Search results

This study aims to examine the scope and contribution of Forensic Clinical Psychology (FCP) advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) to criminal investigations in the UK to address the gap in current knowledge and research.

The 36 FCP reports reviewed were written between 2017 and 2021. They were analysed using Toulmin’s (1958) application of pertinent arguments to the evaluation process. The potential utility of the reports was analysed in terms of the advice provided.

Most of the reports involved murder and equivocal death. The reports focused primarily on understanding the offender’s psychopathology, actions, motivation and risk to self and others using a practitioner model of case study methodology. Out of the 539 claims, grounds were provided for 99% of the claims, 91% had designated modality, 62% of the claims were potentially verifiable and 57% of the claims were supported by a warrant and/or backing. Most of the reports provided either moderate or high insight into the offence/offender (92%) and potential for new leads (64%).

The advice provided relied heavily on extensive forensic clinical and investigative experience of offenders, guided by theory and research and was often performed under considerable time pressure. Flexibility, impartiality, rigour and resilience are essential prerequisites for this type of work.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically evaluate forensic clinical psychology reports from the NCA. It shows the pragmatic, dynamic and varied nature of FCP contributions to investigations and its potential utility.

The present study aims to examine the scope and contribution of behavioural investigative advice (BIA) reports from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The 77 BIA reports reviewed were written between 2016 and 2021. They were evaluated using Toulmin’s (1958) strategy for structuring pertinent arguments, current compliance with professional standards, the grounds and backing provided for the claims made and the potential utility of the recommendations provided.

Consistent with previous research, most of the reports involved murder and sexual offences. The BIA reports met professional standards with extremely high frequency. The 77 reports contained a total of 1,308 claims of which 99% were based on stated grounds. A warrant and/or backing was provided for 73% of the claims. Most of the claims in the BIA reports involved a behavioural evaluation of the crime scene and offender characteristics. The potential utility of the reports was judged to be 95% for informative behavioural crime scene analysis and 40% for potential new lines of enquiry.

The reports should serve as a model for the work of behavioural investigative advisers internationally.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically evaluate BIA reports commissioned by the NCA; it adds to previous similar studies by evaluating the largest number of BIA reports ever reviewed, and uniquely provides judgement of overall utility.

This paper aims to identify impediments, discuss impediments and make recommendations for the impediments during the execution of a search and seizure warrant for digital evidence in South African criminal cases.

The discussion of this article, the second article of two, focuses on a literature review of international and local impediments identified in case law and published research literature and how it is approached in various jurisdictions.

This study found that impediments identified and addressed internationally during the execution of a search and seizure warrant for digital evidence are relevant to South African criminal cases and still need to be addressed during the execution of a search and seizure warrant for digital evidence in South African criminal cases.

Although searches and seizures for digital evidence are relevant to civil, regulatory and criminal investigations, this study focuses on the search and seizure for digital evidence in criminal matters with an emphasis on the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020.

The originality of this paper lies in the procedures followed during the physical search and seizure of digital information during the execution of search and seizure warrants for digital information in South Africa. If the South African Police Service follows the recommended procedures, it will contribute to the success of the South African Police Service, which would result in the improved quality of investigations and successful prosecution of crime in South Africa.

The paper aims to examine the impacts and ethics of utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Indian policing. It explores both the positive and negative consequences of using AI, as well as the ethical considerations that have be taken into account.

This study is based on secondary sources of information, such as national and international reports, journal articles, and institutional websites that discuss the use of AI technology by the police in India.

AI has proven to be effective in policing, from preventing crime to identifying criminals, by detecting potential crimes in advance with fewer resources and in more areas. In India, the police use AI technology not only for facial recognition but also for crime mapping, analysis, and building blocks. However, factors such as caste, religion, language, and gender continue to cause conflict. India has shown a strong interest in using AI technology for policing, and wishes to accelerate its implementation in various policing contexts, including law and order. This paper calls for an assessment of the complexities and uncertainties brought about by new technologies in policing with ethical considerations.

This paper can provide valuable insights for policy-makers, academics, and practitioners engaged in discussions and debates concerning the ethical considerations associated with the adoption of AI tools in policing practices.

This article examines how hope for an effective partnership approach to policing is maintained in everyday policing.

Data collection involved 22 qualitative interviews, and observations with police officers and municipal employees in Stockholm, Sweden. It also includes an analysis of their documents.

Using the concept of mechanisms of hope (Brunsson, 2006, 2009), this article explores how police officers and other actors in the security landscape maintain hope in partnership policing despite having compelling reasons to be cynical and sceptical. The findings indicate that mechanism of hope is an important element in the way police handle uncertainty and maintain institutional pressures in their everyday policing practices.

By demonstrating how actors responsible for implementing a partnership approach to policing maintain hope in partnership policing, this article advances our understanding of myths in policing, as well as the institutional settings in which policing is conducted (Crank, 2003). Moreover, this article provides insight into the opportunities and challenges embedded in the social configuration of hope.

Job stressor exposure is associated with mental health in police officers. Police stress research rarely draws a distinction between urban and rural policing, raising the possibility that stressors specific to the rural context remain unidentified and their implications unknown. This may hinder actions to protect the mental health of those involved in policing rural communities.

Among rural policing teams in an English county police force this study used an exploratory sequential mixed method design to (1) identify and quantify exposure to rural policing stressors and (2) examine links between job stressor exposure and psychological distress.

Interviews (N = 34) identified three rural policing job stressor themes: (1) job demands, (2) isolation and (3) critical decisions. Survey data (N = 229) indicated significant differences in exposure by rank to demand and critical decision stressors, with police community support officers (PCSOs) reporting lower exposure than officers of constable and sergeant rank. Overall, 44% of respondents reported symptoms of psychological distress indicative of likely minor psychiatric disorder; higher levels of psychological distress were associated with higher stressor exposure across all three job stressor themes for PCSOs and constables and within the job demand theme for sergeants.

Findings point towards practical actions focussed on resource provision for officers and a research strategy to ameliorate the impact of stressors in English rural policing.

Governments worldwide have been trying to direct more students towards STEM specialty areas, but the number of students majoring in STEM and seeking a STEM career path is not proportional to their efforts. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the surface the unrealistic expectations and false assumptions held by the general public about STEM fields. These have mainly been shaped by the “T” in the acronym, substituting technology for science. This brief urges for a policy shift in STEM and science education to reveal the true nature of science, emphasizing that science is not about providing definite answers nor granting miraculous solutions but about creating and disseminating knowledge based on the most accurate outcome informed by empirical evidence. Such a policy change will have a dual effect. First, it will ensure students authentically appreciate the nature of science, serve as agents of scientific thinking and reasoning within their communities, and become more oriented towards STEM majors. Secondly, this policy shift will prompt more realistic expectations and valid assumptions about science for the general public, which will help reduce public confusion and uncertainty, specifically at times of pandemics or emergencies.

Unlike quantitative studies, interview data generally cannot be validated; yet, they are typically the only evidence of the research. This study develops protocols for using verbatim interview quotations in research and for assessing the quality of interview quotations.

This research reviews 20 empirical papers using in-depth interviews containing 600 interview quotations to examine authors' approaches to verbatim interviewee quotations. The research analyses the sample papers for interview transcript handling, selection of quotations, the number and length of interview quotations, how they are placed and presented, the proportion of interviewee voices reproduced in quotations and the disclosure of protocols for translating and editing quotations. This paper includes illustrative interview quotations as exemplars of best practice.

Given the modest discussion of the principles influencing the reproduction of quotations in research, this study develops a framework for evaluating prior research. Researchers use a wide variety of practices to reproduce interview quotations in accounting research. The issues derived from this review, and their application to interview-based papers, frame an argument for a general set of quality criteria and protocols rather than rigid rules for assessing qualitative work. These criteria can serve as anchor points for qualitative evaluation.

There is little guidance on the use of interview quotations in qualitative research which this study bridges.

Fingerprints and blood samples are important for the identification of individuals and criminals. The present study aims to identify the predominant fingerprint patterns and the association between the fingerprint patterns and ABO–Rh blood groups in Omani population.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 Omani individuals aged 18 years (104 males and 96 females). The imprints of all right and left-hand fingers were taken, and the types of the fingerprints were determined using a standard protocol. The blood group of all the subjects was recorded. Chi-square test was performed to identify the association between the fingerprint patterns and the ABO and Rh blood groups.

The loop fingerprint pattern was the most common in Omani subjects (49.4%), followed by whorl (44.9%) and arch (5.7%) pattern. A significant association (p < 0.001) was found between gender and fingerprint pattern. The loop was the highest occurring pattern in the females (54.6%), while the whorl was more in males (50.0%). The whorl pattern was the most common in the AB+ and O− groups. The loop was a predominant pattern in the A+, A−, B+, B− and O+ groups. The Chi-square test also revealed a significant correlation between different fingerprint patterns and blood groups of the subjects (p < 0.001).

The present study is an outcome of undergraduate student's research project thesis for the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program. The results of the present study may help in creating a data bank for biometrics, which can be useful for diagnosing associated diseases and also help in identification of individuals.

To explicate the qualities of cooperation among leaders and their organizations during crisis, we studied the response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Through interviews and analysis, we discovered leaders successfully overcame obstacles that typically undermine collective crisis response. Qualitative analysis revealed five guiding behavioral principles that appeared to stimulate effective inter-agency leadership collaboration in high stakes. We draw upon concepts of collective leadership and swarm intelligence to interpret our observations and translate the findings into leader practices. We focus on replicable aspects of a meta- phenomenon, where collective action was greater than the sum of its parts; we do not evaluate individual leader behavior. Our findings provide a starting point for deeper exploration of how to bolster public safety by catalyzing enhanced inter-agency leadership behavior.