ScienceDaily: Justice News

Collecting DNA for human rights: How to help while safeguarding privacy

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:50:50 EDT

DNA databases might help identify victims of crime and human trafficking, but how do we safeguard the personal privacy of innocent victims and family members? A new report identifies a number of key challenges to consider as experts develop such programs.

Searching for clandestine graves with geophysical tools

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:52:52 EDT

It's very hard to convict a murderer if the victim's body can't be found. And the best way to hide a body is to bury it. Developing new tools to find those clandestine graves is the goal of a small community of researchers spread across several countries.

Researcher reveals new way to safeguard forensic dna samples against contamination

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:47:47 EDT

DNA evidence is invisible and remarkably easy to transfer, making it possible for a sample to be spilled or even planted on a piece of evidence. Scientists have now developed a solution that permanently marks DNA samples to prevent contamination. Hampikian has used nullomers, the smallest DNA sequences that are absent from nature, to create the DNA bar code.

Poor parenting -- including overprotection -- increases bullying risk

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:40:40 EDT

Children who are exposed to negative parenting -- including abuse, neglect but also overprotection -- are more likely to experience childhood bullying by their peers, according to a meta-analysis of 70 studies of more than 200,000 children.

Honor among (credit card) thieves?

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:12:12 EDT

A criminologist dug into the seamy underbelly of online credit card theft and uncovered a surprisingly sophisticated network of crooks that is unique in the cybercrime domain.

Forensic sciences are 'fraught with error'

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:10:10 EDT

Researchers review various high-profile false convictions and provide an overview of classic psychological research on expectancy and observer effects and indicates in which ways forensic science examiners may be influenced by information such as confessions, eyewitness identification, and graphical evidence.

Engineer working to put more science behind bloodstain pattern analysis

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:39:39 EDT

Scientists are working to put more fluid dynamics behind the bloodstain pattern analysis used at crime scenes. They are developing instruments and methods to produce, study and analyze bloodstains.

College admission questions rarely identify criminal behavior

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:54:54 EDT

A new study shows that neither criminal background checks nor pre-admission screening questions accurately predict students likely to commit crime on college campuses.

Interviewers' gestures mislead child-witnesses

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:10:10 EDT

Seeing happiness in ambiguous facial expressions reduces aggressive behavior

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:05:05 EDT

Encouraging young people at high-risk of criminal offending and delinquency to see happiness rather than anger in facial expressions results in a decrease in their levels of anger and aggression, according to a new study.

Study explores gang activity on the internet

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:15:15 EDT

Gangs are not using the Internet to recruit new members or commit complex cybercrimes, according to a new study.

Urban vegetation deters crime in Philadelphia

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:05:05 EDT

A new study of Philadelphia found that abundant vegetation, when well-maintained, can deter certain types of crime -- particularly assault and robbery. The study is the first to look at the issue across an entire urban area and offers strong evidence for urban greening as part of city planning and crime prevention strategies.

Psychology study shows distance plays key role in gun control arguments

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:17:17 EDT

A new psychology study shows people are more supportive of gun control policy when elected officials base their arguments on broader statistics, rather than isolated incidents.

Risk of crime in gated communities

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:51:51 EDT

Gated communities are perceived to be safe havens in a world of risk and uncertainty, but new research from the United States challenges received opinion and suggests that, although opportunistic burglaries may be minimized, the risk of other crimes could be increased. The study, one of only a handful to investigate the crime statistics relating to these housing developments, reveals the unexpected reality behind the security gates.

Punishment can enhance performance, academics find

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:33:33 EDT

The stick can work just as well as the carrot in improving our performance, a team of academics has found.

People with mental illness at highly increased risk of being murder victims, study suggests

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:04:04 EST

People with mental disorders have a highly increased risk of being victims of homicide, a large study suggests.

Was King Richard III a control freak?

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:52:52 EST

Psychologists believe Richard III was not a psychopath -- but he may have had control freak tendencies.

Background checks, permanent records needed for all firearm transfers, not just gun sales by retailers, experts urge

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:36:36 EST

Gun violence in the United States can be substantially reduced if Congress expands requirements for background checks on retail gun sales to cover firearm transfers between private parties, a new report concludes.

Could a computer on the police beat prevent violence?

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:41:41 EST

As cities work to reduce violence in tight budget times, new research shows how they might be able to target their efforts and police attention on areas prone to violence – with the help of high-powered computers and loads of data on crime, alcohol availability and drug markets.

Romantic delusions allow online dating scams to flourish

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:04:04 EST

As international criminal gangs increasingly target online dating and social networking sites, as a means of extorting money from unwary victims, research suggests that new strategies are needed for tackling the crime and supporting its victims.

New study examines victims and cyberstalking

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 07:54:54 EST

Victims of cyberstalking take more self-protective measures, pay higher out-of-pocket costs to combat the problem and experience greater fear over time than traditional stalking victims, said a researcher.

1990s drop in New York City crime not due to CompStat, misdemeanor arrests, analysis finds

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:36:36 EST

New York City experienced a historic decline in crime rates during the 1990s, but it was not due to the implementation of CompStat or enhanced enforcement of misdemeanor offenses, according to a new analysis.

Gun control: Focus on manufacturers, not just buyers, study shows

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:43:43 EST

As the gun control debate continues, an expert says the focus should be on those who distribute guns, not solely on those who buy them.

New imaging technique for identifying the age and sex of a corpse

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:43:43 EST

Researchers have designed a new computing system that determines the age and sex of a corpse with a reliability of 95%. This state-of-the-art system is very different from the traditional macroscopy systems used to evaluate the osteoarticular features of a corpse, and it is much faster and user-friendly.

Power's punishing impact: Power linked to tendency to punish harshly

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:25:25 EST

Providing a sense of power to someone instills a black-and-white sense of right and wrong (especially wrong), new research shows. Once armed with this moral clarity, powerful people then perceive wrongdoing with much less ambiguity than people lacking this power, and punish apparent wrong-doers with more severity than people without power would.

First cost-benefit analysis of DNA profiling vindicates 'CSI' fans

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:26:26 EST

The first rigorous analysis of the crime-fighting power of DNA profiling finds substantial evidence of its effectiveness.

Broader background checks and denial criteria could help prevent mass shooting catastrophes, experts say

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:47:47 EST

A gun violence prevention expert and emergency medicine physician, believes broader criteria for background checks and denials on gun purchases can help prevent future firearm violence, including mass shooting catastrophes such as those that occurred at Sandy Hook, Aurora, Virginia Tech and Columbine.

Illegal hunting in the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania: Social and molecular genetic methods of combating crimes against fauna

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:11:11 EST

Tanzania has many different and diverse wildlife populations spread across a network of protected areas extending over the whole country. These wildlife populations are under threat from illegal hunting and large herbivores are particularly sought-after game. In the future, however, genetic markers can be used to identify meat from game in order to combat crimes against animals.

Data on financial crime is not credible, UK research finds

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 19:31:31 EST

The UK Government and police efforts to tackle financial crime -- from business fraud to tax evasion -- are hampered by a lack of accurate data about the nature and extent of offending, according to new research.

Bugs without borders: Researchers track the emergence and global spread of healthcare associated Clostridium difficile

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 15:25:25 EST

Researchers show that the global epidemic of Clostridium difficile 027/NAP1/BI in the early to mid-2000s was caused by the spread of two different but highly related strains of the bacterium rather than one as was previously thought. The spread and persistence of both epidemics were driven by the acquisition of resistance to a frontline antibiotic.

Deception can be perfected: Can a repeated lie become 'a truth? '

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:20:20 EST

With a little practice, one could learn to tell a lie that may be indistinguishable from the truth. New research shows that lying is more malleable than previously thought, and with a certain amount of training and instruction, the art of deception can be perfected. Researchers found instruction alone significantly reduced reaction times associated with participants' deceptive responses. This research could have implications for law enforcement and the administering of lie detector tests.

Study raises concerns over online availability of alternatives to illegal drugs

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:43:43 EST

Recreational drug users may be putting their health at risk by ingesting products containing dangerous and often prohibited substances, purchased legally via the internet.

Evolution: Social exclusion leads to cooperation

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:44:44 EST

Social exclusion as a punishment strategy helps explain the evolution of cooperation, according to new research.

Unique 'anonymous delivery' law effective in decreasing rates of neonaticide in Austria, study finds

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:43:43 EST

Rates of reported neonaticide have more than halved following the implementation of a unique 'anonymous delivery' law in Austria, finds a new study.

Homicide spreads like infectious disease

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 10:35:35 EST

Homicide moves through a city in a process similar to infectious disease, according to a new study that may give police a new tool in tracking and ultimately preventing murders.

Adults with ADHD commit fewer crimes when on medication

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:51:51 EST

Criminal behaviour in people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) dropped sharply during periods when they were on medication, according to a new extensive registry study.

School exclusion policies for students who have been arrested contribute to educational failure, study shows

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:06:06 EST

A sociologist finds school exclusion policies and lack of support from teachers contribute to high dropout rate among students who have been arrested.

Bond's new crime-fighting device launched: 'Bullet fingerprint' visualization technique

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:39:39 EST

A 'bullet fingerprint' visualization technique pioneered by a British scientist has been commercialized in the United States.

Juvenile justice reforms should incorporate science of adolescent development, report finds

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:46:46 EST

Legal responses to juvenile offending should be grounded in scientific knowledge.

New strategy for fingerprint visualization developed

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 08:49:49 EST

Identifying fingerprints on paper is a commonly used method in police forensic work, but unfortunately it is not easy to make those fingerprints visible. Now, scientists have developed a new approach for making such fingerprints more readily readable.

Loser-pays-all rule in criminal cases could work for wealthy defendants

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:04:04 EST

Adopting a loser-pays-all rule for criminal litigation would likely be feasible only if the rule applied to defendants who are wealthy, says a study.

Difficult-to-read font reduces political polarity, study finds

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:19:19 EDT

Liberals and conservatives who are polarized on certain politically charged subjects become more moderate when reading political arguments in a difficult-to-read font, researchers report in a new study. Likewise, people with induced bias for or against a defendant in a mock trial are less likely to act on that bias if they have to struggle to read the evidence against him.

Happy children less at risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:07:07 EDT

The latest research on the impact of cynerbullying on children has just been collected in a special double issue of the journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, published by Routledge. From the complex relationships between cyberbullies and their victims, to a greater moral disengagement in cyberbullies compared to traditional bullies.

Footwear forensics: CSI needs to tread carefully

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 10:09:09 EDT

A new computer algorithm can analyze the footwear marks left at a crime scene according to clusters of footwear types, makes and tread patterns even if the imprint recorded by crime scene investigators is distorted or only a partial print.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: Majority of vendettas originate within a group

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:16:16 EDT

It all began with a harmless game of soccer among young men in northwestern Albania. After one of the players had been injured in a subsequent dispute, his team members shot a relative of the suspected attacker. Now the male members of the families involved in the blood feud do not dare leave their homes. Such vendettas and blood feuds occur in many societies, sometimes lasting for decades. The harm for the participants is enormous and lacks apparent benefit, as the participants often no longer remember what actually triggered the quarrel. Theoretical calculations also demonstrate that vendettas are costly for the participants from an evolutionary point of view and should therefore not develop. Scientists have now investigated the genesis of vendettas.

California leads United States in exonerations of wrongfully convicted

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:29:29 EDT

Two hundred or more wrongful convictions have been thrown out since 1989 in California, costing those convicted more than 1,300 years of freedom and taxpayers $129 million.

Perpetrator in one-quarter of child sexual abuse cases is a stranger, Swedish study finds

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:04:04 EDT

Child sexual abuse is committed by strangers more than one-quarter of the time. Researchers in Sweden reviewed the records of 196 men who had been convicted of child sexual abuse in Western Sweden. The study also found that only 8 percent of the perpetrators had been referred to a major forensic investigation.

Collective violence and poverty on the Mexican-US border affects child mental health

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:15:15 EDT

Collective violence attributed to organized crime and poverty are adversely affecting the mental health of children living near the Texas-Mexico border, according to new research.

Criminal punishment and politics: Elected judges take tougher stance prior to elections

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:32:32 EDT

The last few months leading up to an election can be a critical, political game changer. One right or one wrong move can quickly change a candidate's standing at the polls. New research suggests that judges who are elected, rather than appointed, respond to this political pressure by handing down more severe criminal sentences -- as much as 10 percent longer -- in the last three months before an election compared with the beginning of their terms.

Religious affiliation and residence in Muslim-majority nations influence sexual behavior, study finds

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:13:13 EDT

Hindus and Muslims are less likely than Christians and Jews to have premarital sex, and Muslims are the least likely among people of these religious groups to have extramarital sex, according to a new study that analyzed data on premarital and extramarital sexual behaviors in over 30 developing countries around the world.

Evidence does not support three-strikes law as crime deterrent, California study finds

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:24:24 EDT

Contrary to what police, politicians and the public believe, research by a University of California, Riverside criminologist has found that the state's three-strikes law has done nothing to reduce the crime rate.

Tying our fate to molecular markings

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:26:26 EDT

A physicist has helped discover that understanding how a chemical mark on our DNA affects gene expression could be as useful to scientists as fingerprints are to police at a crime scene. In a new study, researchers show that variable methylation is predictive of age, gender, stress, cancer and early-life socioeconomic status within a population.

Terrorism risk greatest for subway/rail commuters

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:14:14 EDT

Despite homeland security improvements since 9/11, subway and rail commuters face higher risks of terror than frequent flyers or those engaged in virtually any other activity. While successful terrorist acts against aviation fell sharply, those against subways and commuter trains surged.

Cold cases heat up through new approach to identifying remains

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:14:14 EDT

In an effort to identify the thousands of John/Jane Doe cold cases in the United States, scientists have found a multidisciplinary approach to identifying the remains of missing persons. Using "bomb pulse" radiocarbon analysis, combined with recently developed anthropological analysis and forensic DNA techniques, the researchers were able to identify the remains of a missing child 41 years after the discovery of the body.

When battered women fight back stereotyping can kick in

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:15:15 EDT

The topic of domestic abuse remains a controversial issue when it comes to determining punishment for battered women who use violence towards their partner. According to a recent study, battered women who are seen as engaging in mutual violence and shared substance abuse are often regarded negatively and subject to harsher sentences.

Doctor and pharmacy shopping linked to prescription drug overdose deaths, study finds

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:05:05 EDT

A new study has found that doctor and pharmacy shoppers are at a greater risk for drug-related death.

Math tree may help root out fraudsters: Applying algorithm to social networks can reveal hidden connections criminals use to commit fraud

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:28:28 EDT

Fraudsters beware: The more your social networks connect you and your accomplices to the crime, the easier it will be to shake you from the tree. The Steiner tree, that is. In a new article, researchers outlined the connection linking fraud cases and the algorithm designed by Swiss mathematician Jakob Steiner.

Smart school bullies less likely to become criminals

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:11:11 EDT

Having a high IQ and coming from a small family could mean school bullies are less likely to become criminals, according to new research.

Black women face more violence under 'prison nation', book says

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:15:15 EDT

Black women in poor neighborhoods have faced increasing violence because public policy has focused on unconditional punishment, not prevention, according to a new book by a public policy expert.

Canada should remove section of Criminal Code that permits physical punishment of children, expert argues

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:14:14 EDT

To promote good parenting, Canada should remove section 43 of its Criminal Code because it sends the wrong message that using physical punishment to discipline children is acceptable, argues Dr. John Fletcher, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Medical Association Journal, in an editorial.