Unit 3 AC1.2 Flashcards
assess the usefulness of investigative techniques in criminal investigation
describe what this term means: DNA forensics
DNA forensics is a branch of forensic science which focuses on the use of genetic material in criminal investigation
describe what this term means: Computer forensics
Computer forensics (also known as computer forensic science) is a branch of digital forensic science pertaining to evidence found in computers and digital storage media. The goal of computer forensics is to examine digital media in a forensically sound manner with the aim of identifying, preserving, recovering, analysing and presenting facts and opinions about the digital information.
describe what this term means: methods using insects
Forensic entomology is the use of insects and their arthropod relatives that inhabit decomposing remains to aid in legal investigations.
describe what this term means: Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the scientific study of human skeletal remains in the context of crime or medico-legal contexts. It is a fairly new and growing discipline that is made up of several branches of academic disciplines brought together to assist in legal cases involving the death and/or identification of individual people.
what happened in the case of Colin Pitchfork
Colin Pitchfork was the first person to be convicted of murder and rape based on DNA fingerprinting evidence and the first to be caught as a result of mass DNA screening.
What is DNA profiling and what are its limitations?
- DNA profiling is the process of determining an individual’s DNA characteristics. Analysis of DNA identifies a species, rather than an individual, is known as DNA barcoding.
- There is a lack of privacy.
- The data could be hacked.
- It can easily be manipulated
summarise the article MI6 spy in a bag- forensic officer contamination
MI6 agent Gareth Williams’ body was found naked and padlocked in a gym bag, there was a significant amount of DNA found on the victim’s hand which was the result of contamination from a scientist who examined Williams’ flat creating doubt surrounding the reliability of the evidence presented. He is believed to have died a week before his body was found.
summarise the article of the phantom of Heilbronn
Female serial killer in Germany, her DNA linked her to 40 crimes, the police failed to realise that the swabs used to take DNA from the crime scenes may have contaminated by the factory worker who made them in Austria. Despite sterilization of the swabs before use it doesn’t remove DNA and the swabs were not certified for taking DNA samples to start with.
Look at the case of Colette Aram and use of DNA in securing the conviction of Colette’s murder, 26 years after the event took place.
In 2008 technological advancements allowed Nottingham police to put together a DNA profile for Colette’s murderer, finding Paul Steward Hutchings guilty, after his son was routine swabbed when arrested on a motoring charge.
Look at the case of David Butler and murder of a prostitute and the use of DNA to prove his innocence.
- David Butler spent eight months in prison, facing murder charges after his DNA was allegedly found on the victim. His DNA sample was on record after he had willingly given it to authorities as part of an investigation into a burglary at his mother’s home some years earlier. The DNA sample was only a partial match, of poor quality, and experts at the time said they could neither say that he was guilty nor rule him out.
- He worked as a taxi driver, and so it was possible for his DNA to be transferred from his taxi via money or another person, onto the murder victim. The case eventually went to trial and Mr Butler was acquitted and finally released. Ms Foy’s killer has never been caught and the case remains open.
describe a case of your own and research the use of DNA to secure a conviction or prove the criminal’s innocence.
Horace Roberts, 60, was freed from a California prison in October 2018 after DNA evidence showed he had been wrongfully convicted of murder nearly two decades before. The victim, Terry Cheek, had been having an affair with Horace and, when questioned about this by the police, he lied about the whole thing. Although he lied out of shame and embarrassment, the police only saw a man covering up a brutal murder. The prosecution focused on Horace’s inconsistent statements, pointing out his lies designed to cover up an affair, the presence of his truck near the crime scene, a purse in Horace’s possession that one of Terry’s daughters thought Terry left with the night she disappeared and Horace’s alleged watch found next to Terry’s body.15 years later, DNA testing would reveal that the watch did not belong to Horace at all, rather it belonged to someone related to the victim who had ample motive to kill the victim, and with the help of the California Innocence Project, Horace was found innocent and released from prison after 20 years.
What is the role of CCTV and how may it help a criminal investigation?
CCTV may assist in identifying who was involved in a crime either directly = when a suspect is recognised by someone viewing the recording, or indirectly = when the recording shows a suspect touching a surface from which police are then able to recover forensic evidence.
Thinking back to the London Riots – how was CCTV used to incriminate participants taking part in criminal activities?
CCTV at the London riots recorded offenders throwing bricks at police, a moped rider pulled off his machine when he strayed onto a street of rioters, one of many youths in hoods setting fire to a building through a broken window and youths sliding under a broken shop shutter to steal whatever they could. “A lot of these youths are wearing scarves to hide their faces but we’re not just reliant on that,” Martin Lazell, chairman of the Public CCTV Managers Association in London, said. “We can identify people on how they walk, their height, their clothes, shoes, all manner of things.”
What is covert surveillance?
Covert surveillance is carried out without the subject’s knowledge. Covert surveillance is likely to result in the obtaining of private information about a person i.e. a record of their movements and activities.
Research the case of Colin Stagg and the honey-trap used by the police. What did the court rule about the process?
The honey-trap = a young policewoman went undercover, befriending Stagg and enticing him into discussing violent sexual fantasies. During a “friendship” that lasted many months, Mr Stagg told Lizzie he had fantasised about Miss Nickell’s killing but he never admitted responsibility. Stagg was charged with the murder and held in custody for a year. But the case was thrown out at the Old Bailey in 1994 by Mr Justice Ognall, who refused to put the undercover officer’s evidence before a jury. The judge said the use of the honey-trap tactic was “not merely an excess of zeal, but a blatant attempt to incriminate a suspect by positive and deceptive conduct of the grossest kind”
