Overall, the seven STR multiplex resulted in complete detection and concordant alleles for 47 single-source samples at 1 ng input DNA as well as for low-template samples at 62.5 pg input DNA. For twelve challenging mixtures with minor contributions of 10 pg to 150 pg and ratios of 1–15% relative to the major donor, 99.2% of the expected alleles were detected by applying the UMIs in combination with an ML filter. The main impact of UMIs was a substantially lowered number of artefacts as well as reduced stutter ratios, which were generally below 5% of the parental allele. In conclusion, UMI-based STR sequencing opens new means for improved analysis of challenging crime scene samples including complex mixtures. • Use of UMIs reduced sequencing errors more than tenfold. • UMIs lead to drastically lowered stutter ratios, from 9.5% ± 5.3% to 2.1% ± 1.3%. • The method generated complete single-source profiles for 62.5 pg DNA. • Minor contributors down to 1% were detected in mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the sources of biosamples found at crime scenes is crucial for forensic investigations. Among the markers used for body fluid identification (BFI), mRNA has emerged as a well-studied marker because of its high specificity and remarkable stability. Despite this potential, commercially available mRNA kits specifically designed for BFI are lacking. Therefore, we developed an mRNA kit that includes 21 specific mRNA markers of body fluids, along with three housekeeping genes for BFI, to identify four forensic-relevant fluids (blood, semen, saliva, and vaginal fluids). In this study, we tested 451 single-body-fluid samples, validated the universality of the mRNA kit, and obtained a gene expression profile. We performed the validation studies in triplicates and determined the sensitivity, specificity, stability, precision, and repeatability of the mRNA kit. The sensitivity of the kit was found to be 0.1 ng. Our validation process involved the examination of 59 RNA mixtures, 60 body fluids mixtures, and 20 casework samples, which further established the reliability of the kit. Furthermore, we constructed five classifiers that can handle single-body fluids and mixtures using this kit. The classifiers output possibility values and identify the specific body fluids of interest. Our results showed the reliability and suitability of the BFI kit, and the Random Forest classifier performed the best, with 94% precision. In conclusion, we developed an mRNA kit for BFI which can be a promising tool for forensic practice. • A novel mRNA kit of 21 specific mRNAs was developed to classify four body fluids. • Random Forest analysis of over 400 samples resulted in an overall precision of 94%. • Kit has broad applicability and accurate identification of mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biological traces are widely present in forensic casework. • Current examination methods provide limited information about the trace. • A historical review of the forensic examination of biological traces can help understand how research is addressing these limitations. • Novel techniques may unlock previously unknown information from these traces. Forensic investigation involves gathering the information necessary to understand the criminal events as well as linking objects or individuals to an item, location or other individual(s) for investigative purposes. For years techniques such as presumptive chemical tests, DNA profiling or fingermark analysis have been of great value to this process. However, these techniques have their limitations, whether it is a lack of confidence in the results obtained due to cross-reactivity, subjectivity and low sensitivity; or because they are dependent on holding reference samples in a pre-existing database. There is currently a need to devise new ways to gather as much information as possible from a single trace, particularly from biological traces commonly encountered in forensic casework. This review outlines the most recent advancements in the forensic analysis of biological fluids, fingermarks and hair. Special emphasis is placed on analytical methods that can expand the information obtained from the trace beyond what is achieved in the usual practices. Special attention is paid to those methods that accurately determine the nature of the sample, as well as how long it has been at the crime scene, along with individualising information regarding the donor source of the trace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • First study to report differentiation of foundation creams based on NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics. • 93% of spectra identified correctly using NIR and PCA-LDA. • Darker foundations shades tend to be classified less accurately than lighter ones. • Different substrates did not affect differentiation Accuracy, Sensitivity, or Specificity. • A rapid, non-destructive method of identifying cosmetic trace evidence. Cosmetic smears are a form of trace evidence that can link the crime scene, suspects, and victims. Foundation and lipstick are the most common sources of cosmetics that can easily smear, with most current research focused on the evidential analysis of lipsticks. This research aims to create a database of cosmetic foundations on different materials and to access the robustness of using Near-infrared with chemometrics as a non-destructive technique to identify unknown samples collected from a crime scene. Small amounts of six shades of three brands of foundations were smeared on clothing materials, which were then analysed with a combination of Near-infrared with chemometric analysis. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce data dimensionality and explore potential patterns in sample separation and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) was utilised to assign unknown samples to one of the established classes. The selected techniques proved to be promising for database construction and as a preliminary method of analysis, with 93% of the spectra being correctly classified. Notably, darker foundation shades were less likely to be correctly classified (90% classified correctly) compared to lighter ones (96.7% classified correctly). This could not be improved with Standard Normal Variate (SNV) data pre-treatment or selecting specific NIR regions. This finding is of particular importance; according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (year ending March 2020) police recorded sexual offences demonstrated that those in Mixed and Black or Black British ethnic groups were significantly more likely to be a victim of sexual assault compared to White, Asian or Other ethnic groups. It is, therefore, crucial to add a wide range of foundation shades, particularly of darker tones, to the future database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Highly probative contributor STR genotype information recovered from complex mixtures by direct single cell subsampling (DSCS) and probabilistic genotyping (PG) with replicate analysis. • STRmix™ was validated for use with single cells. • Replicate analysis of single cells often allows for full STR genotype information recovery comparable to reference profiles. • DSCS reduces genotype information loss seen in standard mixture analysis. DNA mixtures are a common source of crime scene evidence and are often one of the more difficult sources of biological evidence to interpret. With the implementation of probabilistic genotyping (PG), mixture analysis has been revolutionized allowing previously unresolvable mixed profiles to be analyzed and probative genotype information from contributors to be recovered. However, due to allele overlap, artifacts, or low-level minor contributors, genotype information loss inevitably occurs. In order to reduce the potential loss of significant DNA information from donors in complex mixtures, an alternative approach is to physically separate individual cells from mixtures prior to performing DNA typing thus obtaining single source profiles from contributors. In the present work, a simplified micro-manipulation technique combined with enhanced single-cell DNA typing was used to collect one or few cells, referred to as direct single-cell subsampling (DSCS). Using this approach, single and 2-cell subsamples were collected from 2 to 6 person mixtures. Single-cell subsamples resulted in single source DNA profiles while the 2-cell subsamples returned either single source DNA profiles or new mini-mixtures that are less complex than the original mixture due to the presence of fewer contributors. PG (STRmix™) was implemented, after appropriate validation, to analyze the original bulk mixtures, single source cell subsamples, and the 2-cell mini mixture subsamples from the original 2–6-person mixtures. PG further allowed replicate analysis to be employed which, in many instances, resulted in a significant gain of genotype information such that the returned donor likelihood ratios (LRs) were comparable to that seen in their single source reference profiles (i.e., the reciprocal of their random match probabilities). In every mixture, the DSCS approach gave improved results for each donor compared to standard bulk mixture analysis. With the 5- and 6- person complex mixtures, DSCS recovered highly probative LRs (≥1020) from donors that had returned non-probative LRs (<103) by standard methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Blood recovered from snow can yield viable DNA profiles suitable for court. • Various substrates commonly used by Forensic Identification Officers are sufficient mediums for recovering high yield blood from snow, where replicates performed consistently. • Slight variability in DNA yields and genotyping performance across the three substrates was observed, attributable to differences in methodology/evidence collection. Successful DNA typing of forensically relevant evidence is reliant on both the quality and quantity of biological material recovered from a crime scene. In geographical areas of the world exposed to cold climates, it is not uncommon for biological evidence to encounter a diversity of challenging surfaces and environments, including snowy surfaces. Currently, there is no standard protocol for recovery of bloodstain evidence in snow and very few publications exploring adequate methods of recovering biological evidence from snowy surfaces. In this study, three common substrates (e.g., cotton swabs, FTA paper, and untreated filter paper) utilized by investigators for evidence recovery were evaluated for their ability to recover human blood (DNA) evidence from snow that would be viable for traditional forensic DNA typing. Each biological sample was extracted and quantified to evaluate the quality and quantity of DNA recovered. All samples yielded sufficient non-degraded DNA to proceed with DNA profiling, where complete DNA profiles were generated from each collection substrate. The experimental findings presented herein demonstrate that the ability to recover viable DNA from human blood collected on surface snow is possible using all three collection methods tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Providing a newly exploited trace DNA extraction platform based on magnetic bead-based method. • Establishing an automatic and efficient detection system for trace DNA. • The fingerprint materials were successfully dissected in the self-developed automatic detection system. The analysis of trace DNA is a crucial component in forensic applications. Biological materials containing low-level DNA collected at crime scenes, such as fingerprints, can be valuable as evidence. Automatic detection of biological samples has been largely embraced in forensic applications to meet the increasing throughput requirements. However, the amount of DNA automatically retrieved from trace evidence often tends to be small and unstable, ultimately resulting in poor detection of DNA profiles. Thus, in this work, we introduced a robust DNA extraction and purification platform named Bionewtech® BN3200 (Bionewtech®, Shanghai, China) with the goal of constructing a rapid automatic detection system for trace DNA. The establishment of automatic detection system for trace DNA mainly encompassed two parts: assessing the sensitivity of automatic extraction platform and screening the optimal short tandem repeat (STR) typing kit. The sensitivity of Bionewtech® BN3200 platform based on Ultra-sensitive DNA Extraction kit was initially estimated, demonstrating that this extraction platform might contain large potential in the trace DNA extraction. For the amplification part, three sets of commercial multiplex STR typing kits were selected as candidates, and the amplified products were further genotyped on the Applied Biosystems 3500xl Genetic Analyzer. After comparation, SiFa™ 23 Plex Kit was determined as the most suitable amplification system for trace DNA. Eventually, the newly exploited trace DNA detection system was successfully implemented in the detection of fingerprints derived from glass surfaces with the five-seconds contact time. As a result, the DNA recovered from the fingerprints fluctuated approximately from 57.60 pg to 18.05 ng, in addition, over 70% of the total STR loci were detected in 75% of the fingerprint samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop a methodology to identify biological fluids in sexual assault cases through mRNA markers. Biological fluid samples such as blood, saliva, and semen were collected from volunteers and submitted to RT-qPCR reactions with specific primers for the biomarkers HTN3 (saliva), ALAS (blood) andTGM4 (semen). The Melting (Tm) of each biological fluid was analyzed and the result inferred a high specificity capable of differentiating such traces. Biplex systems were generated to improve trace analysis in a single qPCR reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fired cartridge cases are common materials found at crime scenes and, for the most part, are used for Forensic Ballistics analysis. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of recovering DNA profiles from 9 mm cartridge cases over 30 days. Therefore, 27 fired cartridge cases were manipulated by three volunteers in total and analyzed after three-time intervals: 3, 8, and 30 days. Volunteers were asked to handle the ammunition as they would daily. However, they were not encouraged to hold and manipulate the ammunitions extensively, as this procedure does not represent a real-life situation. DNA samples were obtained with an EZ1 DNA Investigator kit, qPCR was performed with Investigator Quantiplex Pro RGQ kit, and Powerplex Fusion 6 C was used for STR analysis. Real-time PCR analysis showed that 85% of the 27 samples were degraded and no inhibition was detected. The DNA mean concentration was 0.3 pg/µl for each time interval, and the standard error was 0.1 pg/µl, 0.09 pg/µl, and 0.1 pg/µl for the three-time corresponding intervals. The Kruskal-Wallis test indicated p = 0.6, which meant no statistical differences between the samples analyzed. STR analysis resulted in a success rate of 16% for intervals of 8-days and a success rate overall of 7%. No DNA profile was obtained from the 3-and 30-day-old samples. Air relative humidity was 75% on the day of experimentation. Our results could contribute to understanding the factors affecting genetic profiles from fired cartridge cases: 3-day-old samples already showed 77.8% degradation. Once moisture catalyzes the metal oxidation processes, relative humidity and the metallic surface of cartridges may play an important role. We assume that time interval may not be the main factor regarding DNA analysis success, and low success rates are more likely to be obtained for real-life scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Items from crime scenes are frequently packaged and transported to laboratories for forensic examination. The packaging primarily maintains the integrity of forensic evidence associated with the item by protecting it from contamination and environmental impacts, plus limiting and recording access. There is diversity in the types of packaging used. We are aware that DNA-containing material may transfer from an item to the internal side of packaging and/or from one area of an item to another area, potentially limiting generation of good quality DNA profiles and/or affecting their interpretation. However, the level of transfer risk is unclear, as are the main impacting factors. It is thus highly relevant to improve our understanding of these. Here we explore what commonly applied standards prescribe regarding packaging requirements to maintain the integrity of DNA on a packaged item, conduct further studies confirming the risk of transfer, and suggest packaging features requiring research considerations that may limit the risk of DNA transfer within packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activity of animals and insects at the crime scene can provide useful elements to reconstruct the dynamics of the event. Any insect that interacts with wet body fluids can produce artifacts which can be confused with human bloodstains. Considering that flies are the early colonizers of the crime scene and first players of the process of contamination, the problem is to distinguish stains produced by fly regurgitation or fecal elimination on a crime scene. Actually, fly artifacts are morphologically very similar to impact, projected, sneezed, and expirated bloodstains and cannot be reliably distinguished using presumptive or confirmatory tests for identification of human blood. Several techniques have been proposed to differentiate insect-derived artifacts based on morphological approaches and immunological assay. Recently, a DNA-based method by the analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has been designed for the distinction of fly artifacts from human bloodstains on spots characterized by different morphological features and deposited by fly on a glass surface. Here, we present a study to assess the feasibility of the molecular analysis of fly artifacts deposited on different substrates as glass, paper, plexiglass and cotton and to evaluate the COI amplification success at different time intervals up to two years after fly artifacts deposition. Our results showed that the deposition time seems do not affect the detection of fly artifacts DNA, while a substrate interference was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aimed to study the detection, through lateral flow immunochromatographic (LFI) tests, of saliva samples over time in three different types of fabrics, as well as, the possibility of DNA isolation and characterization from the sample tubes and the cassettes. Fifty microliters of saliva (three samples/time) were deposited in denim, cotton, and polyester. Saliva was identified by SERATEC® Amylase Test and the Crime Scene version SALIVA CS, being able to detect it up to six months of deposition, although with different band intensities. Polyester showed stronger bands than cotton, probably due to its synthetic nature, and denim, as an inked fabric, showed less band intensities. Statistical analyses confirmed significant differences among fabrics, but not over time in the same type of fabric. Total DNA from the sample tubes was successfully recovered, in contrast, from the cassettes, only polyester retrieved amplifiable DNA. These findings indicated that it is possible to recover and identify saliva up to six months after deposition, also obtaining DNA. Future research will be able to expand these results, analyzing the stability of other body fluids, and the sensitivity of lateral flow immunochromatographic tests to detect them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]