Forensics exam

Define forensic identification

the process of linking a piece of physical trace evidence to an individual

What is trace evidence?

physical evidence left or transported from a crime scene

Who devised anthropometry and what does it measure?

Alphonse Bertillon ; 11 lengths of the body (ex: left foot)

What is biometrics and who was the pioneer of it?

identification of an individual based on distinctive measurable traits (ex: voice profile) ; Bertillon

What is the differnce between static and dynamic recognition?

static = measures shape and size
dynamic = characteristics

When did the use of comparative bullet composition analysis fall out of the court's favor?

2004

What range is the rate of error for handwriting experts?

40% - 97%

Why is handwriting analysis flawed?

it is too dynamic an changes over time or in the moment

Define reliability

the consistency or repeatability of a measure or observation

Define test-retest reliability

consistency of scores derived from repeated administration of the same test

Define interrater reliability

the degree to which two or more observers or analysts independently arrive at the same measurement

Define measurement validity

whether or not a technique measures what it is supposed to measure

a technique cannot be valid without being ____________

reliable

Who was the first to apply DNA to forensics after finding that it is unique in 1984?

Alec Jeffreys

People v. Wesley (1988) introduced what?

DNA as evidence

What is CODIS?

The most used DNA database with 20 million profiles

What does an electropherogram do?

tests the output of DNA

What are some flaws of DNA evidence?

- can be ambiguous if the sample is poor
- difficult to isolate from a complex mixture
- transferable, false accusations

Define random match probabilities (RMPs)

calculated estimates presented to the judge and jury

What are friction ridges?

tiny swirling lines on your fingerprints

Define psychometrics

the measurement of psychological characteristics

What are latent prints?

fingerprints found at the scene of a crime

What are the flaws of fingerprint evidence?

- difficult to see with the naked eye
- human examiner makes final call

What are ridgeologists?

the use a holistic approach to compare fingerprints

What is the One Dissimilarity Doctrine?

no ID will be made if one dissimilarity is found without explanation

What is contextual bias?

the tendency for extraneous influences in the immediate environment to taint judgements

What are striations?

marking on a bullet due to it being fired from a gun

What is the rate of false identification of bite marks? What laws were made in response to William Richard's false bite mark ID?

63% ; Changed Science Laws

What is a qualitative statement?

a subjective assessment of whether a match is weak, strong, or moderate

What is a simple match?

merely saying that the trace evidence and source share characteristics

What is a match plus statistics?

statistics that place the match in context

Define individualization

the match is so detailed and perfect that trace could only come from one person

What are the three problems with matches?

1. judges allow claims of experience to sub for solid science
2. error rates
3. the word "match" is misleading

What is the CSI effect?

jurors are thought to have unrealistic expectations of the capabilities of forensic ID tech

Define Blind testing

a test that arrives to an analyst - with no indication that it is actually testing the proficiency of the analyst

What are flaws of jurors regarding evidence?

1. they are too conservative in revising evaluations
2. thy have difficulty understanding statistics

Define profiling

drawing inferences about a criminal's personality, behavior, motivation, and demographic based on crime scene

Define serial killers

murderers who kill 3 or more people in separate events

Profilers emphasize the importance of a ____________

signature

What is a signature?

aspect of the crime, distinctive personal feature of the crime

What was Jack the Ripper's significance?

- first criminal profile

Who was Richard Jewell?

A security guard who fit the profile of the Olympic Bomber yet was found innocent. his life was ruined after three months of being the suspect.

What are the three myths of a psychopath?

1. all psychopaths are violent
2. all psychopaths are psychotic
3. psychopathy is untreatable

Define organized murders

careful selection + stalking victims, elaborate rituals, waiting

Define unorganized murders

impulsive, picking victims at random

Who pioneered the use of fingerprints in establishing identity?

Francis Galton

Which of the following statements about forensic ID is FALSE?

A. It is difficult to calculate the rate of false positive matches for most trace evidence
B. Judges generally welcome info about the rate of false positives on the basis it is useful
C. Judges often consider professional experience of the forensic examiner more important than a solid scientific background
D. Many scholars criticize the word "match" as misleading and biased

B. Judges generally welcome info about the rate of false positives on the basis it is useful

Jurors have great difficulty making sense of _____ statements so they need additional explanations about the meaning of _____.

statistical ; probabilities

Rank the types of forensic ID's from left to right based on which is strongest:

1. Fingerprints
2. Bullet matching
3. DNA

DNA, fingerprints, bullet matching

For many years, ___________ forensic evidence, like bullet matching and handwriting was used ______ in court

questionable ; widely

If a measure or observation consistently produces similar results through repeated measurements, it is known as:

reliability

In a ____ test, the examiner does not know that he or she is being tested

blind

Which of the following terms refer to whether a technique measures what it is supposed to measure?

validity

Which type of killer is characterized as: psychotic, seeing visions of god, and having voices telling them to kill?

visionary type

Which type of killer is characterized as: less psychotic, motivated to kill who they deem "unworthy"

mission-oriented types

Which type of killer is characterized as: kills for thrills, sadistic, sexual

hedonistic

Which type of killer is characterized as: satisfied from capture and control

power-oriented types

Describe a trained profiler compared to a non-trained one

- study materials closely
- write longer reports
- make specific inferences

Trained profilers are better at guessing ___________ aspects but less at inferring ____________

physical ; processes

behavior is powerfully determined by _____________

the situation

Define crime linkage

the process of determining whether the same person committed 2 or more crimes ; can be effected by changes in situations

Define tunnel vision in terms of profling

bias to seek evidence that fits the profile

Define geographic profiling

estimating the general vicinity of a criminal to project location

What is an anchor point?

the location from which an offender leaves to launch attacks

What is a buffer zone?

the area in which the criminal is less likely to commit crimes

What is distance decay?

the probability of an attack decreases as distance from past crime locations increases

What is temporal sequencing? What is is offset by?

over time, a geographical range of a serial offender's crimes will increase ; distance decay

Define BIA (behavioral investigative advice)

advice to social scientists on how to use the media, questions for suspects, etc

What is racial profiling?

using race/ethnicity as an indicator of who might be engaged in criminal activity

What is probative evidence?

it provides info into assessing whether someone has committed a crime

State v Hansen 1987 overturned what? why?

The conviction of Diane Hansen, her profile did not fit that of a child , molester

Define equivocal death

death w/ an unknown cause

psychological autopsies are typically used in cases involving:

equivocal death

Unlike profiling, BIA offers help to investigators on all of the following EXCEPT:
a. whether a crime might be part of a series
b. what questions to ask in interviews
c. how to use the media
d. what personality traits can be inferred from evidence at the crime scene

D. what personality traits can be inferred from evidence at the crime scene

The following attributes are characteristics of many serial killers EXCEPT:
a. history of childhood abuse
b. some form of brain injury that impairs rational thinking
c. the use of firearms in killing
d. the use of alcohol or drugs

c. the use of firearms in killing

Which of the following is NOT typical for an organizes murderer?
a. average/above average intelligence
b. sexually incompetent
c. controlled mood during crime
d. geographic mobility

b. sexually incompetent

A taxonomy dividing killers into unorganized and organized analyzes what?

crime scene; personality traits

Madame Popova, involved in the murders of over 300 men in Russia, is what type of killer?

murder for hire

Profilers in the DC Sniper case INCORRECTLY concluded that:
a. the killer was white
b. the killer lived in DC
c. there was only one killer
d. all of the above

d. all of the above

Which of the following is more likely to be the victim of a female serial killer?
a. a stranger
b. an adult male
c. a child
d. an adult female

c. a child

When we adjust for the percentage of the US population that is White and Black we find that

Black men are 3.5 times more likely to be killed by police than Whites

Studies found that profilers were ______ than other people at guessing some characteristics, but their accuracy rates were still ______

slightly better ; fairly low

__________ profiling relies on instinct, __________ profiling relies on maps and math

psychological ; geographic

Most serial murder cases _____ solved by diligent police work _____ profiles.

are ; and not by

Correll's 2007 study comparing undergraduates, community members, and police officers showed that Special Unit Officers

showed a tendency to shoot Black targets but not to shoot White targets

On the average, male serial killers are active for about 4 years before they are caught. Female serial killers, on the other hand, tend to be active for how long before they are captured?

8 years

What is the NASH system?

Death classification natural accidental suicide and homicide

What is a psychological autopsy?

An evaluation of a decedent's mental state prior to
death.

Jackson v State 1989 admitted __________ as expert testimony

psychological autopsy

Who was Ron Cotton?

- evicted twice for rape due to eye witness testimony
- free after DNA

Define encoding

info gathering, storage

Define retrieval

accessing info

What are memory traces?

biochemical representations of experiences in the brain

What causes more wrong convictions than anything else?

mistaken eyewitness testimony

What is the Manson Criteria?

5 factors that should be taken into consideration when evaluating the accuracy of eyewitness identification
1. opportunity to view the suspect
2. level of attention
3. accurate description
4. degree of certainty
5. time between crime and ID

What were the major criticisms of the Manson Criteria?

- it is difficult to apply to actual crimes
- "degree of certainty" is misleading

Define the cross-race effect

cross-race accuracy is worse than within race accuracy

What is the weapon focus effect?

eyewitness is less able to ID a perpetrator if they see them holding a weapon

Define unconscious transference

unintentional, a face that is familiar in another context is transferred in memory to scene of the crime

What are scripts?

widely held beliefs about which sequence of actions will typically occur in situations