Forensic Magazine

Gunshot Residue: The Hilti Defense

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

In a 2007 shooting, primer residue was found on the prime suspect. In his defense he claimed that the residue came not from firing a gun, but from using a Hilti nail gun, a powder-actuated tool, at his construction job. This study addresses the fallacy of the "Hilti Defense."

Supreme Court Ruling Requires Crime Lab Analysts to Testify

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Get ready to trade your lab coat for a suit coat. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last Thursday will require crime lab analysts to appear in court and submit to cross-examination if their reports are used as evidence. This ruling could have tremendous impacts on how crime labs operate and exacerbate the backlog problems that plague crime labs nationwide.

The DNA Testing War Continues

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

In a 5-4 decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that convicted prisoners do not have an intrinsic constitutional right to DNA testing. At the same time, Pennsylvania lawmakers are on the verge of passing legislation that would make it easier for convicts to have tests done.

California Budget Cuts Jeopardize Crime Labs

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking extreme measures to cope with California’s $24 billion deficit including a $20 million cut from the Justice Department's crime lab, charging local police departments for processing rape kits and other evidence, and the early release of criminals.

Ecstasy Showing Up As Cartoon-Shaped Pills

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Ecstasy and Ecstasy-like pills shaped like Snoopy, Ninja Turtles, and The Simpsons are showing up on Kansas City streets. The shapes are a marketing ploy to represent the drugs as being fun and lighthearted but present a far greater risk.

DNA Identification Laminated in Government ID Cards

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. can now incorporate its SigNature DNA into laminates typically used in travel documents, credit cards, driver’s licenses, and other government issued identification cards. ID cards can now carry a unique DNA marker for security and identification purposes.

Houston Crime Lab Facing Scrutiny on Murder Case

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Profile: Michael Baden, Detective of Death

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

New Field in Animal Forensics

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

New Products: Holster, Case Management Software, and More

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

The Man Without a Fingerprint

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

A Singaporean cancer patient was detained by U.S. customs because his cancer treatment had made his fingerprints disappear. A forensic expert explains other ways people can lose—intentionally or unintentionally—one of their unique identifiers.

Florida Police Fleet Going High-Tech

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

The DeLand, Florida, police fleet used a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to purchase 18 digital video cameras and audio recorders to fit into patrol cars. "Whatever a camera captures or records is visual evidence pretty hard to dispute in a court of law," Deputy Chief Randel Henderson said.

Oregon Case Puts Reliability of Science On Trial

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Inside the Oregon State Penitentiary, Philip Scott Cannon spends every waking moment poring over legal documents. The "bullet lead analysis" that was the prosecution's primary tool in an otherwise circumstantial case against him has since been discarded as bad science.

Sagem Sécurité Wins Contract For Advanced Facial Recognition System In Australia

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Sagem Sécurité has signed a contract with the New South Wales Government’s Roads and Traffic Authority to supply and maintain a biometric face recognition system with a 15 million image database, for driver licenses.

HyperVision Video Camera Records 1 Million Frames Per Second

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has designed the compact HyperVision HPV-2 to meet the demand for high-speed video cameras that are functionally advanced and easy to use. The HPV-2 achieves ultra-fast recording at speeds of 1 million frames per second.

Family of UCLA Lab Fire Victim Criticizes Investigation

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Crime-Lab Work Techniques Questioned in Murder Trial

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

10% Discount on iPhone Forensics Workshop

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Outrage Over Rape Kit Backlog

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Article By: By Rebecca Waters. The growing nationwide rape kit backlog has been featured prominently in the news. Aside from the implications for the individual sexual assault victims in these cases, many argue that failing to test each kit allows the offender to remain at large and precludes the opportunity of discovering linked attacks and repeat offenders.

Budget Decrease Could Lead To Crime Increaset

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

District Attorney Ed Jagels in Kern County, California, fears that county budget cuts forcing layoffs in his department will result in important evidence not being analyzed in the crime lab, allowing some misdemeanor cases, including gang cases, to go unprosecuted.

Online Forensic Library

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

FORENSICnetBASE provides access to references and resources covering every aspect of forensics and law enforcement, from criminal justice and forensic investigation to counterterrorism, cyber crime, and money laundering.

Mount Royal College Opens Crime Lab

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

The Mount Royal Criminal Justice Research Lab, the only independent research crime lab in Alberta, Canada, has been in operation a couple months. It will conduct research on identity theft, human trafficking and border security.

Automated Plasmid DNA Purification

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Many of today’s applications require rapid isolation of pure plasmid DNA and automation can meet these high-throughput needs. To this end, Hamilton Robotics has introduced a tested and verified protocol for automation of the Promega Wizard SV 96 Plasmid DNA Purification System.

Fido Verdict Quickly Identifies Explosives, Narcotics and Liquid Threats

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

ICx Technologies has released Fido Verdict, a palm-size instrument capitalizing on the miniaturization of Raman-based spectroscopy instruments, to help military and law enforcement officials identify explosives, dangerous liquids, narcotics, and other threats.

In New York, Number of Killings Rises With Heat

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Nuclear Forensics: Preparing for the Worst

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Police Forensics Inspire Sculptures

Forensic Magazine news desk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Point of View: Some Thoughts on Quality Concerns in Crime Laboratories

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

According to the much anticipated crime laboratory study report released by the National Academy of Science (NAS) on February 18, 2009, a "badly fragmented" forensic science system needs an overhaul.

The DNA Connection: Is DNA a Silver Bullet?

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Every now and then, although much less recently, a reporter asks me the inane question, “Is DNA a silver bullet?”While the obvious answer is “no,” the follow-up is always, “DNA will never replace a thoughtful, creative detective with the proper resources.

Polonium-210 and The Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

A highly active alpha particle emitter, Polonium-210 is a fatal toxin, even at very small doses.

Biometrics: Eye on the Future

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

Biometrics technology has matured, offering some exciting new forensic products — and promising revolutionary innovations in the near future.

Alcohol In the 21st Century: New Standards, New Technology

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

New technology can reduce calculation times when determining the degree of uncertainty in blood alcohol concentration estimations.

The Safety Guys: Making Sense of MSDS--The Foundation of Safe Chemical Management

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

A few months ago an entirely preventable tragedy occurred when a UCLA research assistant was burned over 43% of her body and died eighteen days later in a hospital burn unit.

Who Says You Can't Do That?: Marking Evidence at Crime Scenes: Developing a System

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

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.

Digital Insider: To Search or Not to Search

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

In a recent case scenario, an adult female victim indicated to the police that she had just been sexually assaulted by an adult male subject in his apartment. She stated that the subject forcibly removed her clothing and photographed the sexual assault.

Most Wanted Answers to Facility Issues: Change Is in the Air: Safety and Design of Toxicology Laboratories

Forensic Magazine news desk — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:55 -0400

The proper design of a toxicology lab is more than process and people.

Hazardous Materials Evidence Collection: Crime Scene Procedures Protect Response Force, Preserve Evidence