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PubMed1998

The scope of forensic radiology.

The use of x-ray in the solution of forensic problems commenced within days of Röntgen's discovery; indeed, most of the applications of radiology to the forensic sciences were accomplished or anticipated within the next two years. The scope of forensic radiology ranges widely and includes determination of identity, evaluation of injury and death, applications in both criminal and civil litigation and in administrative proceedings, detection of abuse, investigation of gunshot wounds, medical education and research. Newer modalities and techniques afford opportunity for the expansion of forensic radiology if problems of accessibility and cost can be resolved along with improvement in interdisciplinary cooperation and understanding.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Contact neck gunshot wound without weapon--suicide or homicide?].

To support police in reenacting criminal acts is one of the most important functions of forensic investigation. This case report deals with the discovery of the corpse of a 42-year old man at the bank of the river Inn. First of all the man was supposed to be drowned, but the autopsy showed a gunshot wound of the neck and a shot-through of the brain-stem. Intensive search for the weapon by the police and by divers was unsuccessful and therefore suspicion of homicide arose. The reconstruction of the act at the site of discovery of the corpse led to the discovery of the weapon and the case became clear to be a suicide.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Hair analysis for drugs of abuse. Plausibility of interpretation.

Over more than 20 years hair analysis for drugs has been gaining increasing attention and recognition in various toxicological fields as preemployment and employment screening, forensic sciences, doping control of banned substances, clinical diagnostics in health problems. Hair analysis for drugs can expand the toxicological examination of conventional materials and thus contribute with additional important information to the complex evaluation of a certain case. Hair is a unique material for the retrospective investigation of chronic drug consumption, intentional or unintentional chronic poisoning in criminal cases, gestational drug exposure or environmental exposure to pollutants and adulterants and with specific ultrasensitive procedures allow to demonstrate even a previous single dose administration in a very low amount. Assuming the ideal hair steady and uniform growth, segmental hair analysis can provide the information about the time course of the substance use or exposure. However, the physiological background of hair growth, mechanisms of drug incorporation are not simple, not yet understood in full details and need not be evaluated exactly in all cases. The hair sampling, storage, sample preparation, analytical performance themselves are also very important for final results. Different laboratory attitudes can produce different results. The full information on circumstances of the case examined must be taken into account during interpretation. The pitfalls in hair analysis should be known and avoided to assure the responsible and correct interpretation of laboratory results adequate to an individual case.

Forensic Toxicology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Confusing muscular hemorrhage in a drowned cadaver. A contribution to differentiation between vital and postmortem changes].

The autopsy on an body recovered from the water showed evidence of drowning and, in addition, the occurrence of extensive intramuscular bleeding on the neck, in the area of the shoulder girdle and the upper arms. There was a suspicion that criminal violence had been used, and the police carried out extensive investigations; these were inconclusive. The subsequent histological examination of the affected musculature revealed "reactive" changes throughout which corresponded to post mortem damage. The case presented here serves to illustrate the usefulness of muscle histology for differentiating between the occurrence of intramuscular bleeding before and after death; the corresponding histological criteria are outlined.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Total serum cholesterol level, violent criminal offences, suicidal behavior, mortality and the appearance of conduct disorder in Finnish male criminal offenders with antisocial personality disorder.

Associations between low total serum cholesterol (TC) levels and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), violent and suicidal behavior have been found. We investigated the associations between TC levels, violent and suicidal behavior, age of onset of the conduct disorder (CD) and the age of death among 250 Finnish male criminal offenders with ASPD. The CD had begun before the age of 10 two times more often in non-violent criminal offenders who had lower than median TC levels. The violent criminal offenders having lower than median TC levels were seven times more likely to die before the median age of death in the study material. The violent offenders having lower than median TC levels were eight times more likely to die of unnatural causes. The mean TC level of these male offenders with ASPD was lower than that of the general Finnish male population. Low TC levels are associated with childhood onset type of the CD, and premature and unnatural mortality among male offenders with ASPD. The TC level seems to be a peripheral marker with prognostic value among boys with conduct disorder and antisocial male offenders.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Case based reasoning in criminal intelligence using forensic case data.

A model that is based on the knowledge of experienced investigators in the analysis of serial crime is suggested to bridge a gap between technology and methodology. Its purpose is to provide a solid methodology for the analysis of serial crimes that supports decision making in the deployment of resources, either by guiding proactive policing operations or helping the investigative process. Formalisation has helped to derive a computerised system that efficiently supports the reasoning processes in the analysis of serial crime. This novel approach fully integrates forensic science data.

Crime↗
PubMed1980

Offender-victim relationships in criminal homicide followed by offender's suicide, North Carolina, 1972-1977.

An analysis of 90 cases of criminal homicide followed by suicide in North Carolina, 1972 to 1977. Homicidal victim-offender relationships were investigated in regard to age, sex, race and whether victim and offender were member of the same family, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. These results were compared with victim-offender relationships in 994 criminal homicide cases in North Carolina in which offenders did not commit suicide. Married white males over 30 years were much more involved in homicide-suicide than they were in homicide alone. In these homicide-suicide cases, the victim was usually the spouse. Except for marital status, characteristics of homicide offenders who killed themselves resembled those of suicide-only individuals much more than those of homicide-only offenders. In the homicide-suicide cases, the killing of someone in close relationship to the offender, often a wife, appeared to be part of the evolving process of suicide. This clearly has implications for intervention into marital strife and also for immediate treatment of homicide offenders who kill spouses and other family members.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Clozapine-associated reduction in arrest rates of psychotic patients with criminal histories.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the relationship between treatment with clozapine and rates of arrest of psychotic outpatients with criminal histories. METHOD: Patients who had been given a DSM-IV psychotic diagnosis were selected from an urban outpatient clinic database. Background checks performed on 360 patients identified 165 (45.8%) with positive criminal histories in Massachusetts. The authors reviewed the charts of these patients to determine several variables, including whether and when they had received clozapine. A Poisson regression model was used to regress arrest rates against the variables of age, sex, onset of illness, birth cohort, and clozapine treatment. Risk ratios (i.e., percent change in arrest rates) were then calculated by computing the exponential of the Poisson regression coefficients. RESULTS: The 165 patients included in the analysis had a total of 1,126 arrests. The mean number of arrests was 6.8. Differences were found between the 65 patients who received clozapine and the 100 patients who did not in number of arrests, sex, and onset of illness. The regression revealed significantly higher arrest rate estimates associated with more recent birth cohort (4.8%) and with onset of illness (64.6%) and lower arrest rate estimates associated with higher levels of education (11.6%), receiving clozapine (32.6%), and receiving clozapine during specific periods of time (68.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Clozapine's effect on arrest rates in this group of patients is large enough to warrant further investigation. The data indicate that clozapine may reduce recidivism in subjects with criminal histories who are in need of antipsychotic medication.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Forensic investigations in Kosovo: experiences of the European Union Forensic Expert Team.

The international community has intervened ethnic hostilities in Kosovo, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A team of Finnish forensic experts worked in December 1998 and January 1999 in Kosovo under the mandate of the European Union. The team investigated human remains from three locations of alleged ethnic violence. Concerning the events in Klecka, Volujak and Racak, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia received documents of great gravity. The standard methods of forensic pathology were complemented with radiological, forensic odontological, physical anthropological and molecular genetic investigations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Criminal justice institutional referrals and selections: a comparative portrait of sexual aggressions and aggressors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the judicial treatment of sex offenders from police detection to treatment centers. Using three different samples, participants' trajectories are studied in the light of their age, the age and sex of their victims, the relationship with their victims, and the use of a weapon. First, the results show that although underrepresented at the federal institution, younger criminals tend to be overrepresented in the treatment sample. Second, the results also demonstrate that offenders against children tend to be overrepresented at the federal institution; this tendency is even stronger in the psychiatric treatment sample. Third, the objective seriousness of the offense, a proxy measured by the presence of a weapon, is of principal importance in case processing throughout the judicial system. Recommendations on how to facilitate the comparison of results from different studies, based on a better sample description, are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The Liverpool Violence Assessment: an investigator-based measure of serious violence.

BACKGROUND: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) identifies adults with persistent offending behaviour and social dysfunction. However, it lacks discrimination within high-risk and criminal populations and gives little indication of an individual's history of violence. Existing measures of violence have significant limitations. The Liverpool Violence Assessment (LiVA) is an investigator-based standardized interview for measuring patterns of violence. METHOD: A total of 61 male prisoners who had been sentenced for serious violent offences were interviewed using the LiVA and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV antisocial personality disorder and alcohol and drug dependence. Official records of offending were examined. RESULTS: The inter-rater reliability for the LiVA was high. There were significant correlations between histories of violence assessed by the LiVA and official records, but the frequency of self-reported violence was much higher than in the official records. Antisocial personality disorder was associated with increased violence. However, analyses revealed marked variability of the levels of violence among those with antisocial personality disorder and contrasting patterns of association of violence with antisocial personality disorder depending on the context. CONCLUSION: The LiVA is a reliable and valid measure of the patterns and characteristics of violence. The findings suggest that the causes of violence should be studied in their own right and not only as a feature of ASPD.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Mental disorder, intellectual deficiency, and crime. Evidence from a birth cohort.

Studies of criminality among patients in psychiatric hospitals and of mental disorder among incarcerated offenders have suggested an association between the major mental disorders (schizophrenia and major affective disorders) and crime. However, these investigations are characterized by notable methodological weaknesses, and, consequently, this conclusion has remained tentative. Little is known about the criminality of intellectually handicapped people. The present study examined the relationship between crime and mental disorder and crime and intellectual deficiency in an unselected Swedish birth cohort followed up to age 30 years. It was found that men with major mental disorders were 2 1/2 times more likely than men with no disorder or handicap to be registered for a criminal offense and four times more likely to be registered for a violent offense. Women with major disorders were five times more likely than women with no disorder or handicap to be registered for an offense and 27 times more likely to be registered for a violent offense. These subjects committed many serious offenses throughout their lives. The criminal behavior in over half these cases appeared before the age of 18 years. Intellectually handicapped men were three times more likely to offend than men with no disorder or handicap and five times more likely to commit a violent offense. Intellectually handicapped women were almost four times more likely to offend than women with no disorder or handicap and 25 times more likely to commit a violent offense.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Adolescent personality disorders associated with violence and criminal behavior during adolescence and early adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: A community-based, longitudinal prospective study was conducted to investigate whether personality disorders during adolescence are associated with elevated risk for violent behavior during adolescence and early adulthood. METHOD: A community-based sample of 717 youths from upstate New York and their mothers were interviewed in 1983, 1985-1986, and 1991-1993. Axis I and II disorders were assessed in 1983 and 1985-1986. Antisocial personality disorder was not assessed because most participants were less than 18 years of age in 1983 and 1985-1986. Violent behavior was assessed in 1985-1986 and 1991-1993. RESULTS: Adolescents with a greater number of DSM-IV cluster A or cluster B personality disorder symptoms were more likely than other adolescents in the community to commit violent acts during adolescence and early adulthood, including arson, assault, breaking and entering, initiating physical fights, robbery, and threats to injure others. These associations remained significant after controlling for the youths' age and sex, for parental psychopathology and socioeconomic status, and for co-occurring psychiatric disorders during adolescence. Paranoid, narcissistic, and passive-aggressive personality disorder symptoms during adolescence were independently associated with risk for violent acts and criminal behavior during adolescence and early adulthood after the covariates were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Cluster A and cluster B personality disorders and paranoid, narcissistic, and passive-aggressive personality disorder symptoms during adolescence may increase risk for violent behavior that persists into early adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Connections between experience, beliefs, scientific knowledge, and self-evaluated expertise among investigators of child sexual abuse in Finland.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether clinicians investigating child sexual abuse (CSA) rely more on scientific knowledge or on clinical experience when evaluating their own expertise. Another goal was to check what kind of pre-trial beliefs the clinicians had. The connections between these different factors were investigated. A questionnaire covering items concerning demographic data, experience, knowledge about CSA, self-evaluated expertise and beliefs about CSA was given to 126 social workers, 60 child psychiatrists and 134 psychologists. The results showed that the clinicians relied more on their clinical experience than on scientific knowledge when evaluating their expertise as investigators of CSA. Furthermore, social workers possessed stronger attitudes in favor of children than the other groups, while child psychiatrists had more negative attitudes towards the criminal justice system. Male participants had less strong beliefs than did the female participants. The findings indicate that the education of CSA investigators should focus more on theoretical knowledge and decision-making processes as well as the role of pre-trial beliefs.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Turf wars: authority and responsibility for the investigation of mass graves.

Mass graves are complex products of large-scale crimes. Such scenes pose four conceptual challenges to investigators and forensic experts: the individual victim, the crime, the setting, and the statistical. Exhumation and post-mortem examination of mortal remains with associated personal and forensic evidence require integrated management of core forensic personnel including investigators, archaeologists, anthropologists, odontologists and pathologists, among whom there is overlapping expertise. The key to avoiding competition and ill-will among experts is to recognize that all such experts should be enabled to make known how their expertise matches with the temporal and spatial boundaries of victim, crime and setting. In turn, they should be apprised of where they fit into the overall judicial process and their limits within the investigation. Consequently, each expert requires access to the factual background of the case, to the site and its contents throughout the investigation. Each forensic team member has a responsibility to influence the investigation--throughout its course when possible--to make findings within their areas of expertise, and to make these available to the rest of the team so as to contribute most meaningfully to the aims of the investigation, both forensic and humanitarian. The on-site crime scene manager has an overarching role to enable integrated access to the complete scene and its contents by each forensic expert team member. In other words, the forensic scientist is given access and the ability to influence the investigation while control of evidence from the site as to identity and criminal activity are maintained by the crime scene manager. This contribution is directed at both the crime scene manager and each forensic expert; it describes the essential spatial and temporal parameters of an expert's opinion so as to encourage cooperation, and discourage conflict, within the forensic team.

Burial↗
PubMed1975

Murder and capital punishment: some further evidence.

The literature relating homicide and capital punishment is reviewed briefly. Despite the "presumed conclusiveness" of the evidence against the death penalty, most studies are shown to suffer from a number of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. To provide a more theoretically sound and comprehensive examination of the question, this paper analyzes alternative data for first and second degree murder and homicide in death penalty and abolition states. Results are essentially consistent with those of earlier investigations.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Crimes against life in the material of Cracow's Institute of Forensic Medicine--comparative analysis in the years 1986-2000 and 1996-2000].

The authors presented a comparative analysis of crimes against life in five year periods of the past and present political systems based on autopsy material of Cracow's Institute of Forensic Medicine. Investigation of these types of crime confirmed sociological observations of arising the criminal trends in the last years. The incident of these types of crimes arose in the last period by about 40% in a relation of male to female victims 3.7:1. Probable motives of these crimes were: drinking 8%, decline in family relationships 12%, fight and revenge 9% robbery 8%, sexual offenses only in 1%. In 61% of analyzed cases the motives were unknown. Among the weapons of crime the most often used were blunt objects and death due to stabbings and cuts. A very high incidence of fire arm crimes in comparison to previous period was observed--from 2 cases in 1986-1990 to 25 in the five year period of 1996-2000. 78% of victims were in a state of insobriety at the moment of crime.

Autopsy↗