Anika Ludwig

Research into crime is reliant on data that is recorded and published by criminal justice agencies; data which is collected for other purposes. Considering the suitability of geocoded crime data for academic research purposes, this paper will demonstrate the difficulties faced regarding the availability, integrity and reliability of readily accessible criminal justice data. Data from two countries – England and Germany – were considered and set in a wider European Union (EU) context. Using the data received from requests made to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in England and openly published reports and data available from Germany, the authors provide a contextual picture of the availability and operability of data recorded by these agencies. Geocoded data that enable cross-national comparisons with respect to immigration, ethnicity and crime are particularly hard to locate, and conducting research using data (such as crime data) whose “integrity” is questionable in an academic environment becomes increasingly problematic. Analysing secondary data produced by a number of agencies are amplified due to the different methods of collection, management, retention and dissemination. It was found that even within England, the information provided by police forces varied greatly. Data in Germany were found to be more openly available and published electronically by a number of different criminal justice agencies; however, many of the issues apparent in English data regarding data integrity were also identified here. The need for good record-keeping and information sharing practices has taken on added significance in today’s global environment. The better availability of comparable criminal justice data has the potential to provide academics with increased opportunities to develop an evidence base for policymaking.

New scientific, technological and legal developments, particularly the introduction of national databases for DNA and fingerprints, have led to increased use of forensic science in the investigation of crime. There is an assumption, and in some instances specific assertions, that such developments bring improvements either in broad criminal justice terms or more narrowly in terms of economic or practical efficiencies. The underlying presumption is that the new technological opportunities will be understood and effectively implemented. This research investigates whether such increases in activity have also been accompanied by improvements in the effective use of forensic science. A systematic review of thirty-six reports published (predominantly in England and Wales) since the 1980s, which have considered the use of forensic science in the investigation of volume crimes, was carried out. These reports have identified a number of recurrent themes that influenced how effectively forensic science was used in investigations. The themes identified included forensic knowledge and training of investigators, communication and information exchange between specialists and investigators, timeliness of forensic results, interagency relationships and deployment of crime scene examiner resources. The research findings suggest that these factors continue to hinder the effective use of forensic science despite technological advances and this paper considers their potential causes.

Most police forces in the UK employ specially trained crime scene examiners (CSEs) to provide forensic science support for the investigation of crime. Previous research (Bradbury & Feist 2005; Williams 2004) has shown wide variations in the management, deployment, and performance of this staff group. There is also evidence that informal elements of professional and organizational culture, in particular the role characterizations of crime scene examiners, also have a bearing on their effective use in the investigation of high-volume property crime. These issues are explored as part of a more extensive study of forensic science provision in the two largest police forces in Scotland and by the four main Scottish Police Services Authority Forensic Services (SPSA FS) units. A range of staff in these organizations described their understandings of the role of crime scene examiners—as evidence collectors, forensic investigators, specialist advisers, or any combination of these. While two thirds (62%) of respondents recognized the complexity and scope of the role of CSEs, including its cognitive elements, a substantial minority (38%) categorized the role as having a single element—collecting evidence—and therefore perceived it as limited to largely mechanical in character. The reasons for and consequences of this perception are considered, and the article concludes with a challenge to reconsider this limited view of what crime scene examiners can contribute to volume crime investigations.

The term 'forensic science'encompasses a range of activities, techniques and practices in support of the investigation of crime, many of which are not in any strict or formal sense scientific. Nor is there any consistency or agreement about what constitutes or demarcates ...

Individualisation and identification by analysing the lines and furrows contained within lip patterns has been broadly discussed in the literature; however, due to a lack of research the reliability of this technique as evidence is questioned. Research was undertaken to test the classification system of lip print patterns and features that had previously been established, and it aimed to determine a method for cataloguing lip prints to include lip pattern typing and the comparison of pattern imperfections. Two sets of lip prints (eight impressions in total) were collected from 36 volunteers (25 females, 11 males). Volunteers were recruited at Teesside University and the University of Edinburgh. The ages of volunteers ranged from 21–60 years. The research found that lip patterns could be divided into five types, each type increasing in furrow complexity. Characteristic details from the lip prints were annotated based on the classification terminology used in fingerprint analysis (e.g. bifurcation) as well as classification systems used by other researchers previously. Lip print impressions were compared with known and unknown individuals as well as photographs, and the results demonstrated that it was possible to establish whether an impression could be linked to the source.