Finding the missing and unknown: Novel educational approaches to warming up cold cases.

In recent years, students in police academies and higher education institutions around the world have worked together to analyse cold cases including long-term missing persons cases in collaboration with investigators and prosecutors. In 2020, three European organisations, the Police Expert Network on Missing Persons (PEN-MP), AMBER Alert Europe and Locate International, succeeded in connecting these educational organisations enabling them to work collectively on cases and conduct cold case analyses (CCA) across international borders. The International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP) learning objectives were to 1) collect the necessary information about the victim, 2) reconstruct the crime, and 3) investigate trace control. In a learning objective-based evaluation using Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing, 76 participating students from the German and International ICCAP teams were asked to complete a pre- and post-review questionnaire to self-assess their personal competence development. Participants reported significant increases in competence in all evaluated areas, thus demonstrating that authentic and relevant collaborations can enrich the learning environment, promote the use of professional skills, and provide significant knowledge exchange opportunities between academia and industry. Drawing on case studies of cold case missing persons' investigations and unidentified found remains, this article shares how university academics, students and community volunteers can work together nationally and internationally to find out what has happened to missing people and how we can more effectively identify the previously unidentified. In so doing, we share the expertise required to progress these cold cases and provide recommendations to support other institutions and organisations in adopting this innovative approach.

RemoteForensicCSI: Enriching teaching, training and learning through networking and timely CPD.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about rapid, transformational change to pedagogic practice on a global scale. During this time, educators across all levels needed to significantly broaden and upskill their digital skills and competence to instantaneously turn face-2-face content into remote, online provision, particularly during periods of national lockdown. Whilst there was significant e-content available in some subject domains, there were limited e-resources available to those working within the criminal justice sector. The #RemoteForensicCSI network was established in attempts to fill this gap and support both practitioner and learner transition within further and higher education and industry. This article evaluates the value and impact that the #RemoteForensicCSI initiative had on the personal development of network participants, their peers and learners, whilst considering, reflecting on and recommending how remote delivery may influence the future of teaching, training and learning within education and the wider criminal justice sector.

Student mentoring to enhance graduates' employability potential.

This paper considers whether the adoption of a subject-specific, classroom-based, voluntary extra-curricular student mentoring scheme could provide an effective mechanism and andragogic approach to enhance higher education students' employability potential pre-graduation. Over the three-year pilot, 26 more advanced (second to fourth year) undergraduate students actively mentored nearly 400 first year undergraduate students during workshops delivered annually within forensic and policing focused courses. In total, 17 mentors anonymously completed online, post-scheme surveys. Survey data was quantitatively analysed to evaluate the scheme, establish which skills and attributes mentors had developed and investigate whether mentors could appropriately identify example skills within professional terminology used during employer recruitment. In addition, this paper reflects on the implementation of remote student mentoring during the COVID-19 pandemic and its adoption within a blended learning framework. The results from this research strongly support mentoring as an effective mechanism to develop undergraduate employability skills, significantly developing mentors' self-confidence and self-efficacy in their interpersonal and communication skills. Although mentors were aware of university graduate attributes and thought they could evidence these with appropriate examples, in practice this was not necessarily the case. As a result, a framework is proposed to enable mentors to identify their skills and how they may align with competencies sought by relevant forensic and policing employers. However, other andragogic practices may need to be implemented to maximise the potential for successful graduate employment.

Forensic comparison of fired cartridge cases: Feature-extraction methods for feature-based calculation of likelihood ratios.

We describe and validate a feature-based system for calculation of likelihood ratios from 3D digital images of fired cartridge cases. The system includes a database of 3D digital images of the bases of 10 cartridges fired per firearm from approximately 300 firearms of the same class (semi-automatic pistols that fire 9 mm diameter centre-fire Luger-type ammunition, and that have hemispherical firing pins and parallel breech-face marks). The images were captured using Evofinder®, an imaging system that is commonly used by operational forensic laboratories. A key component of the research reported is the comparison of different feature-extraction methods. Feature sets compared include those previously proposed in the literature, plus Zernike-moment based features. Comparisons are also made of using feature sets extracted from the firing-pin impression, from the breech-face region, and from the whole region of interest (firing-pin impression + breech-face region + flowback if present). Likelihood ratios are calculated using a statistical modelling pipeline that is standard in forensic voice comparison. Validation is conducted and results are assessed using validation procedures and validation metrics and graphics that are standard in forensic voice comparison.

Increasing the accessibility and impact of justice-related student and practitioner research.

Much good quality research by pre-doctoral students and case-work focused practitioners remains unpublished. However, their findings could contribute to the evidence base underpinning science and practice within international justice system contexts. There are two main challenges to making findings accessible: reaching all criminal justice stakeholders, and encouraging collaborative efforts in research addressing 'real world' problems. This article presents the rationale for a new, open access repository. The aim is to share good quality pre-doctoral and practitioner criminal justice research across traditional disciplinary and international borders. Such a repository should be easy to use, well maintained and sustainable. Its reach, value and impact also need to be measurable. We present the major considerations relating to the operation and workflow of such a repository, and outline the potential value, benefits and limitations. Our research suggests that the proposed repository could foster interdisciplinary and collaborative work to benefit global justice systems and societies.

Empirical evaluation of spring powered air rifle storage and modifications on forensic practice and casework.

Air weapons are commonly used by civilian populations across the world, particularly by those under 18, and discharges often result in desecration, criminal damage and animal abuse. Online forums and websites provide an accessible resource for civilians to access airgun modification methods proposing to increase muzzle velocity. However, there is limited published research that empirically evaluates the impact of air weapon modification and the potential to influence casework interpretation. Therefore, this paper aims to initiate such research by quantifying the effect of storage conditions (mainspring compression and oil travel/dieseling) and two modifications (reduction of barrel length and preloading through addition of washers) encountered in casework on recorded muzzle velocities using a small number of break barrel, spring powered air rifles. Storing airguns vertically and/or cocked statistically effected the consistency of air pellet discharge and recorded muzzle velocities. Modifications typically resulted in significant variation in air rifle muzzle velocities, often with unfavourable side effects and/or to the detriment of the airgun. Deliberately reducing barrel length or incorporating preload demonstrated the greatest impact on muzzle velocity; however, the direction of muzzle velocity change could not be predicted by air rifle calibre, brand or model. This preliminary study reinforces the requirement for practitioners to undertake timely weapon examinations and interpret casework on a case-by-case basis, especially for modified airguns. In addition, this research strongly recommends the re-evaluation of current air weapon storage and/or testing procedures to ensure accurate and reliable interpretations are obtained for legal classification and casework.

Preventing miscarriages of justice: A review of forensic firearm identification.

The role of a firearm examiner is wide ranging, involving tasks that require scientific understanding in aspects of chemistry, physics and biology. This article aims to provide a critical review of the key scientific principles and practices specifically involved with forensic firearm identification and to discuss how misidentifications have resulted in cases of injustice. Implementation of quality assured examination practice, demonstration of individual examiner competence and more objective methods of reporting are being adopted by firearm examiners and laboratories to address some of the criticisms relating to subjectivity and standardisation inherent within the discipline. The impact of these changes is outlined and further recommendations are made for both examiners and legal professionals to minimise the potential for future injustices involving firearms evidence. Latest research in the field is cited, continuing to support the theory and use of firearm identification as admissible evidence in court.

Numerical classification of curvilinear structures for the identification of pistol barrels.

This paper demonstrates a numerical pattern recognition method applied to curvilinear image structures. These structures are extracted from physical cross-sections of cast internal pistol barrel surfaces. Variations in structure arise from gun design and manufacturing method providing a basis for discrimination and identification. Binarised curvilinear land transition images are processed with fast Fourier transform on which principal component analysis is performed. One-way analysis of variance (95% confidence interval) concludes significant differentiation between 11 barrel manufacturers when calculating weighted Euclidean distance between any trio of land transitions and an average land transition for each barrel in the database. The proposed methodology is therefore a promising novel approach for the classification and identification of firearms.