Search

In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the status of forensic anthropology and forensic archeology in Denmark, as well as related information about education, research, and skeletal collections. Forensic anthropologists mainly deal with the examination of unidentified skeletal remains. Some special tasks include cranial trauma analysis of the recently deceased, advanced 3D visualization from CT scanning of homicide cases, and stature estimation of perpetrators using surveillance videos. Forensic anthropologists are employed at one of Denmark's three departments of forensic medicine (in Copenhagen, Odense, and Aarhus) and have access to advanced imaging equipment (e.g., CT and MR scanning, surface scanners, and 3D printers) for use in both their requisitioned work and their research. Extensive research is conducted on different topics, such as the health and diseases of past populations, age estimation, and human morphology. Research is based on skeletal material from the archeological collections housed in Copenhagen and Odense or on CT data from the recently deceased. There is no full degree in forensic anthropology in Denmark, but elective courses and lectures are offered to students at different levels and to people from different professional backgrounds. Forensic archaeology is a relatively new field of expertise in Denmark, and relevant cases are rare, with only one or two cases per year. No forensic archeologists are officially employed in any of the departments of forensic medicine. Until recently, the Special Crime Unit of the police handled crime scene investigations involving excavations, but with the option of enlisting the help of outside specialists, such as archaeologists, anthropologists, and pathologists. An official excavation work group was established in 2015 under the lead of the Special Crime Unit of the police with the aim of refining the methods and procedures used in relevant criminal investigations. The group is represented by five police officers from the Special Crime Scene Unit, a police officer from the National Police Dog Training center, the two archaeologists from Moesgaard Museum, a forensic anthropologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Copenhagen), and a forensic pathologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Aarhus). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of this century, the use of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) in forensic autopsies has increased. In this study we examined how similar dental charts created using PMCT as a solitary examination mode were to dental charts created using the conventional method of a clinical inspection including intraoral radiographs. A total of 100 previously performed dental identification cases were retrospectively included in the study. For each case, a dental chart was created solely based upon PMCT. The PMCT based dental chart was subsequently compared with the chart created from the previous conventional identification examination. Based upon the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity values PMCT performed very well compared to the conventional method in the identification concerning presence or absence of teeth, the presence of crowns, bridges and endodontic treatments as well as the presence and types of fillings. PMCT performed poorly concerning the extension of fillings and identification of small, tooth-colored fillings. The use of PMCT is a valuable supplement to the conventional methods available for forensic odontologists and may be of great value for initial screening in mass fatalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents a proposed guideline for the use of post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) during forensic dental identification. Currently, whole-body PMCT is widely used prior to autopsies for the diagnosis of fractures, organ changes, hemorrhages, and for the localization of foreign bodies, but it may also facilitate the odontological identification process in single cases and in cases involving multiple fatalities. Several studies have described the use of PMCT in forensic odontological work, but we have not found any comprehensive set of guidelines on how to perform a forensic odontological examination using PMCT. The aim was to develop guidelines for creating post-mortem dental charts during forensic odontological identification examinations using the standard functions of PMCT. Methods: A proposed guideline was developed from 15 selected cases examined at the Section of Forensic Pathology, Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark from October 2011 to May 2012. Using the functionalities and three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of OsiriX DICOM-viewer software (Pixmeo Sarl, Bernex, Geneva, Switzerland) we adjusted the contrast and brightness settings and developed a proposed guideline for creating PMCT-based dental charts. A four-step guideline was produced. Conclusion: In our casework, we are currently using the guidelines proposed herein. The use of PMCT has allowed us to target our clinical examinations, greatly improving their efficiency. Furthermore, PMCT allows the storage of data for later documentation and research. Further research is needed to validate the proposed guideline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the goals of the Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) is to map the existing education and practice opportunities in the field of forensic anthropology in order to support the development of the discipline and to optimize the training courses provided by the Society. To address this goal, an online questionnaire was sent to European and South African practitioners of forensic anthropology and related disciplines in 2016. The results of the questionnaire showed that the status and roles of forensic anthropologists vary depending on the national legal systems, education, and employment status of the practitioners. Despite the fact that the expertise of forensic anthropologists has been increasingly requested in a variety of investigations and the spectrum of tasks has become broader, including identification of living persons, specialized education in forensic anthropology is still restricted to a few graduate and postgraduate programs in European countries and to annual FASE courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports by minors of sexual relations against their will are not rare, and in some cases pornographic photography is a part of the abuse. Such material can be used to help identify the perpetrator. In this study we examined the efficacy of visual comparison between two databases. One consisted of blinded still images of the back of the right hand of 51 males from video recordings, the other of blinded high quality camera images of the back of the right hand from the same 51 individuals. The images were compared in pairs (2601 combinations) and a judgment was made about whether they were a highly likely, possible or unlikely match, using several anatomical features as markers for comparison. Using this method all 51 high quality images were correctly matched with the video image from the same person, though in some cases there was up to 5 other samples that could not be excluded as possible matches. In total there were no false positive 'highly possible' matches, but there were 50 false positive 'possible' matches. Visual comparison of the back of the hand is a valuable addition to the burden of evidence in a judicial setting, but should not be used as a standalone method to establish proof of identity. The applicability of the method is dependent on the existence of a database of images; the degree of certainty of the identification is directly correlated to the size of the database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage is used in criminal investigations to compare perpetrators with suspects. Usually, incomplete gait cycles are collected, making evidential gait analysis challenging. This study aimed to analyze the discriminatory power of joint angles throughout a gait cycle. Six sets from 12 men were collected. For each man, a variability range VR (mean ± 1 SD) of a specific joint angle at a specific time point (a gait cycle was 100 time points) was calculated. In turn, each individual was compared with the 11 others, and whenever 1 of these 11 had a value within this individual's VR, it counted as positive. By adding the positives throughout the gait cycle, we created simple bar graphs; tall bars indicated a small discriminatory power, short bars indicated a larger one. The highest discriminatory power was at time points 60-80 in the gait cycle. We show how our data can assess gait data from an actual case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on an actual case, where we were able to ascertain the year of birth of three dead babies found in a deep-freezer to within 1–2 years (1986, 1988 and 2004, respectively), we review the current state of forensic age determination/year of birth determination. The age of an individual (year of birth) is often a fundamental piece of data in connection with forensic identification of unidentified bodies. The methods most often used are based on determining various morphological, age-related, changes on the skeleton (or teeth, although odontological methods are not reviewed in this paper). As such, these methods are all relative, i.e. they do not furnish calendar ages or years, but an estimate of the age at death, with a rather large range, i.e. the methods rely on biological aging following the chronological aging. More recently, methods have been proposed using more direct ascertainment of age at death, e.g. protein racemisation, or, as in our case, radiocarbon methods. Especially the latter method may in fact yield absolute ages (years of birth), because 14C activity, as measured in specific proteins in specific cells or tissues in the body, were in equilibrium with the so-called bomb-pulse, when these proteins were formed (at birth). The bomb pulse reflects a dramatic change in atmospheric 14C content due to nuclear bomb testing, and these dramatic changes can be rather tightly related to single calendar years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A police case with a strangulated woman with fingermarks on the neck and two suspects identifying each other as the perpetrator set off a laboratory experiment. Twenty-one males participated in the study. Blue paint was applied to their fingers, after which they grasped a neck dummy and pressed hard as if strangulating someone. The imprint was removed from the dummy, and their hands were photographed. Five imprints were randomly chosen and superimposed on the hand photographs in blind trials. In no cases did we match an imprint to the correct hand. However, in four cases we matched the imprint with several hands, one of which was the correct one. This means we were able to exclude nonmatches in 4/5 cases. Overall, matching of hands and fingermarks is difficult and inconclusive. Objective criteria for matching are difficult to establish, and matching is probably best suited for cases with specific anatomical features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study on the use of gait analysis and photogrammetry in person identification. Analysis and comparison of surveillance images from a bank robbery with images of suspect; Comparison of images of the suspect with the perpetrator in order to note bodily features and proportions that might indicate concordance as well as incongruity; Use of the computer software Photomodeler Pro in the study.

We present the results of a preliminary study on the use of 3-D software (Photomodeler®) for identification purposes. Perpetrators may be photographed or filmed by surveillance systems. The police may wish to have these images compared to photographs of suspects. The surveillance imagery will often consist of many images of the same person taken from different angles. We wanted to see if it was possible to combine such a suite of images in useful 3-D renderings of facial proportions.Fifteen male adults were photographed from four different angles. Based on these photographs, a 3-D wireframe model was produced by Photomodeler®. The wireframe models were then rotated to full lateral and frontal views, and compared to like sets of photographs of the subjects. In blind trials, 9/15 of the wireframe models were assigned to the correct sets of photographs. In five/15 cases, the wireframe models were assigned to several sets, including the correct set. Only in one case was a wireframe model not assigned to a correct set of photographs at all. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this position statement, the Board members of the Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) argue that forensic anthropology methods can be used as means of personal identification, particularly in situations with limited availability of traditional identification methods (i.e. dactyloscopy, odontology, and molecular genetic analysis). This statement has been issued taking into account the international migration crises related to thousands of deaths worldwide, in which the utility of these traditional means of identification has been sporadic to non-existent. The statement is however not limited to deaths related to the migration crises, as similar problems may occur in fatalities en masse such as in natural disasters and armed conflicts, and on a smaller scale in cases of homeless or otherwise socioeconomically disadvantaged persons. The number of reports on personal identification based on sound anthropological methodology is increasing in the scientific literature. However, more research is needed to develop evidence-based standard operating procedures and statistical frameworks. It remains essential to raise awareness among forensic practitioners, law enforcement, and judiciary professionals on the utility of forensic anthropology in cases where it can provide sufficient information for identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]