#forensics evidence

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FRAGMENT OF THREAD IS MURDER EVIDENCE," Toronto Star. November 21, 1933. Page 1. --- Found on Man, Matches Slain Girl's Hat ---- Special to The Star Halifax, Nov. 21. - A. fragment of thread, blue in color, taken from the splintered end of a wooden dog found in the possession of Duncan "Red" Macdonald, one time light-weight champion of the Maritimes, matched identically a broken thread in the small blue hat worn by Marie Thibeault, 20-year-old waitress, who was murdered on Grafton St., Halifax, over a year ago.

The preliminary hearing into the murder charge, laid by Detective Tom Kennedy, opened this morning and the most sensational witness on the stand was Dr. Ralph P. Smith, government pathologist, who gave evidence about the thread. The hat was picked up on the street a few hours after the Thibeault girl has been discovered dying in a doorway, her brain crushed by a terrific blow.

[a-very-tired-jew]

I was just reminded that the art collective Forensic Architecture exists and once again I’m disgusted.

For those of you who don’t know, it’s a collective of various artists who play at forensic science, conduct “forensic investigations”, and then make art exhibits of their “results”. Their reports and exhibits will make statements such as “the evidence shows that X is linked to Y” but the statistical output that they share will show something like a 5% confidence in the match.

That's right. They make art exhibits of their "investigations".

You want to talk about fandomizing tragedy? Making “forensic investigations” into art exhibits is the bougiest version I can think of, and it's only to serve an echelon of people who enjoy that kind of stuff. If any of the people in this art collective had a background in forensic science they would have taken ethics courses that would tell them how horrid putting on an art exhibit like this actually is. You don't honor the victims by putting on an art show for the rich and powerful to gasp and faint over so that you can fundraise for your next show.

Their founder has even stated that they’re not in forensics but “counter-forensics” and "counter-investigation". They eschew the practices and norms of the scientific community for telling their own version of investigative “truth”. They’ve even gone so far as to quote post-truth philosophies in their work and the controversial Nietzsche quote about there being no facts, only interpretations. Both are dangerous philosophies to hold in forensic science as it presents the evidence as subjective rather than objective. This is why they're an art collective and not a forensic science research group as they purport, they're rejecting objective scientific outcome for subjective interpretation.

You can go to the group's website and they have profiles on all of their team members. Almost every person is labeled as a "researcher", but once you click on their profile it quickly tells you that they're an artist, designer, activist, or some combination of the three. No mention of any scientific background whatsoever. That indicates their ability to actual conduct forensic science research is not great as they don't have any training or education on the methods involved. In fact, their entire program and personnel are out of an arts college with no science programs or faculty outside of anthropology.

That's weird, right?

A group that supposedly made a new discipline of forensic science, according to them, has no members with actual backgrounds in forensic science or scientific disciplines relating to it?

None of the team member profiles detail any scientific background that would be relevant to forensics outside of a few people with engineering and computer science degrees. Neither of the aforementioned disciplines typically train you in forensic practices anyway unless you take certain courses. Because these profiles are public you can go and checked LinkedIn profiles and find the CVs for each member as well. Guess what? No forensic science or relevant scientific backgrounds listed there as well.

But for some reason this art collective has received funding from governments and NGOs for "creating" a new discipline of forensic science. They're a "trusted" source for forensic investigations. That's worrying. That's terrifying.

I'm a forensic scientist and to make an objective field based upon methodology and empirically supported practice into one that is subjective and throws out the empirical aspects is terrifying. Everyone should have klaxons going off in their head whenever they see Forensic Architecture's name appear in a publication. I've reviewed a few of their "investigations" and they are rife with bad practice, manipulation, and misinformation. In fact, it appears that they present their work in art exhibits more than they testify to it in court due to their methods being questionable and their intent being not to help the investigation but to be a "counter-investigation" that can be judged by the court of public opinion. What do I mean by this? In many of their investigations the collective does not actively have personnel at the scene. Meaning they are not getting first hand physical evidence and measurements. Now, it's not always possible to be there personally and as such you rely upon crime scene techs, investigators, and other personnel to collect this stuff. Typically if you're a consultant or outside firm you are getting the evidence after it has been collected for analysis. You want the physical evidence in your hands as much as possible so that you can analyze it properly. Sometimes you have to request going to the scene yourself to get the measurements and evidence you need. The worst type of evidence to receive is honestly digital images of the scene as you are now having to analyze something a general investigator, who likely does not have specialized training, took a picture of.

In situations where you cannot have the physical evidence for analysis and you are left with only photographs then a forensic expert should be tempering their responses and conclusions. You cannot confidently come to conclusions based simply on looking at photos. This is something that is hammered home repeatedly in forensic programs and professionals.

In the case of warzone crime scene analysis, as FA typically does, they are, typically, not collecting evidence first hand from the scene, nor are they receiving evidence secondarily from actual trained investigators (when they are there first hand they also rely excessively upon expensive technology instead of best practices). They rely upon third party photos and satellite imagery to do their analysis.

Time and time again, forensic experts who rely solely upon digital photos and media to make their analysis get ripped apart by a good lawyer. Being confident in conclusions based upon photographs is the easiest way to lose your credibility. But again, the art collective playing forensic scientist primarily puts their work in art exhibits where they are not scrutinized by experts. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen them present at one of our professional conferences nationally or internationally (I would love to be a fly on the wall when that happens).

And finally, if this was an actual credible scientific group that produced credible investigations and had created a brand new field with methodology that stood to scrutiny there would be publications in the forensic journals detailing this. Especially from the "creator" of the field Eyal Weizman.

Guess what there isn't?

But in the end all they’re actually doing is crime scene reconstruction from people who want to cosplay as forensic scientists.

(for more reading on the group see this article that highlights issues with FA from another perspective https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/forensic-architecture-fake-news-1234661013/)

[green-ink]

Same characters different font

[forensicfield]

Forensic Linguistics

Here is a glossary of key terms related to Forensic Linguistics:

1. Forensic Linguistics: The application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and techniques to legal and criminal investigations, including the analysis of spoken and written language for legal evidence.

2. Linguistic Analysis: The systematic examination and interpretation of language, including its structure, usage, and meaning, to uncover insights and evidence in legal contexts.

3. Authorship Attribution: The process of determining the author or origin of a written text by analyzing linguistic features, such as writing style, vocabulary, and grammar.

4. Linguistic Profiling: The analysis of language to create a profile of an individual, including their demographic information, cultural background, and psychological characteristics.

5. Discourse Analysis: The study of language in use, focusing on how language is structured and used in different contexts, such as conversations, interviews, and legal proceedings.

6. Stylistic Analysis: The examination of linguistic features, such as word choice, sentence structure, and tone, to identify patterns and characteristics that can help identify the author or origin of a text.

7. Phonetics: The study of the physical aspects of speech sounds, including how they are produced, transmitted, and perceived.

8. Phonology: The study of the organization and patterns of sounds in languages, including the rules and structures that govern their use.

9. Morphology: The study of the structure and form of words, including how words are constructed from smaller meaningful units called morphemes.

10. Syntax: The study of the structure and arrangement of words to form grammatically correct sentences and phrases.

11. Semantics: The study of meaning in language, including how words and sentences convey ideas and information.

12. Pragmatics: The study of how language is used in real-world contexts, including the role of context, social factors, and implied meanings in communication.

13. Linguistic Variation: The study of how language varies across different speakers, dialects, regions, and social groups.

14. Sociolinguistics: The study of how language and society interact, including the social and cultural factors that influence language use and variation.

15. Language Documentation: The process of recording and preserving endangered languages, including their grammar, vocabulary, and cultural context.

16. Expert Witness: A professional who provides specialized knowledge and expertise in a particular field, such as forensic linguistics, to assist in legal proceedings and provide expert testimony.

17. Legal Discourse: The language and communication used in legal contexts, including legal documents, court proceedings, and legal arguments.

18. Miranda Rights: The rights of individuals in the United States, as established by the Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona (1966), which include the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present during police interrogations.

19. Linguistic Evidence: Language-based evidence, such as written documents, recorded conversations, or linguistic analysis, that is used to support or refute claims in legal proceedings.

20. Linguistic Proficiency: The level of skill and competence in a particular language, including the ability to understand, speak, read, and write in that language.

[friendofthecrows]

Murder comedy where at one point a forensics-centric amateur detective tries to extract a sample from the eye of a victim for tests without the cops noticing

Call that vitreous humor

[mixelation]

Thoughts on piranha solution?

mostly scary in that the component parts are NOT hard to get

but also fyi for all you "writers": not a good way to dispose of a body

[rogha]

okay the thing about most detective stories is the audience should be broadly able to solve the mystery or at least retroactively see how they should have been able to solve the mystery with the information they had but one time the heir to coors (the beer) was murdered in a kidnapping gone wrong and they were able to determine what model typewriter the kidnapper used to write the ransom note (combination of the font and a known defect where one of the letters would sit higher if I'm remembering correctly) and it's hard to make that into a puzzle the audience can solve

[bewitching-666]

..

[3lenorec]

Started going down a rabbit hole (what, me?! never!!) over on reddit about Astarion's bite wound scar. Wondered if the good people of Tumblr would like to fall down it as well. Let's hyperfocus!!! Yay!!!

[scienceofreasoning]

Logic Analysis of a Deduction by 'Sherlock Holmes'

Photograph of Benedict Cumberbatch as "Sherlock Holmes." Source: Internet.

In this article, we will be applying the Science of Reasoning to analyze a deduction by “Sherlock Holmes” from the BBC-TV series “Sherlock,” episode “A Scandal in Belgravia.”

In the video, we will watch “Sherlock Holmes” lay out the deduction to foil the plot of villainess “Irene Adler.”

Please see the video.[1]

As we join the scene, “Sherlock” is thinking about what is the 4-digit password to the cellular telephone of "Irene Adler." Thinking about a solution to a problem is in canon with the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Analysis of the Scene Logic notation:

P: = Premise C: = Conclusion

P1: Increased heart rate. P2: Dilated pupils. C: Therefore, sentiment. (intermediate conclusion)

An intermediate conclusion can be a premise to the main conclusion.

P1: Sentiment. P2: The combination to the safe of “Irene Adler” is correlated to the 4-digit password of her cellular telephone. C: Therefore, S, H, E, and R are the 4-digit password to the cellular telephone.

From the episode “A Scandal in Belgravia.” Source: Internet.

Abductive Reasoning “Sherlock” did not explain how he arrived at S, H, E, and R as the 4-digit password. He had opinions about sentiment. The word "l o c k ed" was most likely a factor. We can presume that he observed the password login screen to be all capital letters. Knowing to use capital letters for s, h, e, and r. 

From the episode “A Scandal in Belgravia.” Source: Internet.

The correlation of the safe to the cellular telephone: Combination -> Measurements. 4-digit password -> Heart.

P1: “Sherlock” the object of the sentiment of "Irene Adler." P2: The word “LOCKED” in all capital letters. C: Therefore, S, H, E, and R the 4-digit password.

Fun Foiling the plot of villainess “Irene Adler” by entering the correct password made for an exciting and dramatic scene from the episode. It was more fun not to have known how "Sherlock" arrived at the solution.

“Sherlock Holmes” makes what he calls Deductions with keen observation, knowledge, and experience.

Further Research For more Science of Reasoning analysis of deductions by "Sherlock Holmes," please see these two videos. [2], [3]

Follow Phil Richard on X (formerly Twitter), click here.

Endnotes

"I AM SHERLOCKED | A Scandal in Belgravia | Sherlock | BBC" Sherlock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bBHT158E0s

"What Sherlock Holmes Got Wrong | Deduction, Induction, and Abduction" Benjamin Keep, PhD, JD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkw1pVoy7E

"Sherlock Holmes NEVER 'Deduced' Anything" Another Roof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJrYwh6WyF8

Footnote

To view the scene from the Guy Ritchie "Sherlock Holmes" film, please see this video.

"INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE REASONING" NextDirectorr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b3KM2p1nHs

Copyright (c) 2024 Phil Richard. All rights reserved.

[alicepao13]

Rating the Kommissar Rex/Il Commissario Rex/Hudson and Rex human partners for funsies, in chronological order. Contains spoilers, some bias, and opinions based on superficial characteristics. I will take the blame for any distorted memories I have of the shows, although I did a full rewatch last summer. (Rewatch refers to Kommissar Rex and Hudson and Rex. I could only watch Il Commissario Rex once. Well, 0.75 times. I couldn’t find some of the episodes.)

Kommissar Rex

Richard Moser: The blueprint. Not necessarily the best one in my opinion (although if you ask kid me, yes), but they modeled at least two other characters after him in the reboots. Pretty nice (although a product of his time), street smart, recently divorced, and the first few episodes where he and Rex are getting used to living together are hilarious. Moser’s dry humor was good too, also his whump scenes where great. And I appreciated the nude scenes a lot (thanks, German tv of the 90s). 8/10

Alex Brandtner: The hot one. Also, more of a “new age” cop (new age here means post 90s, don’t get confused). Kid me didn’t appreciate the hotness but I watched it in my teen years, and oh boy. And the action scenes, while sometimes ridiculous and making you wonder why???, really showed the actor’s training in physical scenes too. I always liked the way Brandtner immediately bonded with Rex and then we learn of the tragedy with his own dog. Too bad his love life was even more non-existent than Moser’s. 9/10

Marc Hoffmann: I’ll be honest, I just didn’t care for him for the most part, but I did like the fact that for the first time there was a ship with him and Nikki. They went for a different style with this one and it shows. Marc is less type A than the previous two, not a bad thing, but by that point, it was clear that Kommissar Rex as a show was nearing its end and I think it sometimes showed. 7/10

-----

Il Commissario Rex (At this point, let me just say that I don’t associate the two shows with each other. And whoever has watched both, would probably agree with me. It hardly matters that the Italian show starts as a spinoff.)

Lorenzo Fabbri: Ugh, I don’t know what it is with this guy but I didn’t like him much. His style was a lot like Moser at first (adopting Rex, saving him from a miserable fate, learning to live with him, etc.). I absolutely hated the storyline with the forensics scientist throwing herself at him every chance she got and him trying to avoid her instead of flat out telling her he’s not interested, and then at some point they slept together??? Anyway, did not like. 6/10

Davide Rivera: I liked that guy but sadly we didn’t have that many episodes with him. He could have had more to offer as a character. More quiet than the sometimes too loud Lorenzo, and took some time to warm up to Rex if I recall. I liked that he took no flack from his boss (Sidenote: the boss didn’t like Rex at first and kept wanting to get rid of him, and I wanted to rip him to shreds). 7/10

Marco Terzani: I literally found one season of his episodes, so I’ll reserve judgment (if anyone has his second and third season, please give it to me lol or point to the right direction). He seems kinda reckless? He’s definitely attractive. ?/10, more research needed.

----

Hudson and Rex

Charlie Hudson: Started off as kind of mediocre for me, then he made me change my mind. When I started watching, I was hellbent on comparing every single thing of this show to the characters of the original at first, so I’m partially to blame for my initial perception of him. However, I won’t blame myself for the bad writing, pacing, and overall mediocrity of S1 that contributed to a big part of it. Anyway, they used some of Moser’s backstory (divorced, adopts Rex after his K-9 partner tragically dies) and expanded on it. Charlie has had the most development as a character than any of the others, which makes sense since he’s the first of Rex’s partners to live that long or not get rebooted lol. He definitely gets bonus points for having a love life too. And for not dying, despite all the whump situations he gets himself into. Definitely falls under the reckless category too. 70% himbo, 100% whump magnet. 9/10

[monstersinthecosmos]

The pain is heavy in his limbs, his chest. It hurts when he breathes and he wants to sleep. He wonders if he should get away soon, maybe hunt, because he can feel the obsessively manicured demeanor fading on the outside. There’s hunger beneath it, anger. If he can kill something he can submit to the id.  

But Santino is here in his apartment and they’re left with the awkward silence. Be nice to him, a lot has changed, Pandora said. But the grief is everywhere, every inch of his skin, stinging in his very pores the way the fire did. It’s closing in around him now, suffocating and dark, and he suddenly needs to be alone.

He presses his fingers to his brow, too exhausted to know what to do. He can’t look at Santino and wants to be underground. Somewhere cold.

I should have been different.

Santino hovers by the door. His mind gives nothing away, but his posture does. Uneasy, and he seems like he wants to leave, too. It gives Marius some small degree of comfort, like it’ll remove the need to dismiss him.

“Marius, I…”

You are very very wrong. [read on AO3]

[forensicfield]

Forensic Botany: Utilizing Plant Evidence in Crime Scene Analysis

While Botany refers to the scientific study of plant life, growth and development, Forensic Botany can be defined as the study of plants and various plant parts and their derivatives and to understand how these... #forensicbotany #forensicscience #crime

Continue reading Forensic Botany: Utilizing Plant Evidence in Crime Scene Analysis

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

the way in which this team of apparently highly trained police officers goes about researching their cases is so frustrating. like what do you mean you're only checking whether kao used his phone after he left art's place after you found out he left at all. why did you just. assume. kao died there at the studio. and why has it taken you literal days of thinking of 'hey maybe we should find out if kao has anyone he trusts he can stay with while hiding'. all of these things should be at the top of the list. full phone records, lists of family and friends. you've got a missing person who may or may not be dead and you're just kind of winging the case as you go???

[readingfolklore]

when taylor sings, "good thing este's sisters gonna swear she was with me (*she was with me, dude*)" in no body no crime, just know that i would also be an alibi for my mutuals and followers x

[yoldels]

I will never get over the fact that it would've been so simple for Jane's/Penny's body to get identified

Yeah, they couldn't find her head (tbh I've always been a bit doubtful a human head couldn't be found), but it was stated in canon that her body was found wearing a St Cassian uniform.

All they had to do was see who was absent from the school attendance the next day and see if they're still alive. It's a small town, there can't be that many people to lose.

Some people who thought about this believe that this part of the musical is a bit of a plot hole, but I'm inclined to see this as a deepening of the tragedy that is Jane Doe's character

It's not that no one could identify her, it's that no one bothered.