Advances in Forensic Human Identification

Xanthe Mallett, Teri Blythe, Rachel Berry

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781439825167
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Forensic Science
• Index: Law

As forensic human identification receives increased global attention, practitioners, policy makers, and students need an appropriate resource that describes current methods and modalities that have shaped today's policies and protocols. A supplemental follow-up to Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction, Advances in Forensic Human Identification covers advances in the most well-known scientific techniques and discusses new and developing subjects and modalities of human identification.

A collection of contributions from worldwide experts, the book embraces a broad context and looks at several issues beyond physical identification of human remains or offenders. The book examines online, sexual, and biometric identities and discusses problems associated with investigative practice, such as the developing use of the Internet as a distribution and communication medium for criminal activities. It also explores miscarriages of justice that can result from flawed applications or interpretations of forensic evidence. Finally, it looks at the future of forensic science in the United Kingdom in light of financial challenges and the closure of the Forensic Science Service. Where appropriate, case studies illustrate the use of techniques and the associated problems described in the text. The downloadable resources include images in full color.

This volume provides an important contribution to the ongoing practitioner and academic debates surrounding the application of forensic technologies. The insight presented is destined to springboard further inquiry into enhanced techniques and underlies the need for more research into the appropriate use of identification techniques to solve the mysteries of the unknown.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• Editors
• Contributors
• Chapter 1: Two Sides of the Same Coin: Missing and Unidentified People
• Chapter 2: Identification: The Coroner’s Perspective
• Chapter 3: Identification of Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains in Disaster Victim Identification: Recommendations and Best Practice
• Chapter 4: Child Sex Offender Demographics: Towards an Improved Understanding
• Chapter 5: Distinguishing Human from Non-Human Bone
• Chapter 6: Burnt Human Remains Part I: Fire Dynamics and Body Recovery
• Chapter 7: Burnt Human Remains Part II: Identification and Laboratory Analysis
• Chapter 8: Stable Isotopes and Human Provenancing
• Chapter 9: Multi-Disciplinary Approach toward the Identification of a Human Skull Found 55 km off the Southeast Coast of Ireland
• Chapter 10: Image Analysis: Forensic Facial Comparison: Issues and Misconceptions
• Chapter 11: Developments in Forensic Facial Composites
• Chapter 12: Virtual Anthropology and Virtopsy in Human Identification
• Chapter 13: RNA Profiling: A New Tool in Forensic Science
• Chapter 14: Advances in Fingerprint Techniques
• Chapter 15: Admissibility of Expert Evidence
• Chapter 16: Expert Scientific Evidence in the Investigation and Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse in Adversarial Jurisdictions
• Chapter 17: Child Sex Tourism at the US–Mexico Border
• Chapter 18: Forensic Identification and Miscarriages of Justice in England and Wales
• Chapter 19: Forensic Science Evidence and Miscarriages of Justice
• Chapter 20: Future of Forensic Science in the United Kingdom
• Back Cover