Self-Inflicted Hanging with Bound Wrists and a Gag.

Abstract

This is a report of an unusual suicidal hanging by a 30-year-old male. He was found in his bedroom by friends, suspended from a ceiling light fixture by an electrical cord around his neck. His hands were bound behind his back and a sock gag was in his mouth. A paperback book was lying on the bed headboard. The book contained a detailed but totally inaccurate description of a fantasized hanging which may have contributed to the unusual binding and gagging. Homicide and autoerotic accident had to be considered. A series of suicide notes, however, simplified the case....

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Understanding Variations in Murder Clearance Rates

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of the political environment on murder clearance rates. The research strategy employed a multimethod research design, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative approach uses Federal Bureau of Investigation reported data from the 59 largest cities from 1970 to 1999 to conduct a pooled time-series cross-sectional analysis of annual murder clearance rates. Regressing murder clearance rates on murder offense rate, total population of the city, state unemployment rate, police expenditures per 1000 city population, officers per 1000 residents, and a dummy variable for mayoral election year yields little discernible impact of political influence on murder clearance rates. However, in contrast to the quantitative modeling, the qualitative case study reveals a significant impact of the media, local political figures, and prosecuting attorneys on police practices and procedures, investigative decision making, and even fluctuations in murder clearance rates....

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Choosing Favorites? Examining the Multiple Factors that Influence the Prioritization of Cold Case Homicide Investigations

Abstract:

With each cold case homicide, a victim fails to receive justice and a perpetrator is likely at large. With the recent implementation of cold case homicide units across the country, these unsolved crimes are receiving a second chance for resolution. However, the caseload for these types of units is often daunting. Due to limited personnel dedicated to cold cases, detectives are often limited in the number of cases they can "actively" work at one time. Therefore, they must prioritize which cases to investigate. This paper examines the multiple factors that influence this critical decision. Hypothetically departments seek to work those cold cases that occurred most recently and that have the greatest amount of evidence. However, several other influences complicate this process. Resource allocation, political pressures, family interests, community impact, and other factors might be more likely to dictate to detectives which cold case homicides will be worked first....

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Thefts of and from Cars on Residential Streets and Driveways

Gathering Intelligence

The most important first step must be the collection o relevant data. It is only through the systematic collection of information concerning characteristics of location, times and methods used by offenders that a clear picture of the problem will emerge. This information can then be used both to inform local car owners and residents of the problem as well as to train police officers. In many densely populated areas, thefts from cars go uninvestigated if there is no information from the victim as to the identity of the perpetrator. Frequently, police departments do not even send an officer to the scene to investigate or to interview the victim. Reports on these types of offenses are often simply taken over the telephone and entered into the departments’ records. While this sort of action may be pragmatic in overburdened police agencies, when attempting to address a specific problem it causes the loss of a...

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Secondary And Subsequent Dna Transfer During Criminal Investigation.

Abstract

With the introduction of new multiplex PCR kits and instrumentation such as the Applied Biosystems 3500xl, there has recently been a rapid change in technology that has greatly increased sensitivity of detection so that a DNA profile can routinely be obtained from only a few cells. Research to evaluate the risks of passive transfer has not kept pace with this development; hence the risk of innocent DNA transfer at the crime-scene is currently not properly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of investigator-mediated transfer of DNA traces with disposable nitrile-gloves used during crime-scene examinations. We investigated the primary transfer of freshly deposited DNA from touched plastic, wood or metal substrates and secondary and tertiary transfer by a person wearing disposable nitrile-gloves and onto a third object. We show that with use of the new highly sensitive technologies available in forensic...

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I. Primary vs Secondary Crime Scenes Primary Crime Scene: Secondary Crime Scene: Example: in a Bank Robbery…

Marking Evidence at Crime Scenes: Developing a System

One of the most basic—and most important—tasks a crime scene officer has is locating, collecting, packaging, and marking evidence found at a crime scene. In this article, I‘ll address the marking of evidence collected. No matter the type of scene, you must carefully mark and record every piece of evidence you find. This may seem pretty straightforward, but it becomes more complicated when you have multiple crime scenes or incidents. Then the question becomes, how do you coordinate evidence marking across crime scenes? By developing a system for marking evidence before you arrive at your crime scenes, you will avoid confusion and build stronger cases. There are many possible systems that you can use to mark evidence. Some departments use a combination of numbers and letters, or include a breakdown that specifies locations such as bedroom...

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Profiling the Missing Person

“This is such an important area, there hasn’t been anything like it done in the world. There are no profiles of missing persons at all. Having a tool where there are strong indicators or markers for what’s happened to the missing person is a first.”

Dr Shaunagh Foy from Charles Sturt University (CSU) is talking about her ground breaking research into who goes missing and why. The NSW Police Force hope it will help solve missing persons cases more quickly.

Dr Foy divided a sample of missing persons into three categories; runaways, suicides and foul play. The amount of data varied enormously. “There were so many runaways but not much information. With the foul play and suicide cases there is a vast amount of information because they tended to be on-going investigations.”

Age and gender immediately emerged as obvious indicators. The under 18s tend to be runaways,...

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Spatial And Social Profiling For Missing Person Investigations – Center For Evidence-based Crime Policy

Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) – Scottish Institute for Police Research (SIPR) 2013 Joint Symposium and Congressional Briefing on Evidence-Based Policing

The CEBCP Symposium, Congressional Briefings and Special Meetings were held jointly with the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) April 8-10, 2013 and was a major success! Over 250 people attended across the two days, representing over 100 different organizations. The focus was on translating police research into practice, and the Agenda and Presentations are listed below.

Additional Resource: Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) – Scottish Institute for Police Research (SIPR)

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A Profile of Missing Persons: Some Key Findings for Police Officers

2.1 Introduction

The most publicised reminders of inaccurate risk classification by police officers dealing with missing person’s reports come from cases where the missing person was presumed to have runaway but was later found to have met with foul play. Fortunately, such occurrences are extremely rare. Despite this, there is still enormous pressure on the officer taking the initial missing persons report to ask the right questions, assess possible risk factors, make a judgement about what may have happened to the missing person and then allocate appropriate resources—all within a timely manner. For all police officers, and for every missing person report made, the task is complex (see Fyfe, Stevenson & Woolnough, 2014 for more on this). No research has been conducted in the area of misclassifications of risk when a new missing person report is received, so the true numbers remain unknown....

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Automobile Theft

A. THE NATURE OF AUTO THEF' (1, 11, 12)

The necessary first step in any discussion of auto theft in the United States is to become aware of certain legalistic peculiarities in American law as they apply to the crime of theft. The common law definition of larceny (or theft) hias, historically, come to include in it an element of attempted, or actual, permanent deprivation of the rightful owner of his chattel. A major legal problem, therefore, arose in the past, as to whether an individual who only "borrowed" someone's car for "joyriding" purposes could be classified as a thief. Not infrequently the accused, after convincing the court that he did not intend to keep or sell the car or, indeed, was returning it to its rightful owner when apprehended, was found not to have violated existing larceny statutes and was set free. Thus in one precedent ...

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World War One: Scientist John Haldane Tested Gas on Himself

When the Germans launched the first gas attacks in 1915, the allies were desperate to find out what chemicals were used and how they could protect troops in the front line. The War Office called in an Oxford academic to help - a man who was prepared to put his own life at risk to produce the first gas mask.

Not many of today's scientists would be prepared, let alone permitted, to test dangerous gases on themselves at home, relying on their teenage daughter to break in and revive them if they passed out from the effects.

But, John Scott Haldane was anything but orthodox, according to Dr Steve Sturdy from the University of Edinburgh.

Haldane was a great self-experimenter - he thought the human organism was the best animal to experiment on because it could report on what it was experiencing.

Lord Kitchener himself called on Mr Haldane for help,...

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Gear Essentials for Women: The Pee Rag

Ok, I know what you are wondering. What the heck is a pee rag?? Actually, if you’ve spent any time at all on a long trail you’ve probably heard of them, and you’ve likely seen them hanging off the pack of the badass lady hiker in front of you. A “peedanna”, or pee rag, is a bandanna or similar cloth that is designated for wiping after urinating in the woods. A lot of women opt to use a pee rag instead of toilet paper. There are a multitude of reasons why you’d want to make the switch to a pee rag. For me, the ease and convenience were the biggest factor. Here are a few things to consider:

Pros

Trash – The single biggest advantage that I’ve found to using a pee rag instead of toilet paper is less trash. When in the wilderness, you have to pack out what you pack in. This includes...

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Informants & Whistleblowers

Criminals are sometimes the best people to use to catch other criminals. However, CFEs should follow the important rules when using and managing informants, whistleblowers and cooperating defendants to avoid sabotaging their cases.

This article is excerpted and adapted from “Faces of Fraud: Cases and Lessons from a Life Fighting Fraudsters,” by Martin T. Biegelman, published by John Wiley & Sons Inc. © 2013 used with permission.

No one knows the faces of fraud better than those people intimately involved in misconduct, whether as willing participants or eyewitnesses to wrongdoing. Experience teaches us that fraud is often uncovered and reported by people with inside knowledge, including employees, vendors and customers. The longtime administrative assistant or bookkeeper who has been with the company for ages may know where all the “bodies are buried,” and if given the opportunity will provide valuable information to an all-too-willing-to-listen federal agent, prosecutor or news reporter....

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Confidential Informant

Abstract

There are basically two types of police investigation, reactive and proactive. In the former, a crime is reported to the police and an investigation is initiated; in the latter, police uncover or seek out the criminal activity. Each is concerned with identifying and arresting the perpetrator of a criminal act. In order to identify and obtain evidence against persons involved in criminal activity, the police often use confidential informants. Both types of investigation require the securing of information that comes from within a criminal esubculture. Within this criminal subculture, deals are made, plans for the future as well as past and present crimes are openly discussed, and a general wealth of criminal intelligence is exchanged. The confidential informant, therefore, becomes the ideal tool for penetrating their criminal subculture. Detectives have their own personal cultivated sources as well as registered confidential informants. Informants have various motives for giving information...

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Passion Victim | A brief look at Hybristophilia

Hybristophilia was defined by the sexologist Professor John Money as a sexual paraphilia in which an individual derives sexual arousal and pleasure from having a sexual partner who is known to have “committed an outrage or crime, such as rape, murder, or armed robbery.” This type of paraphilic behaviour is sometimes colloquially known as ‘Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome.’ In some cases, the person who is the focus of the sexual desire is someone who has been imprisoned. In some cases, the hybristophile may urge and coerce their partner to commit a crime.

In other cases, the hybritophile may contact someone who is already in prison that they do not know except by reputation and/or what the have read or seen in the media. For instance, it is well known that serial killers—particularly those who have received lots of media publicity—receive lots of fan mail from female admirers (some of who are likely to be genuine...

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Comparison Between Prostate Specific Antigen And Acid Phosphatase For Detection Of Semen In Vaginal Swabs From Raped Women

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To compare the effectiveness of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and the acid phosphatase (AP) test for semen detection in human vaginal samples.

MATERIAL AND METHOD:

The source materials were vaginal swabs that were tested at Ramathibodi Hospital between 2008 and 2010 from 2450 cases of raped women. Each swab was tested for semen by three methods: sperm detection by light microscopy, the AP enzymatic reaction, and the presence of PSA by using an immuno-chromatographic rapid kit test. The efficiencies of the AP and PSA tests were compared using the light microscopy result for the presence of sperm as the gold standard.

RESULT:

The specificities of the AP, the PSA and the combined AP-PSA tests were 96.4%, 92.3% and 91.9%, respectively, and the sensitivities were 65.5%, 80.4% and 84.5%, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area of the AP, PSA and combined AP-PSA tests were 0.8091,...

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