Search

This article focuses on the identification of paper cutting knives and paper cutters. Of the numerous problems confronting a large laboratory there will always be certain cases that are highlighted by their interesting background and importance. Paper is cut and trimmed commercially by large guillotine type machines, in which a manual or automatic clamp descends to compress the paper and hold it firm while a long hollow ground blade is brought down at great pressure through the stack of paper. The stroke of the knife has a sideway motion as it descends. Depending upon the type of shear stroke, single or double, the edge of the blade will be either parallel to the table top or higher on one end when it starts through a stack. A rocking motion close to the end of the stroke in a double shear action will bring the blade parallel to the table. This type of shear is more like a pair of scissors. A machine of this sort lends itself to the final process of printing where many duplicate copies of a single design are printed on a single sheet of paper, and many of these sheets piled together can be separated simultaneously. The manner of handling, storing, and mounting the knife may also be a factor in placing defects in the blade. Care must be taken to protect the edge at all times or the quality of the cutting will be lessened and the possibility of identification increased.

The evidence illustrating a fluid ink line was made after a tear, perforation or cut edge in the paper is usually distinctive. If examined carefully and with an open mind, it is very unlikely to be misinterpreted or to be mistaken for evidence of a change in an ink line resulting from some other cause. Since evidence is usually much more distinct showing an ink line was made after a tear or cut edge in paper as compared to a fold in paper, the basis for one to conclude an ink was written before a tear or cut edge (as compared with a fold in paper) in most instances is stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the utilization of paper electrophoresis method in the identification of writing inks. Identification of liquid writing inks by paper chromatography marks the most important step in the field of ink identification in recent times. With relatively simple means, most inks can be differentiated and much can be ascertained rapidly regarding their composition. The dyes become visible individually, and with ultraviolet light and chemical testing, invisible constituents can be located on the paper. Chromatography depends primarily though not entirely on slight solubility differences and resulting partition ratios between different solvents. Paper electrophoresis depends on an entirely different principle. Materials which are ionic or can be rendered ionic by adjustment of the environment will move in an electric field toward the electrode of opposite sign. The velocity of movement will be determined by the size of the ionic particle and its charge. When the material is placed on a piece of paper and subjected to an electric field the paper serves only as a support, and one which minimizes convection currents. Diffusion will still occur as in chromatography. A number of ionic species will migrate in a particular ionic field at different rates, thereby being separated from each other and eventually establishing a separate zone for every ionic zone for every ionic species that has a unique mobility.

This article explores the uses of paper chromatography in the field of forensic chemistry. Paper chromatography since its rediscovery in 1944, has been applied in every branch of chemistry for the separation, purification, and identification of a great range of compounds. The number of subjects and materials that fall within its sphere of influence increases daily. The method offers a rapid means of comparison and in many cases an identification, on a few micrograms of material and is obviously a very powerful tool in the hands of the forensic chemist. The method offers a ready separation and comparison of similar compounds on a microgram scale. Consequently in the case of toxicological specimens, traces of drugs and their metabolites are easily separated from one another and from such impurities as fat and normal body breakdown products. The mechanics whereby the solvent is caused to flow over the paper are largely governed by personal choice coupled with a desire to obtain maximum resolution of the spots. The solvent can flow vertically, ascending or descending, or horizontally. Sufficient is it to say that no more than the paper, the solvent and some type of container are required.

This article discusses the application of paper chromatography in the analysis of narcotics in the Far East Criminal Investigation Laboratory (FECIL). The principle of chromatography is based on the adsorption affinities of several substances, in a common solution, showing different degrees of activity to the same adsorbent. In this technique an aqueous solution of the substance is applied to a strip of filter paper. The end of the filter paper is immersed in an organic solvent which is absorbed by capillary action of the filter paper. When the solvent reaches the applied material, the substance begins to migrate at a rate which differs from that of the solvent and varies with the nature of the material. At the end of a specified period of time or when the solvent has reached a predetermined level, the filter paper is withdrawn from the solvent. Examination of suspected narcotics in the FECIL involves the determination of the presence of a narcotic, if a narcotic is present, identification of the specific narcotic, if the quantity of the sample is sufficient, quantitative analysis of narcotic and identification of any adulterants present in significant quantities. The key to the identification of an unknown by chromatography is the Rf value of that substance, the Rf being the ratio of the height of migration of the unknown to the height of migration of the solvent.

This article discusses a study which examined the application of the density gradient tube method to the identification of cloth and paper ash. The use of comparison gradient tubes, each of which contains one of the samples being compared, requires that the gradients be established so as to be as nearly identical as possible. This necessitates that each of the various liquid levels be added to heights which are very precisely identical. This is made difficult by drainage of liquid from the walls after adjusting each meniscus. Also, the addition of each of the liquid increments to each tube by pipet is slow and causes inhalation of vapors which is disagreeable and possibly detrimental to health. In the study, the samples were not weighed as has been customary with soil and other heterogeneous samples. An alternative which was essentially as satisfactory and much more rapid was to construct a small scoop which could be loaded quite reproducibly. Into each gradient tube was placed one scoopful of tube sample, thus approximating a uniform volume rather than a uniform weight of the various samples. It was found quite simple to reproduce the appearance of duplicate samples of the same ash, while the differences between different ashes was in no way affected.

This article investigates the comparison of ink writing on documents by means of paper chromatography. The examiner of questioned documents is frequently faced with a problem involving ink. Ink identification has many facets, and the problems which arise may have many forms which may require different approaches to a solution. Among document examiners it is generally understood that ink is usually a multicomponent mixture possibly containing a permanent factor such as iron gallotannate or carbon and one or more dyes to give desired color effects. In modern inks, the variety of colors or dyes which may appear in a particular ink is sometimes surprising especially with washable and permanent blacks. In the examination of questioned documents it is often necessary to investigate the properties of the ink used in the writings on the document. One of the purposes of such investigations is to determine whether or not two writings were made with similar or different inks. Chemical methods of analysis differentiate the inks into types depending upon the presence or absence of metallic salts, reaction with acids, bases, and oxidizing and reducing agents. These methods seldom differentiate between two inks of the same type; therefore, unless the tested inks are of different types or differ in their metallic contents, the results are often inconclusive. Chemical methods have the disadvantage of being difficult to demonstrate in court and of exposing the document to the risk of accidental damage from chemical reagents.

This article deals with the comparison of writing inks by paper chromatography. The chromatographic method of analysis is especially applicable to dye-base inks. Comparisons are further facilitated by the frequent occurrence of several dyes in a single ink. Two inks in a liquid form can be readily compared by chromatography using only distilled water and filter paper. This may be accomplished as follows: A droplet of a known sample A and a droplet of an unknown sample B are diluted with distilled water in a ratio of 1 to 20, using separate crystallizing dishes. One end of a strip of Whatman #1 filter paper about 10 cm long and 6 mm wide is dipped in each of the dilutions. After the dilutions rise approximately one-fourth the length of the paper, the strips are withdrawn. If comparisons of the two chromatograms reveal bands of different color and elementary ingredients, the two inks are obviously dissimilar in composition. To establish the identity or diversity of two inks in dried form, simply place a minute droplet of water in a pipette or a platinum wire micro-loop of .4 mg. capacity, directly on a written stroke of each document, preferably where there is a generous deposit of ink. As soon as dissolution takes place, generally within two minutes, take up this residue with a narrow strip of Whatman #1 filter paper about 1 mm wide and 6 mm long, holding it obliquely on the area being treated for the time necessary to absorb the entire droplet. Then proceed with the second phase of the treatment mentioned under liquid inks, except that the time allowed must be restricted, due to the use of the smaller strips. Where the chromatograms of the two inks match, their identity can be further established by preparing a third chromatogram.

An improved technique for the chromatography of ink is described, and its application to the identification of ball point pen ink discussed. Blue inks (including purple) could be divided rapidly into 7 groups, and distinctions made between many of the members of the multi-component groups. Identification of every ink individually was not found possible from the dye components separated by chromatography. Identification of nearly all of the inks was possible from the chromatogram combined with study of the ink line to reveal major differences in vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the methods proposed for making pencil or ink writing visible on charred paper. The relative degree of success of each method depends on the extent of charring and the physical condition of the material under examination. When the paper has been folded, crumpled, and thoroughly charred the problem becomes more difficult, because the remains are quite friable, difficult to separate, difficult to flatten and photographic and chemical processes are less productive of satisfactory results. Ultimately, the first problem is usually solved by manipulating under water or other suitable medium, while the second problem is solved by ashing under controlled conditions. A major defect in the ashing procedure occurs when the paper is of high quality and contains little ash. The mechanical strain produced in the process of ashing results in severe fragmentation, and the fragments shrink to such small size that they must be examined under a microscope. The nitrate-treated documents when burned destroyed pencil writing in some cases and fragmentation continued to be a problem in many instances.

This article investigates whether the natural process of aging in case of paper produces any effect which might be discerned by a quantitative chemical examination of the paper material. Each sample of the paper when freed of sizing and loading material by alkali treatment, and stained with iodine showed yellow medullary rays or cross bindings. Each paper was ashed and the ash qualitatively analysed by performing spot tests. Each sample was found to contain calcium, magnesium and aluminum, but was free from tin, iron and antimony. Observations show that the quantitative technique is useful in the verification of approximate age claimed for a document, possibly by comparison with paper of similar age and in distinguishing between papers of different ages.

This article discusses the characterization of fountain pen inks by porous glass chromatography and electrophoresis. Identification of fountain pen inks and writing fluids has long been a subject of considerable interest to the examiner of questioned documents. In order to accurately identify the various ink formulations that are commercially available, many techniques using a variety of analytical procedures have been developed. Of these, perhaps the most accepted method in current usage is that of paper chromatography. This separation method allows the various ink components, many of which are colored dye substances, to be separated into integral bands or zones that distribute themselves in a manner characteristic of the original combined formulation. In an effort to overcome many of the inherent difficulties associated with paper as a chromatographic or electrophoretic medium, it was conceived that porous glass might offer properties which would permit such separations under a wider range of conditions. In addition, the final separations would be in a medium which was itself optically transparent. This unique glass was obtained and found to be quite acceptable for these applications.

The article discusses the use of chemical microscopy in identifying and differentiating barbiturates. Of the crystal tests currently in use for the identification of narcotics, it would appear from the literature that many of them were developed as a result of research in toxicology, where they have been largely supplanted by spectrophotometric and other advanced methods. Such tests as have been developed retain their reliability and utility for the qualitative analysis of confiscated drugs and are included in standard texts within this field. With respect to the dangerous drugs a somewhat different situation exists. Of these, the barbiturates are perhaps the most common. While considerable work has been done on the barbiturates with paper chromatography and the spectrophotometer, these methods are not well suited to the rapid identification and differentiation of individual barbiturates. In February 1960, an investigation into certain crystal reactions which seemed best suited to the solution of the problem. As a result of work performed, a simple procedure has been worked out which has thus far proved most encouraging, and which has permitted the identification and differentiation of most of the barbiturates tested. Research on this project resulted in the formulation of a new silver reagent which is particularly well suited to barbiturate testing and which represents the most useful reagent of the series. The recommended procedure consists of several tests. First apply Koppanyi's test. If positive, utilize remaining tests.

This article deals with chromatographic identification of organic compounds. Chromatography, particularly paper and gas chromatography, have rapidly come into general use in criminalistics and toxicological laboratories, hence, a discussion of its application for identification of organic chemical compounds, particularly narcotics, poisons and drugs is timely. By chromatography, unless a specified method is designated, all types of chromatography paper, gas, column, and electrophoresis are included. This discussion will be limited to an analysis of the information which can be derived from the position parameters measured in the process for the purpose of identification, and nothing will be said about the conditions of chromatography or the advantages of chromatographic separation and purification. A given chromatographic identification process, when established with a limited number of reference compounds, may appear to be quite specific; this is particularly true when reference compounds include only closely related simple compounds of one homologous chemical series. However, as an increasing number of reference compounds are included in the analytical system, and as the sensitivity of detection increases, or the detection method is made less specific, more and more apparent identities appear.

This article presents abstracts of several studies on political science. The article Law Enforcement and the Handling of Bombing Cases, published in the September 1959 issue of the FBI Bulletin, discusses that the primary responsibility for the investigation of bombing cases which are acts of violence rests on local law enforcement. Moreover, the article The Application of Neutron Activation Analysis to a Forensic Science by M. F. Kerr, focuses on a new scientific method applicable to hair identification. The author points out that neutron activation analysis is by no means limited to hair examination and is indeed becoming widely used for trace element studies in divers fields, particularly in metallurgy. In the Analysis of Paper, Determining the Origin of Unfamiliar Paper by E. Martin presents a description of the microscopic, ash and physical tests which may help in comparing or determining the origin of paper. For the most part, classical methods are used and the interpretation of source is slanted toward Swiss needs. Meanwhile, the article The Analysis of Paper by E. Martin, specimens of paper were analyzed and compared by spectrographic method and paper chromatography.

This article presents a study which examined the effect of the utilized instrument on handwriting or signatures. All the specimens of handwriting and signatures used for this study were prepared on the same paper under the same operating conditions. All of the persons were invited to write the same text with the same instruments and they were asked to execute their signature four times. The writing instrument has no noticeable influence neither on the disposition of the text on the sheet of paper nor on the position of the signature on the page; there is also no influence of the instrument on the position of the text or signature in relation with the printed lines of the ruled paper. Some persons change the instrument grip according to the instrument they are using, while other persons do not, but the instrument is without noticeable influence on the general movement or line quality of the handwriting or signature: speed, slant, regularity or irregularity, design of the letters which remain similar whether the text or signature was written with a fountain pen, an ordinary steel pen, a ball point pen, a hard or soft pencil and others. Certain variations of handwriting and signatures depend from the writing instrument, but the influence of the instrument is rarely very important; this influence is frequently even non-existent. The influence of the writing instrument on handwriting and signatures depends above all of the person who writes or signs.

The article focuses on the examination of suspected erasures of pencil writing to detect fraud in working records and informal documents. From time to time working records and informal documents are changed or altered, some in the course of preparation, some to commit fraud. If the papers form the basis of some phase of litigation or claims against another individual or corporation, the changes must be disclosed and evaluated. It is the document examiner's task to reveal these facts. In order to detect a pencil erasure, one must examine the document carefully and critically. Several techniques are available. The first step is visual examination under good lighting conditions. Diffused daylight is an ideal light, especially when its direction can be controlled. Erasures often can be detected more readily on a dull day. Bright sunlight or high intensity lighting may interfere with the detection of erasures rather than assist. While only crude erasures wear holes in the paper, other erasures tend to create thin spots. Consequently, every document suspected of having been erased should be examined with transmitted light. In almost every case, the document examiner is ultimately asked to determine what has been erased. Pencil writing cannot be restored in the sense that by some type of treatment the original writing can be brought back again on the surface of the paper.

This article discusses composition, properties and behavior of ball pens and inks. The popular diameter of the ball is one millimeter. The clearance between the ball and socket is given as one quarter to five microns. The thickness of the line of ink placed on the surface of smooth paper is supposed to be one tenth to one fiftieth of the thickness of conventional pen writings. The ball pen is essentially a printing device as it presses the thin film of ink on the paper. If the ball rolls perfectly, there is no movement between it and the center of the line on the paper. However, there is always more or less slippage by reason of friction in the mounting, viscosity of the ink, and smoothness of the ball and paper surfaces. Pigmented inks and precipitates may disclose this slippage in deposits against fibers in the paper in a manner resembling the patterns produced by soft lead in pencils. Heavy pressure in writing may sink the ball into the paper and produce a wider line. At the edges of the line the slippage is greater than at the center. This greater width of contact may show the sequence of writing across a fold. The convexity of the fold may extend up along the side of the ball and wipe off more ink than normally is left on a flat surface, thus widening the line at the fold.

This article focuses on the restoration of pencil erasures and consideration of its chemical properties. A new pencil called Mars-Irremovo Pencil 7001 developed by a Nurnberg pencil factory in Germany, is able to serve most of the hitherto existing problems in making obliterated writing visible. The quality of the pencil, which is so very important for criminal investigator is made possible by the calcium chloride contained in the pencil leads. Writing done with the 7001 pencil can, it is true, be partly removed with a hard rubber eraser, but complete erasing is possible only if the surface of the paper is severely damaged. Removal of writing made with the 7001 pencil by solvents applied to the writing by a wad of cotton wool, was not possible in any case. Lines made by the 7001 pencil, of varying thickness down to very fine, scarcely visible lines, were exposed for four weeks to daylight, without it being possible to detect any bleaching of the same. The lines are not affected by daylight. Investigations concerning the similarity to ink of the writing made with the 7001 pencil showed that this writing left a latent image on the paper which was in contact with this writing for about three weeks.

This article discusses the sequence of pencil strokes. Pencils most frequently used in handwriting are those made of graphite, copying pencils, and colored pencils. Graphite pencil strokes are formed by deposit of little particles of graphite at the same time as the lead wears away by the erosion caused by the paper whose surface is sufficiently rugged to bring about this erosion. Microscopic examination with illumination from one side reveals small dots or lines of silvered metallic brightness. The determination of the direction of pencil strokes, whether they be of graphite lead, copying, or colored pencil, is practiced with the aid of a stereoscopic microscope preferable under magnification about 30 diameters and with illumination from one side at an angle ranging from 30 to 40 degrees approximately related to the paper plane. In thin papers the examination sometimes may be done with transmitted light and with the same magnification. The determination is made by observation of the side of the fiber transversal to the stroke containing a great deposit of graphite. This deposit reveals the direction of the movement of the pencil; the deposit is made on the side of the fiber from where the stroke begins. As in the many other problems in the investigation on questioned documents, the determination of the sequence of pencil strokes has its limitations and is conditioned by circumstances. That is why the observation must be made with an essentially critical spirit.

The article focuses on the importance of the techniques of identification of the dead from the skull in criminal cases. The revised technique as suggested by the author in this paper, employs a more scientific and convincing method. The revised technique followed in the examination of two of the cases in the Tamil Nadu Forensic Science Laboratory are discussed in this paper. In this technique the face of the individual in the photograph has to be enlarged to life size. This is possible if any of the articles such as the shirt, spectacles, the chair, saree, etc., found in the photograph can be obtained and brought to the laboratory. This article presents several cases, which further illustrate the technique adopted by the author. A comprehensive study to find out the extent of variations in the superimposition techniques is proposed to be undertaken in this laboratory by taking face portraits of living persons whose skull radiographs are taken for other medical diagnostic purposes and superimposing the photographs and radiographs.

The paper discusses the predictive ability and the items selected by the Gluecks research organization for their predictive devices are those arrived at by strict analytic multivariate techniques and represent findings that cannot be faulted by criticisms of the Glueck methodology. In 1950, Professor Sheldon Glueck and Dr. Eleanor T. Glueck published "Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency," a multidisciplinary, detailed comparison of 500 delinquent and 500 nondelinquent boys. In 1960, Professor Glueck, at the request of the editors of the "Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science," prepared a paper for the issue to commemorate fifty years of publication of that Journal. The first of the criticisms is grounded in the fact that not all individualist used in Unraveling had complete observations on all. 400 items involved in the origin research. The reasons for these missing observations are varied. The nature of missing observations generally decides their impact on an experiment. There are three distinguishable types of missing observations: random, non-random, and indeterminate.

This section presents abstracts of studies on police science. An x-ray technique called electronography is described in detail in the paper X-Ray Techniques in Forensic Science, by Daniel Graham. This technique has been used to record watermarks on stamps affixed to documents, fingerprints on difficult backgrounds, indented writing on a printed page and fingerprints on skin. In the article Separation of Penicillins by Paper and Thin-Layer Chromatography, by Hans Hellberg, the development of a paper and a thin-layer chromatographic method for separating many of the most common penicillins is described. A specific colorimetric method for chloral hydrate is described in the Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in Drugs: Chloral Hydrate, by Arthur W. Davidson. The method is based upon the reaction of chloral hydrate with quinaldine ethyl iodide to produce a stable blue cyanine dye. The dye is determined spectrophotometrically at 605 millimicrons. Authors R. Luvani and E. Marozzi examined 59 cadavers with alcoholaemia using the gas chromatographic method to determine alcohol concentrations in blood, spinal fluid, urine, brain, lung, myocardium, skeletal muscle, liver, and kidney, in the paper Ethyl Alcohol in Cadaver Organs and Fluids.

In an attempt to evaluate the deterrent effect of Pennsylvania's increased penalties for rape the author subjects annual rape frequencies to regression-discontinuity analysis and also compares monthly variation in the seriousness and volume of rape. The analysis shows that neither the excitement leading up to the imposition of stronger penalties nor the actual imposition of such penalties affected the frequency or seriousness of rape in Philadelphia. This paper is a revised version of a paper prepared in a seminar conducted by Professor Thorsten Sellin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section presents abstracts of papers on police science and criminology. The paper, entitled Pyrolysis--Gas Chromatography in the Differentiation and Characterization of Antibiotics, by Thomas F. Brodasky states that both high and low temperature pyrolysis are used to assist in the identification of antibiotic drugs. According to a paper by H. L. Schlesinger, using activation analysis bullet holes can be identified through the transfer of antimony and copper as the bullet passes through its target. In the study entitled, Identification From a Bite Mark in Cheese, J. J. Layton presented photographs of bite marks in cheese. The identification was done using plaster casts of the evidence cheese and a known piece of cheese which the suspect took a bite of. Experimentation in Lowell W. Bradford's paper, entitled Problems and Advantages of Testing Firing Weapons Into Water, shows that breakdown and mushrooming of lead and soft nose bullets can be minimized by using a powder which will not exceed a velocity of 1800 feet/minute. In a paper by Maurice V. Stack, the analysis is done on a 15% Carbowax 1500 column using temperature programming. Dental enamel was also analyzed by this method and seem to have applications in the field of criminology.

The present paper considers the self-concept variable in delinquency research. The seminal work with this variable, done by Reckless and his colleagues, is the subject of analysis. The various papers published by the Reckless group are viewed as a series of interim reports of an on-going research process. The authors note that while the research has been of crucial importance to the delinquency literature, there are problems of sampling, measurement, and interpretation as well as a lack of theoretical orientation which place very severe restrictions on the predictive utility of the self-concept variable. They observe that although there is a high probability of the utility of the variable, more refined and sophisticated studies are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To remain effective public servants law enforcement personnel may require a re-evaluation of the organizations in which they are working members. This paper has discussed an alternative approach to police management in contrast to the traditional military organizational model which has been the rule in police departments. While the manifest goals of organizations will vary widely, their internal structure and the patterns of human relations in them have many things in common. In this paper research findings from business and industry have been discussed in terms of police management. This social psychological research on organizations suggests that many facets of police management can be improved leading to increased on-the-job effectiveness, improved communication, and better morale among members of the police organization. The job of achieving these things is not easy, but the return of investments in these newer approaches in other organizations suggests that police organizations will benefit from them also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent thinking in criminology holds that development of typologies with respect to criminal offenders will aid significantly in the analysis of criminal etiology. Professors Gibbons and Garrity observe, however, that to date the work on typologies has largely concentrated upon juvenile delinquents, with little attention given to adult offenders. In this paper, the authors offer tentative typologies of adult property offenders, along with tentative descriptions of possible causative factors. The paper is designed to encourage research in the directions the authors consider most promising, in light of various studies to date bearing upon the different offenders identified. With a broad sweep, Professors Gibbons and Garrity here provide a promising framework upon which future investigations may build. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the problem of differentiating the blue ballpen ink in the laboratory. The two broad groups of substances involved in ballpen inks are the vehicle and the dyestuffs. Tests based upon the presence or absence of various types of varieties of these constituents would allow ballpen ink differentiation to be more definitive and less empirical. Because of the problems inherent in chromatography, attention was given to spot testing directly on the ink line. Since the presumptive dyestuff constituents of the test pens had already been established, comparisons could be made between the spot test results and the known constituents. It was found that a drop of hydrochloric acid caused the indulin in an indulin-Victoria blue mixture to turn dark violet. The bleed into the acid drop, when neutralized with sodium bicarbonate, gave a pale blue coloration indicating the presence of Victoria blue. The iron blue ink gave a deep red color when a drop of dilute potassium thiocyanate was added to the hydrochloric acid spot on the ink line. False positives resulting from paper impurities and reagent reactions were checked by running controls. The presence of methyl violet was confirmed by neutralization of a second hydrochloric acid spot with sodium bicarbonate.

The article discusses false document above a genuine signature. Most people are signature conscious and will deny genuine signatures on documents they do not recognize or cannot conceive having signed, rather than directing suspicion at the body of the document. Others will often regard a fraudulent document as authentic if it has a genuine signature, not stopping to consider that the paper above it may have been blank when signed or that other material originally appearing in the body may have been erased or otherwise removed. Today, as in former times, there are those more imaginative and ingenious than their fellow clods, who perceive the advantage of a genuine feature to a contrived fraud; and so, even though forged signatures--the simple and direct device--are by far the most prevalent form of documentary fraud, there is not infrequently encountered today the more intriguing form of forgery above a genuine signature. These documentary frauds fall into two main categories: those where a signature is originally signed to a blank paper or form, and those where the original body of the document is removed in some manner to leave a good signature with writing space above it.

The article presents abstracts of research papers discussed at the fifteenth annual meeting of The American Society of Criminology in Washington D.C. on December 27 and 28, 1958. In the Psychiatry and the M'Naghten rule, the proposed American Law Institute model code are examined. It is perceived that the M'Naghten Rule of today is essentially a literal restatement of the 13th Century dictum of Bracton. In the present criminal law of insanity the authors discover that in its language reminders of the lag which marks the distance between mid-20th Century reality and the conceptions of Bracton and Hale. At the meeting, the American Law Institute submitted a substitute for M'Naghten. First, a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law. And second, the terms mental disease or defect do not include an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise anti-social conduct. Another paper is The Dilemma of America Gambling: A Sociological Analysis. Unlike excessive drinking, drug addiction, or sex demoralization, gambling produces no directly deteriorating effects upon the human organism or the social group. Its danger lies in the fact that it interferes with the normal assumption of responsibility which organized society compels. Second, gambling, as any other form of widely accepted and extensively practiced, although tabooed form of social behavior, may become a social problem because of its intimate association with unscrupulous and lawless elements. Despite public strictures against it, particularly in the U.S., gambling in its various institutionalized forms, has become a significant element in modern recreational life.

This article talks about the sufficiency of warrants under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The liberal protection of personal privacy under the Fourth Amendment again appears to have the support of a majority of the members of the U.S. Supreme Court. One case, Giordenello v. United States, concerns one of the most basic elements of the Fourth Amendment, and that is the element of probable cause in arrest, search, and seizure. The Fourth Amendment reads that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. In the Giordenello case an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained an arrest warrant for Giordenello, The warrant was based on the sworn complaint of the agent, probable cause. On January 27, 1956 the agent arrested the Giordenello as he emerged from a residence. At the time of the arrest the agent made an incidental search of Giordenello which resulted in the seizure of a brown paper bag containing heroin. Giordenello challenged the sufficiency of the warrant, asserting that its issuance lacked the requirement of probable cause.

This section presents abstracts of several papers presented to various conferences on criminology. A paper read at the 15th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology at Washington D. C. on December 27, 1958, deals with child murderers. It states that crimes are conditioned both by individual factors inherent in the personality of the offender and by socio-cultural conditions and trends. Each society has the crimes it creates, condones or fails to nip in the bud. Although murder is punished, it is not altogether abhorred and it is sometimes even glorified. It is much more frequent in the U.S. than in some others. Murders committed by children under sixteen, relatively frequent in the U.S., are practically unheard of in other civilizations. Most of the homicides committed by juveniles are the outcome of gang-warfare, often not premeditated. Less frequent, but more puzzling and disturbing, is another type: that of children killing, on impulse or by premeditation, near members of their families, sometimes the parents. What makes it worse is that often these children come from what appears, to the average person, to be a good home socially and culturally, with ordinary family life. Another perturbing factor is that the murderers (and this applies often to gang-warfare killers) fail to show afterwards an adequate emotional reaction of guilt and remorse.

This paper is an exploratory study of personality trends in Negro and white youthful male offenders. It is part of a larger research project which involves 1,183 youthful male offenders, 16 to 23 years of age, incarcerated in Alabama's three major male prisons and 27 correctional road camps during the six month period, January 1 through June 30, 1950. The present paper is a comparative analysis of two groups of offenders of approximately equal size--228 Negro and 231 white male offenders--comprised within the larger study. The personality characteristics of these two groups have been measured in terms of scores on a standardized personality test. The score results have been analyzed by statistical and case methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the papers on criminal law presented at the symposium entitled The Role of Common Law Concepts in Modern Criminal Jurisprudence. Courts have recently been troubled by the application of age-old criminal law concepts to offenses against modern criminal law. Such common law terms as moral turpitude, infamous crime, and crimes against the public morals have received attention in cases ranging from income tax violations to a prosecution for obscene telephone calls. The first paper in this series, Tax Evasion and Moral Turpitude, examines the question of whether income tax evasion is necessarily a crime involving moral turpitude and it also deals with the related problem of summary disbarment. The second paper Infamy and the Office-holder, traces the history and application of the infamous crime concept and suggests a new test of infamy to meet current problems concerning the right of one convicted of a crime to hold public office. What are crimes against the public morals and how that common law concept is utilized by the courts today are the questions answered by the third paper in this series, Common Law Crimes Against the Public Morals. The concluding paper, The Constitutionality Of Prosecutions For Crimes Against The Public Morals, measures this ancient concept against the demands of due process, and suggests some answers as to whether it is a vital principle of today's criminal law or an outmoded relic in the light of modern constitutional guarantees.

This section presents technical abstracts on police science. In the article, Multiple Thickness Cell Assemblies--Application to Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry, D. D. Tunnicliff has devised multiple cell assemblies with cells of varying thicknesses to take advantage of varying cell length rather than concentrations in ultraviolet absorption spectrophotometry. The article, Plastic Vessel for pH Measurements of Small Samples, by Kenneth M. Richter, furnished dimensions and sketches of an adapter shaped to the Beckman standard electrodes for samples as small as 0.25 ml. A shoulder in one well of the adapter serves to prevent damage to the calomel electrode. The paper, Control of Fine Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals--Report for Analysts by W. B. Fortune, was presented at the Symposium on Analysis of Fine Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals at the American Chemical Society meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey in September, 1956. The paper points out the increasingly difficult problems of identification and analysis of the many new drugs and chemicals being produced. Classical methods are inadequate, and new methods are hardly keeping pace with development and production of new products. Of particular interest to the Forensic Chemist or Criminalist are the comments about the need of applying confirmatory tests and not relying on single or inadequate identification tests.

This paper has presented some of the problems involved in the selection and training of capable workers in institutions for juvenile delinquents. It has examined some of the determining factors underlying the selection of workers, offered suggestions as to what kinds of people make the more capable rehabilitative workers, and ways of selecting and training them. These considerations have implications for both the institution and the worker. For the institution, it can mean better morale among its staff, less turnover in personnel, with a better all around program. For the workers, it can mean a greater probability of "making it" on the job, if selected, and of securing lasting satisfactions from the job experiences. The ultimate goal of all these considerations is the restoration of the delinquents to society as constructive, well adjusted citizens. A word of caution should be stated in conclusion. The ideas and procedures discussed in this paper can make a contribution to the treatment of institutionalized delinquents; however, they will not solve all the problems confronting correctional institutions. The important thing is that institutions outline their employment and training ideas and procedures, observe their functioning in operation and make changes as indicated by experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data (presented here) indicate that non-recidivists differ significantly from recidivists in their employment patterns: regularity of work, type of work and occupational mobility; their family life, particularly in terms of the conjugal family and their social relationships. The statistics, of course, do not indicate whether this difference is the cause or the effect of criminal activity. The interviews themselves however, strongly suggest that in many cases the factors described here have a causal relationship to recidivism. The author feels that in any case the differences between recidivists and non-recidivists as discussed in this paper are sufficiently large to warrant further study. This paper therefore provides further evidence that the adjustment of ex-convicts to law-abiding society depends on the social conditions under which this adjustment takes place. The particular conditions examined here are all subject to some extent to external control. This means that the ex-convict's chances of successful adjustment can be increased by guidance and help in providing him with work which is related to his capacities and interests, by providing counseling both to himself and his family; and by seeing to it that he is actively integrated into law abiding communities. (For the last point the support of community organizations might be enlisted.) AU this points to the desirability of parole as against straight release provided that real parole supervision is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the defects as points of identification of checkwriters in the U.S. The machine was developed to protect the amount line on checks and bank drafts from forgers who added a numeral and a few letters in an attempt to raise a handwritten check from a small amount to a large sum. One group of defects that appear on checkwriters and can be used as points of identification occur during the manufacturing of the product. They may be left in the type face during the forging or casting process. To identify the checkwriter, one would study the type, the platen, and the payee perforation. The inking mechanism also comes into consideration in an examination. The ink may cake or mix with lint to fill in the type. Wear of moving or operating parts may leave some identifiable points, such as the name die or prefix not sliding next to the amount, when on a machine constructed for such a movement. To obtain standards for comparison use blank check paper when possible or make the impression on the amount line of a check. Standards taken on check paper render ideal conditions when photographed with the questioned checks. In making standards, all characters on the machine should be utilized as well as the amount in question.

This article presents a summary of the available methods for treating burnt papers for the handling and decipherment of charred documents following an arson investigation. The handling of charred remains must be carried out with the greatest of care. Some slightly calicinate fragments may be plyable and fairly impervious to damage, while others, where a more radical burning has taken place, will fall apart at the slightest touch. The arson or other field investigator should never attempt removal of the fragments from the original container if it is possible to transport the container undisturbed to the laboratory. Flat bladed tweezers are particularly useful for picking up these fragments. When only parts of whole documents are found, they may be segregated according to the area of the container in which they are found. The most difficult part of the operation begins when the charred material reaches the laboratory. Documents burned in a closed vessel react differently from those burned in the open air. Hans Gross, a famous authority on criminal investigation methods, describes a method of permanently fastening burnt papers to a support so that they can be examined in a flattened state.

This article profiles Swedish criminologist Harry Söderman. He was born on August 28, 1902 in Stockholm, Sweden in a maternity home. His elementary schooling was had in northern Sweden, and when he finished elementary school, his father sent him to the Chemical Institute of Malmo where he graduated with honors in 1920. At the age of 18 he went for special training to Germany, where he studied legal chemistry as well as pulp and paper industry at the Technical Institute of Altenburg where he graduated in 1922. He worked for the Swedish Police Journal and he persuaded the journal to send him on an Asiatic tour from 1924-1926. He served as a correspondent for this paper and reported on Asiatic police systems and crime and delinquency in these countries. Upon returning to Europe, he became assistant to Edmond Locard at the French State Police Laboratory at Lyons from 1926-1928. When he came back to Sweden in 1930, he was made chief editor of Nordisk Criminal Teknisk Tidskrift, the noteworthy publication in its field in northern Europe. In 1931, he was named a member of the Royal Parliamentary Technical Committee which investigated the riots at the sawmills in Odalen, Sweden. His fame reached much higher in 1930 upon the appearance of what promised to be a definitive work on police science: Handbook of Police Science in which he collaborated with Ernst Fontell, police commissioner of Gothenburg. Many of his books were published after that. In 1939, the Swedish Parliament created a kind of Swedish version of the Federal Bureau of Investigation called the National Institute of Technical Police. He was named its first director. During World War II, he was placed by his government in charge of a then very confidential project of organizing Norwegian and Danish police troops raised in Sweden during that conflict. In the post-war years, he acted as reporter general to the International Criminal Police Commission.

This article discusses the separation of blood stains and other soluble materials by capillary action. Blood stains particularly and some other soluble materials as well, are located in evidence in such a form as to make their removal and testing by conventional methods exceptionally difficult. For example, blood may be mixed with soil, dry leaves, wood fragments and miscellaneous debris in such a way that ordinary methods of testing are ineffective. Furthermore, blood may be distributed over irregular objects and in very small quantities, and it may have been spread and diffused by washing and other procedures to such an extent that its recovery is very difficult. A technique has been developed which eliminates many of these difficulties and allows very precise and sensitive testing for blood in numerous conditions which otherwise could not be carried out readily or perhaps at all. The essential technique involved regardless of the type of material from which blood is removed, is the application of a filter paper strip which is kept wet with the water used to transfer the blood and which allows it to creep up by capillary action and evaporate from paper at a point above the location of the blood-containing material. The soluble materials are carried to the highest point reached by the water and concentrate there in a narrow band.

The section presents abstracts of articles concerning police science. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences held its third annual meeting in March 1951, in Chicago, Illinois. Thirty-seven papers were presented in addition to three sectional meetings in Toxicology, Pathology and Psychiatry. Proceedings of the entire meeting were transcribed and arrangements are being made at present for the publication of this record. A Selection of Papers Presented at Sixth Annual Seminar and Training Course in Arson Detection and Investigation may be obtained from the International Association of Fire Chiefs in New York City. Deviations from the normal position of the delta above the phalange articulation in whorl patterns are reported by G.T. Mairs in the Finger Print Magazine. The usefulness of the Infrared Spectrometer for qualitative and quantitative determinations of alkaloids in police laboratories is indicated by studies of G.B. Pleat, J.H. Harley and S.E. Wiberley published in the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association. Another in the Third Annual Review Series the article by W.W. Hilty and M.M. Marsh discusses advances in the drug field. In a series of three articles in the Professional Photographer Ordway Hilton discusses the various uses of photography in connection with questioned document examination.

This section presents abstracts of papers on police science. The paper Typewriting Impressions: Testing and Differentiation by Chromatographic Adsorption, by Linton Godown which was published in the October 1958 issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences is an excellent discussion of a scientific advance in typewriter identification. The author shows that thin adsorption chromatography is suited to qualitative comparison of minute traces of components of some writing elements. The use of a talc-alcohol-acetone or similar system with an appropriate handling technique, such as described, permits differentiation between black typewriting impressions made with different but similar materials within the fabric ribbon or carbon impression classes. There is no means known at present whereby typewriting impressions can be chemically tested and determined as having an identical source although the possibility of differentiating or distinguishing between impressions from similar sources has substantially improved. In the paper A Study of Class Characteristics of Autoloading Weapons, by John G. Sojat and John C. Stauffer which was published in the October 1958 issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences, the authors attempt to demonstrate the extent and possibility of close reproduction of various marks by different pistols of the same make and model.

This section presents abstracts of police science notes. R. C. Steinmetz requested opinions from twenty-four members of the International Association of Arson Investigators regarding more effective means for arson investigating. The replies represent the thinking of a representative group and should merit study by other investigators. John Kennedy presented a paper at the Seventh Annual Seminar and Training Course in Arson Detection and Investigation at Purdue University on the subject of Interviewing Witnesses. This paper is based upon the studied experiences of several years in the field of arson investigation and contains many worthwhile suggestions for investigators. K. E. Beu's article, Improvements in a Method for Preparing Plastic Powder: Sample Capillary Tubes, describes a modification of his method for making plastic diffraction tubes. In place of an ordinary solution of cellulose acetate he uses Peel-it from Harco Chemical Co. Mandrels are wires stretched about 10%, cleaned in nitric acid and stored, until used, in helium-filled glass tubes. Using Peel-it the capillary tubes strip easily and remain straight.

This article focuses on the optimal selection of police patrol beats. The distribution of manpower over patrol beats has been accomplished historically on an empirical basis using hand calculations. The primary criterion used in determining beat structure has been the equalization of work load or, as a surrogate, the equalization of the percentage of incidents occurring within the beat boundaries. It has been impossible to arrange the geographic distribution of beats so as to obtain the best possible mean response time, with equal work loads, using hand calculations The advent of computer based methods of optimization has made the determination of beat structure using advanced mathematical techniques economically feasible. It is the purpose of this paper to present practical static optimization models for the efficient geographic distribution of police patrol manpower. Although statistically based, the models are analytic in nature and can be solved quite accurately by heuristic methods on a digital computer.

This article presents technical abstracts and notes related to police science. The article "Forensic Applications of the Scanning Electron Microscope," by I. Covin and O. Jahari, presents the proceedings of a forensic workshop held in May, 1971. The article " The Status of Polygraph Legislation of the Fifty States," by Clarence H.A. Romig, discusses the history of the polygraph, the physiological and psychological aspects involved, and the legal status of the polygraph in the United States; part two of this paper continues with the various uses being discussed and concludes by presenting both sides of the argument over the use of the polygraph. The concluding segment covers legislation affecting the use of the polygraph including licensing legislation in eleven states. The series is concluded with a model set of minimum standards for operator certification and regulation. The article " Ubiquitous Reds: A Local Perspective on Secobarbital Abuse," by Bryan S. Finkle, discusses the social background and results of a study and evaluation of secobarbital abuse in Santa Clara County, California. The study also reports the results of analytical analysis showing great variations of the secobarbital content of capsules and also shows that the blood levels are significantly in excess of therapeutic levels which is a possible explanation for a rapid use in secobarbital fatalities among young people and the drug involvement in road traffic accidents.

This article examines the controversy over the police mentality and suggests a sociological alternative to current speculation about the nature of police personalities. Only a few studies used adequate control groups and some did not use a control group at all. While it is very impressive to learn that 72 percent of the policemen in one study were prejudiced-or that 71 percent were unprejudiced in another--these figures are meaningless until how they compare to some nonpolice control group, is known. In addition, the methods of study and measuring instruments may not be comparable. In the studies mentioned in the article, three different measures of authoritarianism were employed. Prejudice has been "measured" by the subjective accounts of participant observers as well as by paper-and-pencil tests. These divergent methods may account for some of the apparently inconsistent results. Finally, most of the results are subject to a "social desirability" interpretation. The police mentality, as described in the literature, does not develop at the top of the police hierarchy and filter down to the underlings.

This paper focuses on the method of assessing failure rates and compares the question it answers and the results it achieves with the questions answered and the results realized by two alternative methods. The proper statistical method for answering the question of risk during a specified period of time following release to parole is simple. In question form it is: "Of all those at risk during the specified period of time following release to parole, what proportion violate their parole during that period?" In order to demonstrate empirically that different methods of computing failure rates yield different results, a fictional parole system was created. Five hundred men were released to parole per month in this fictional system. In the fit statistical experiment, the failures were computed at a constant rate of 2.0 percent per month based on the survivors. An attempt is made to apply the procedures discussed in the fictional examples to an actual parole system. Two sets of data are used to make this demonstration. Both sets of data are from the Civil Addict Program operated by the California Department of Corrections.

This article deals with the problem of the relationship between the police and the community they serve. The paper aims to offer some stimulation to those involved daily with the operational difficulties of the problem, by stating an alternate view of the problem rather than prescribing another program solution. The community, the police, and the context in which the two interact are the three elements that must be considered as the major content areas of the "police-community relations" training program. Thinking first of the community, it is apparent that police academies have been dealing with various facets of this area for quite some time. Many of the traditional police academy subjects relate specifically to the recruits understanding of the community in which he must function. Police academies deal with the relevant criminal statutes, which are certainly reflections of the thoughts and feelings of the community in which the policeman has to function. Furthermore, most police academies deal to some degree with the values that underlie the Bill of Rights, and the specific application of these values in the study of criminal procedure.