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Month: August 2017

Female Deception Detection As A Function Of Commitment And Self-Awareness

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Abstract

It was been hypothesized that evolutionary factors including self-awareness and commitment are related to deception detection. In this study, 34 female undergraduates were tested for their ability to detect deception via a video paradigm. Females that were not in a committed relationship were significantly better at detecting males ‘‘faking good’’ as compared to committed females. Further, self-awareness was correlated with the ability to detect deception. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that deception may be related to self-awareness and that such a relationship is related to reproductive advantages secured by the ability to deceive.

1. Introduction

The ability to deceive is a valuable strategy, and humans can be considered expert deceivers (DePaulo et al., 2003). Fiedler and Walka (1993) concluded that most people have become so experienced at deception that they have mastered the skill. Even when people are not confident in their lies, they still manage to deceive others (Vrij, Edward, & Bull, 2001).

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How you can tell if the Simulations in Computational Criminology are any Good

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Abstract

Computational criminology applies computer simulations to study topics of interest for criminologists. Just as for all computer modelling in science, the validity of the simulations ultimately depends on whether they are able to reproduce empirical phenomena with sufficient accuracy. The only way in which this can be determined is by comparing model output to real observations. This paper provides an overview of how such model evaluations can be undertaken.

Introduction

For well over a generation, complex computer simulation models have been important tools in the natural and social sciences. Such models can be broadly viewed as vehicles for studying complexity and emergent phenomena (Vicek 2000), and their applications are remarkably diverse. Models of climate change (Randall 2000) are perhaps the most visible illustration in the natural sciences. The functioning and growth of markets (Kirman and Vriend 2001; Tesfatsion 2002) is the archetype in economics. The impact of violence and revenge in primitive societies (Younger 2005) is an instructive instance from anthropology.

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Time Since Death and Decomposition of the Human Body: Variables and Observations in Case and Experimental Field Studies

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There are few studies on the decomposition rate of the human body [1-4]. 3,4 However, nonhuman studies have been conducted on such varied topics as the decay and putrefaction rates of frozen, thawed, and mechanically injured rats [5]; carrion insect activity of pigs [6--8]; and scattering and destruction of mammalian and human remains by carnivores [9-I3]. Difficulty in obtaining bodies, lack of suitable areas for placement and study of the bodies, and negative public opinion all contribute to deter most human decay studies. However, it is crucial that forensic scientists have adequate knowledge to estimate accurately how long a person has been dead if they are to contribute to the resolution of the legal issues involved when a human body is recovered. The most common way to obtain such information is to conduct controlled studies on deceased individuals of known age, race, sex, weight, and cause/manner of death in natural, rather than laboratory, settings. In the natural setting,

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The Theory and Practice of Blackmail

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PREFACE

In March, 1959, while a member of the Society of Fellows, Harvard, I delivered a series of public lectures in Boston, under the auspices of the lowell Institute; these lectures were subsequently broadcast over WGBH, an educational FM station. Overall subject of the series was, 'The Art of Coercion: A Study of Threats in Economic Conflict and War." The following essay was the opening lecture. I have reprinted this lecture as it was delivered on March 10, 1959, almost ten years ago. It was before I cnme to RAND, before I worked on general war "bargaining," or worked on cold wars in the Pentagon, or took part in a hot war in Vietnam: much painful, but mostly relevant, experience. And a lot of relevant history has happened to the world since then -- including successful U.S. coercion in the Cuban missile crisis and disastrous failure against North Vietnam. For these and still other reasons (I've thought more about the problem)

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Fracture of the neck structures in suicidal hangings: A Retrospective study

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ABSTRACT

Introduction: Several factors may play a role in the development of fractures of the neck structures in hanging. It has been repetitively demonstrated that the incidence of fractures increases with age. The role of other variables is less clear, different studies presenting contradictory results on the role of gender, the type of suspension, or the type of ligature. However, most of these studies evaluated these factors independently of the age of the victims. Considering that age is probably the most important factor in the development of neck structure fractures, all other contributing factors should be studied in relation to age. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of contributing factors to the development of neck structure fractures, taking age categories into account. Materials and methods: A total of 206 cases were analysed for the presence and localization of thyroid fracture. For each case, the following information was also compiled: the presence and localization of

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Crime Scene Photography

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Introduction

OVERVIEW

Crime scene photography is one of the most important aspects of documenting crime scenes and evidence. Photographs are often used as courtroom exhibits to support witnesses’ testimony and to prove or disprove issues or theories before the court. Because of their value as court exhibits, the crime scene photographer’s goal should be to take photographs that meet the requirements for admissibility.

OBJECTIVES

In this chapter you will learn about:

1. The value of crime scene and evidence photography
2. The admissibility of photographic evidence in court
3. Testifying in court
4. Becoming an expert witness

THE VALUE OF CRIME SCENE PHOTOGRAPHY

It was a fairly quiet evening in the dispatch center until all at once the 9-1-1 calls started coming in. The callers reported hearing men shouting, then screams and someone calling out for help. The police responded to find a bleeding man with several wounds caused by some type of cutting instrument. The victim said he was

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Bloodstains

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Bloodstain pattern analysis is a forensic discipline that deals with the physics of the blood and assesses bloodstains left at crime scenes using visual pattern recognition. It is used to shed light on various forensic matters including reconstruction of events, differential diagnosis of homicide/suicide/accident and identifying areas with high likelihood of offender movements for taking DNA samples. There are documented descriptions of bloodstain shapes at crime scenes that date back to past centuries. However, it was the Samuel Sheppard case in the USA that prompted advances in this f ield. Bloodstain pattern analysis is employed worldwide by scientists, police off icials and medics in an interdisciplinary manner. Both the blood itself and the surfaces on which the bloodstains are found are important in the assessment of bloodstains. The umbrella organisation for bloodstain pattern analysts is the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts (IABPA), which offers various forms of membership. The name of the method (bloodstain pattern analysis) is often abbreviated to BPA.

Additional Resource: Introduction to Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (1754 downloads )

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Bloodstain Patterns

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Blood spatter patters, at the scene of a violent crime can indicate how the crime occurred. The shape of spots of blood can be used to determine an estimate of their velocity and/or impact angle and/or distance fallen. Elongated portions of the blood spatter indicates the direction that the blood drop was traveling when it impacted the surface.

Some of the variables used in blood spatter analysis are:
• Size of the blood spot
• Quantity of blood
• Shape of the blood spot
• Distribution of the blood in the crime scene
• Location of blood stains
• Angle of impact
• Texture of target surface
Blood that drips vertically from a stationary source onto a smooth, hard, flat surface is usually circular with crenated edges. Rough surfaces result in more spatter. (See Figure B-2) The shape of a bloodstain indicates its direction of travel. Such bloodstains are shaped more like an exclamation point where the shape and length indicate

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Rigor Mortis In Smooth Muscle And A Chemcal Analysis Of Fibromyoma Tissue

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Studies of rigor mortis recorded in the literature have been made almost exclusively on skeletal muscle, and whatever conclusions there may be regarding its occurrence in smooth muscle seem to have been reached largely by inference from such studies, rather than by actual experimental observations. Wells’ states that all forms of muscle, striped, smooth, and cardiac, undergo rigor mortis, manifested by a shortening and thickening. SaxJ2 investigating the distribution of muscle proteins in bovine uteri, observed no difference between the analyses of tissues fresh and aft,er 24 hours. He did not see a postmortem rigidity of the seuteri. Nasse, according to this investigator, found the intestinal wall firmer several hours after death than immediately post mortem, and concluded that this is a rigor mortis contraction of the intestinal musculature. Hawk,3 referring to Saxl’s study, says there is a difference of opinion regarding the occurrence of true rigor in non-striated (smooth) muscle. Such statements in the literature are sufficiently at variance with the observed contraction

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Ritual and Signature in Serial Sexual Homicide

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Since the early case studies of sexual murder by von Krafft-Ebing, offenders have been reported to engage in various crime scene behaviors that are unnecessary in the commission of the homicide. For example, several of the individuals von Krafft-Ebing cited not only killed their victims, but filled their mouths with dirt, pulled their hairpins out, pressed their hands together, subjected them to humiliation and torture, and often took something from them of little value. Authors of other early publications found similar behavior in sexual murderers. Many investigators concluded that these seemingly unnecessary activities (i.e., unnecessary for successfully accomplishing the crime) served a psychological purpose. The offender needed to engage in such actions to feel sexually gratified killing the victim was not sufficient.

Such crime scene behaviors, which more often than not are repetitive, have been found to be an outgrowth of the perpetrator’s deviant sexual sies, wherein the murder and the repetitive acts are parts of the offender’s sexual-arousal pattern.

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Blood on Black- Enhanced Visualization of Bloodstains on Dark Surfaces

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Abstract

Accurately visualizing and documenting bloodstains and patterns is an integral part of crime scene investigation and can provide crucial information for both the analysis of evidence in the laboratory and crime scene reconstruction efforts. Visualization of bloodstains is trivial on white or lightly colored surfaces. However, on darkly colored or black surfaces, this visualization can be extremely difficult. The failure to visualize and thereby recognize blood and bloodstain patterns on darkly colored surfaces has had seriously adverse consequences for important criminal investigations. There are two aspects to the problem. First, the presence of blood may not be recognized at critical stages in the investigation. Second, where the presence of blood is recognized, the pattern of blood-staining may not be appreciated. Sampling of bloodstains for DNA typing and other analyses must take place with knowledge of the bloodstain patterns. Otherwise important information may be destroyed. In a significant number of cases knowing how the bloodstains were formed

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Intimate Partner Stalking and Femicide: Urgent Implications for Women’s Safety

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INTRODUCTION

Stalking, as defined in the National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey, includes repeated (two or more) occasions of visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual communication, or verbal, written or implied threats that would cause fear in a reasonable person (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998, 2000). Using this definition, the results of the NVAW telephone survey of 8000 U.S. women and 8000 U.S. men found 1% of the women and 0.4% of the men reported being stalked during the preceding 12 months. Eight per cent of these same women and 2% of the men reported life-long prevalence of stalking (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998, 2000). The NVAW survey confirmed that most female victims know the stalker; strangers stalked only 23% of female victims. Overall, 62% of female victims were stalked by a current or former intimate partner, with 38% of the women reporting stalking by current or former husbands, 10% by current or former cohabiting partners, and 14% by current or

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Determination of Time Since Deposition of Blood Stains

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Introduction

DNA analysis has revolutionized the field of Forensic Science by allowing for unambiguous identification of the person from whom a biological sample has been obtained. DNA provides a spatial link between a suspect and a crime scene or other location relative to a crime investigation. In many instances, this information is sufficient for conviction of the perpetrator of a crime. The limitation of traditional DNA, however, is that it provides no information on when the biological material was deposited. It only indicates that, some time in the past, the person visited the scene, it could have been months or years before the material was collected. Temporal linkage between the biological material and the commission of a crime is especially important in situations involving victims and suspects with close personal ties. In these instances, finding biological material from the suspect in the home or other pertinent location associated with the victim is not unexpected.The reverse can also be true, for instance

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The Use of Personally Owned Mobile Phone Cameras and Pocket Video Cameras by Public Safety Personnel

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Mobile phone cameras

Police officers, sheriff’s deputies, coroner’s investigators, corrections officers, firefighters, paramedics and ambulance personnel are exposed to persons who have suffered horrible injuries and violent deaths. Some seasoned rescue workers and evidence technicians avoid stress by intentionally distancing themselves from tragedies. [1] Management has the right to designate mandatory and permitted equipment worn by its on-duty personnel, although a recognized bargaining unit is permitted to negotiate over “safety equipment.” [2]

Catsouras incident

One of the more prominent instances of the misuse of photographs followed the decapitation of an 18-year-old driver who had crashed into a toll booth on Halloween, 2006. According to Newsweek, the “accident was so gruesome the coroner wouldn’t allow her parents to identify their daughter’s body.” Photographs of the scene were taken by California Highway Patrol officers as part of their routine fatal collision procedures. Her parents sued the CHP, alleging that two officers had e-mailed nine grotesque images to their friends and family members on Halloween

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Modeling of Human Criminal Behavior using Probabilistic Networks

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Abstract

Currently, criminal’s profile (CP) is obtained from investigator’s or forensic psychologist’s interpretation, linking crime scene characteristics and an offender’s behavior to his or her characteristics and psychological profile. This paper seeks an efficient and systematic discovery of non-obvious and valuable patterns between variables from a large database of solved cases via a probabilistic network (PN) modeling approach. The PN structure can be used to extract behavioral patterns and to gain insight into what factors influence these behaviors. Thus, when a new case is being investigated and the profile variables are unknown because the offender has yet to be identified, the observed crime scene variables are used to infer the unknown variables based on their connections in the structure and the corresponding numerical (probabilistic) weights. The objective is to produce a more systematic and empirical approach to profiling, and to use the resulting PN model as a decision tool.

I. INTRODUCTION

Modeling human criminal behavior is challenging due to many variables involved

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Confession In LDS Doctrine and Practice

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In the Christian understanding, all are sinners (Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22); consequently, in order that all may be forgiven, repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel. A key element of repentance is confession: "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them" (D&C 58:43). Accordingly, confession is one of the five steps of repentance outlined by Spencer W. Kimball: (1) conviction of and sorrow for sin, (2) abandonment of sin, (3) confession of sin, (4) restitution for sin, (5) doing the will of the Lord.Confession is not a mechanical requirement, nor is it an ordinance, like baptism. Undertaken in obedience to commandment, confession either to a bishop, to God, or to offended parties is a concomitant of the change of heart that constitutes true repentance and results in reconciliation with God. Pride and fear prevent confession, but if one has truly

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