Advances in Forensic Human Identification

466 Pages·2014·5.857 MB·English

by  Xanthé Mallett, Teri Blythe, Rachel Berry

Forensics & Criminal Justice M
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Advances in Forensic Human Identification e
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As forensic human identification receives increased global attention,
practitioners, policy makers, and students need an appropriate resource that
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describes current methods and modalities that have shaped today’s policies
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and protocols. A supplemental follow-up to Forensic Human Identification: An v
Introduction, Advances in Forensic Human Identification covers advances in a
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the most well-known scientific techniques and discusses new and developing
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subjects and modalities of human identification.
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A collection of contributions from worldwide experts, the book embraces a

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broad context and looks at several issues beyond physical identification of n

human remains or offenders. The book examines online, sexual, and biomet- F
ric identities and discusses problems associated with investigative practice, o
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such as the developing use of the Internet as a distribution and communica-
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tion medium for criminal activities. It also explores miscarriages of justice that n
can result from flawed applications or interpretations of forensic evidence. s
Finally, it looks at the future of forensic science in the United Kingdom in light i
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of financial challenges and the closure of the Forensic Science Service. Where

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appropriate, case studies illustrate the use of techniques and the associated
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problems described in the text. A supplemental CD includes images in
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full color.
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This volume provides an important contribution to the ongoing practitioner

and academic debates surrounding the application of forensic technologies. I
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The insight presented is destined to springboard further inquiry into enhanced
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techniques and underlies the need for more research into the appropriate use n
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of identification techniques to solve the mysteries of the unknown.
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British Association for Human Identification
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British Association for Human Identification

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Contents
Preface ix
Editors xv
Contributors xvii
Part I
IDENTIFYING THE UNKNOWN
1 Two Sides of the Same Coin: Missing and
Unidentified People 3
JOE APPS, LOUISE VESELY, LLIAN ALYS,
AND TERI BLYTHE
2 Identification: The Coroner’s Perspective 21
MICHAEL J.C. BURGESS
3 Identification of Missing Persons and Unidentified
Remains in Disaster Victim Identification:
Recommendations and Best Practice 37
JAN BIKKER
4 Child Sex Offender Demographics: Towards an
Improved Understanding 59
XANTHÉ MALLETT AND JANN KARP
Part II
IDENTIFICATION FROM SOFT AND HARD
TISSUES
5 Distinguishing Human from Non-Human Bone 81
DIANE L. FRANCE
v
vi Contents
6 Burnt Human Remains Part I: Fire Dynamics
and Body Recovery 127
PATRICK RANDOLPH-QUINNEY
7 Burnt Human Remains Part II: Identification and
Laboratory Analysis 145
PATRICK RANDOLPH-QUINNEY
8 Stable Isotopes and Human Provenancing 165
ERIC BARTELINK, RACHEL BERRY, AND LESLEY CHESSON
9 Multi-Disciplinary Approach toward the
Identification of a Human Skull Found 55 km off
the Southeast Coast of Ireland 193
GERARD KEALY, RENÉ GAPERT,
LAUREEN BUCKLEY, MARIE CASSIDY, JONATHAN
McNULTY, RICHARD WRIGHT, ROBIN FOYLE,
WOLFRAM MEIER-AUGENSTEIN, HELEN KEMP,
CAROLINE WILKINSON, CHRISTOPHER RYNN AND
STEPHEN CLIFFORD
Part III
DIGITAL AND BIOMETRIC EVIDENCE
10 Image Analysis: Forensic Facial Comparison:
Issues and Misconceptions 213
RAY EVANS
11 Developments in Forensic Facial Composites 235
CHRIS SOLOMON AND STUART GIBSON
12 Virtual Anthropology and Virtopsy
in Human Identification 271
STEPHANIE L. DAVY-JOW AND SUMMER J. DECKER
13 RNA Profiling: A New Tool in Forensic Science 289
MARIELLE VENNEMANN AND ANTJE HUTH
Contents vii
14 Advances in Fingerprint Techniques 305
MELANIE HARGREAVES-O’KANE AND JOHN DIXON
Part IV
LEGAL ISSUES: AN INTERNATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
15 Admissibility of Expert Evidence 337
XANTHÉ MALLETT
16 Expert Scientific Evidence in the Investigation
and Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse in
Adversarial Jurisdictions 351
FIONA E. RAITT
17 Child Sex Tourism at the US–Mexico Border 367
JIM WALTERS AND PATRICIA H. DAVIS
18 Forensic Identification and Miscarriages of
Justice in England and Wales 391
CAROLE McCARTNEY AND CLIVE WALKER
19 Forensic Science Evidence and Miscarriages
of Justice 409
DONALD E. SHELTON
Part V
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS
2 0 Future of Forensic Science in the
United Kingdom 429
ANDREW RENNISON
Index 439

Preface
This book is the second publication by the British Association for Human
Identification (BAHID, www.BAHID.org). The primary aim of the associa-
tion is to encourage productive interchange between various disciplines in
human identification, promote the academic integration of individual sub-
jects and, through the medium of a collective body, pursue standards of
excellence and innovative developments. The membership includes, but is
not limited to, professionals in the fields of policing, anthropology, odon-
tology, archaeology, facial anthropology, podiatry, pathology and disaster
victim identification. Having been in existence for over a decade, the asso-
ciation now boasts over 500 members from academia, law enforcement and
private business, as well as those with institutional and legal backgrounds.
Although entitled the British Association, there are members outside the
United Kingdom from elsewhere in Europe, the United States and Australia.
Forensic human identification is receiving increased global attention,
and an accurate and honest representation of the current methods and
modalities that have shaped our current policies and protocols is essential.
Consequently, this text was developed in response to the recognised need
for suitable and appropriate information that can provide information for
practitioners, policymakers and students of this subject by raising awareness
of the available technologies and developing themes.
The inaugural text published by BAHID, Forensic Human Identification:
An Introduction (2007), examined the variety of biological indicators that
are available to investigators and illustrated the basic principles of each dis-
cipline. The second book is not a re-write of the first text, but instead acts
as an addition to, and covers advances in, the most well-known scientific
techniques as well as discusses new and developing subjects and modali-
ties of human identification. Advances in Forensic Human Identification is a
heavily referenced textbook, providing a detailed summary of methods and
techniques in international practice either not covered in the original text or
aspects that required updating or expansion.
Summary of This Text
This advanced text examines several areas pertinent in today’s society in the
context of human identification. While some would think of forensic human
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