Journal of Forensic Research

Objective: In this study, the researcher asked 18 Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) officers in Columbia County to distinguish human from nonhuman bones. Based on the results, a radical case is made for adding mammal osteology field training as part of the state police academy’s curriculum in crime scene investigation (CSI).

Method: One to 16 stations of mammalian bone elements were set on a table in the researcher’s lab. A simple survey consisting of questions numbered 1 to 16 was created to reflect the stations with mammalian bone elements. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) review and approval was warranted because human subjects (i.e., PSP officers) were asked to participate in this study. The participants moved sequentially from station to station with unlimited time to observe the bones and marked their choice on the survey sheet: human or animal.

Result: The results showed that the PSP officers performed poorly. The total average percentage of the bones they managed to distinguish human vs. animal correctly was 25% and incorrectly 75%. These average percentages were based on the number of individuals who distinguished the bones correctly or incorrectly (at each bone station) divided by the 16 stations. Most participants could not distinguish bones of the vertebra, shoulder, chest, ribs, hand, pelvis, legs, foot, and toes.

Conclusion: Incorporating mammal osteology into CSI state police academy’s curriculum would save investigative time and limited resources (particularly for officers stationed in rural areas) and keep the chain of custody within the same agency. Overall, the turnaround time for analysis could be reduced from weeks to days (as opposed to sending evidence out for consultation).

Using the most cutting-edge imaging technology, new approaches to personal identification are being investigated. This study may assist in the identification of victims in the event of future major disasters. Advanced imaging for positive identification in forensic pathology has already been the subject of research by means of radiographic image recognition and other identification or authentication methods. For these approaches, data from biological fingerprints are gathered using digital radiography and other cutting-edge imaging methods. Even though it is still in its infancy, picture matching and identification in sophisticated digital images has shown promise for reducing medical errors and identifying specific patients. In the fields of forensic anthropology, forensic odontology, and forensic pathology, these techniques might be useful for making a positive identification.

According to recent research, the general public has the perception that forensic evidence is prone to error and requires considerable human judgment. By comparing decisions on guilt and punishment in criminal cases that involve forensic versus eyewitness testimony evidence and determining whether there is a CSI effect, this study examines how important the general public finds forensic evidence. In particular, the experimental survey used a 2 (crime type: murder or rape) 4 (type of evidence: DNA, fingerprint, eyewitness testimony from a victim or bystander, or eyewitness testimony from a bystander) 1 design, which produced seven vignettes to which participants were randomly assigned. According to the findings, forensic evidence was linked to a greater confidence in a guilty verdict and a higher number of guilty verdicts. The ideal sentence length and the expected sentence length were both unaffected by forensic evidence. However, when forensic evidence was presented for rape, respondents thought the defendant should receive a longer sentence, but the likely sentence respondents expected the defendant to receive did not change. This study did not find evidence of a CSI effect. In general, this study suggests that DNA and other forensic evidence have a greater impact during the verdict stage than during the sentencing stage.

Introduction: The study of teeth and jaws is the focus of forensic dentistry, a subfield of forensic science. New comparative identification tools are being developed to make the work of experts easier. Digital methods like the intra-oral camera are also revolutionizing the way forensic dentistry works today.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a post-mortem odontogram that was taken remotely using an intra-oral camera to capture a video of the oral cavity. The post-mortem odontogram that is obtained through the standard identification method during the clinical examination is the gold standard.

Materials and Method: Data were gathered at the University Hospital of Montpellier's Forensic Medicine and Thanatology Department from 25 deceased patients. There were three stages to the protocol: the gold-standard consultation, the Soprocare® camera-enabled video recording, and the remote image analysis. Two distinct dental surgeons were responsible for completing a clinical file that would be used to establish the odontogram of the deceased patient. They carried out the gold standard consultation as well as the remote analysis.

Results: Between May 13 and June 12, 2019, the study was conducted on 25 deceased subjects. There were 68% men and 32% women in our sample. The odontogram performed with a sensitivity threshold of 0.97, meaning that 97% of the teeth actually present in the mouth of all study participants could be identified from intraoral camera videos. With a PPV of 97.9 percent and a NPV of 98.2 percent, the intra-oral camera examination demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance in the detection of missing teeth. The intra-oral camera recording skills of the practitioner improved.

Conclusion: The Soprocare® intraoral camera has acceptable diagnostic validity in establishing the odontogram of the deceased. This digital tool's ease of use gradually improved with the number of subjects in the study. It makes it possible to identify fundamental elements effectively. However, there are still a few things that need to be improved to make using the camera for data collection as simple and effective as possible.