Forensic Science and Technology Commons^™

The Potential Interference Of Body Products And Substrates To The Identification Of Ignitable Liquid Residues On Worn Clothing, Gina Guerrera, Erika Chen, Robert Powers, Brooke Weinger Kammrath

Forensic Science Publications

The question of whether deposits on clothing as well as their chemical composition are being mistaken for ignitable fluids is a concern for forensic analysts. Body products and oil secretions can have similar chemical profiles to ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) as a result of comparable chemical compounds that may be found in both sources. This study investigated whether substrates of unworn and worn clothing, with endogenous body secretions and body products could interfere with ILR analysis. Sample extraction was completed by passive headspace concentration with activated charcoal strips (ACS) and desorption with carbon disulfide followed by analysis with gas chromatography-mass …

Awareness And Perception Of Cybercrimes And Cybercriminals, Hannarae Lee, Hyeyoung Lim

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

Awareness is a starting point to recognize, understand, or know a situation or fact, and the perception makes a difference in how to deal with it. Although the term cybercrime may not be new to the most public and the police, not all of them are well aware of the nature and extent of cybercrimes, cybercriminals, and cyber-victims, which in turn affects their perceptions of matters. The four papers in this issue of the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime empirically examine these important topics and discuss policy implications.

Examining Perceptions Of Online Harassment Among Constables In England And Wales, Thomas J. Holt, Jin R. Lee, Roberta Liggett, Karen M. Holt, Adam Bossler

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

The ubiquity of the Internet and computer technology has enabled individuals to engage in bullying, threats, and harassing communications online. Limited research has found that local line officers may not view these offenses as serious compared to real world crimes despite their negative physical and emotional impact on victims. The perceptions of officers can produce poor interactions with victims during calls for service, particularly victim blaming, which can reduce citizens’ confidence in police agencies generally. However, local law enforcement agencies are increasingly mandated to respond to these cases, calling to question how their views may impact the community. This study …

Cybercrime And Digital Forensics: Bridging The Gap In Legislation, Investigation And Prosecution Of Cybercrime In Nigeria, Kabiru H. Mohammed, Yusuf D. Mohammed, Abiodun A. Solanke

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

The advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) opens new avenues and ways for cybercriminals to commit crime. The primary goal of this paper is to raise awareness regarding gaps that exist with regards to Nigeria’s capabilities to adequately legislate, investigate and prosecute cases of cybercrimes. The major source of cybercrime legislation in Nigeria is an act of the National Assembly which is majorly a symbolic legislation rather than a full and active legislation. In perusing these avenues of inquiry, the authors seek to identify systemic impediments which hinder law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and investigators from properly carrying out their …

Optical Tweezers As An Effective Tool For Spermatozoa Isolation From Mixed Forensic Samples, Nicole Auka, Michael Valle, Bobby D. Cox, Peter D. Wilkerson, Tracey Dawson Cruz, Joseph E. Reiner, Sarah J. Seashols-Williams

Forensic Science Publications

A single focus optical tweezer is formed when a laser beam is launched through a high numerical aperture immersion objective. This objective focuses the beam down to a diffraction-limited spot, which creates an optical trap where cells suspended in aqueous solutions can be held fixed. Spermatozoa, an often probative cell type in forensic investigations, can be captured inside this optical trap and dragged one by one across millimeter-length distances in order to create a cluster of cells which can be subsequently drawn up into a capillary for collection. Sperm cells are then ejected onto a sterile cover slip, counted, and …

The Effect Of Electronic Cigarette User Modifications And E-Liquid Adulteration On The Particle Size Profile Of An Aerosolized Product, Haley A. Mulder, Jesse L. Patterson, Matthew S. Halquist, Leon Kosmider, Joseph B. Mcgee Turner, Justin L. Poklis, Alphonse Poklis, Michelle R. Peace

Forensic Science Publications

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are an alternate nicotine delivery system that generate a condensation aerosol to be inhaled by the user. The size of the droplets formed in the aerosol can vary and contributes to drug deposition and ultimate bioavailability in the lung. The growing popularity of e-cigarette products has caused an increase in internet sources promoting the use of drugs other than nicotine (DOTNs) in e-cigarettes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various e-cigarette and e-liquid modifications, such as coil resistance, battery voltage, and glycol and drug formulation, on the aerosol particle size. E-liquids containing …

An Investigation Of Textile Fibers By Means Of Rgb Analysis Of Birefringence, Olivia F. Feild

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Fiber analysis using birefringence has been around for years but has only recently been looked at more closely under a microscope. Recent scientists have proposed methods to correct issues found with fiber analysis using birefringence, yet there has not be a defined perfect method. This research will focus on correcting previously found issues with works by Michel-Lévy and Sorensen's, as well as other scientists involved and perfecting the analysis of fiber through birefringence. The goal will be to take this research one step further into the analysis of textile fibers by RGB value analysis and birefringence. The RGB values will …

The Ability For Investigators To Visible Identify And Interpret Damage To Electrical Conductors, Jacob Alan Graham Critchley

Online Theses and Dissertations

The intent of a fire investigations is to correctly interpret the damage in order to identify the cause responsible for the fire and potentially help prevent similar incidents in the future. According to current guidelines of fire scene processing, fire investigators can implement the procedure of arc mapping as a tool to assist in the determination of the fire’s progression and origin at a fire scene. To do this effectively requires the investigator to identify and correctly interpret the damage to electrical conductors as thermal melting (i.e, fire damage) or electrical activity. This study examined the ability of fire investigators …

Optimizing Methods For Separation Of Adhesive Tape From Fabrics And Obtaining Latent Prints From Adhesive And Non-Adhesive Sides, Elizabeth Vosburgh

Forensic Science Theses

Fingerprinting is a valued part of forensic science analysis. It has been around for decades, and has advanced with the passing of time. There have been numerous studies of the different ways analysts have encountered fingerprints in the field—but none on those deal with the removal of tape from fabric. To investigate this, eight fabric types (a cotton/polyester mix, spandex, denim, jeans, fleece, flannel, polyester, and vinyl), three commercially available tapes (duct tape, black electrical tape, and packaging tape), have been stuck together and separated with four different techniques (manual pulling apart, Un-Du commercial adhesive remover, liquid nitrogen, and a …

Quantitative Analysis Of Xylene Mixtures Using A Handheld Raman Spectrometer, Lauren Reilly

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Over-The-Counter Antihistamines Through Raman Spectroscopy And Density Functional Theory Calculations, Lyric Wyan

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Digital Forensics, Andrew Jones, Stilianos Vidalis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In the modern socially-driven, knowledge-based virtual computing environment in which organisations are operating, the current digital forensics tools and practices can no longer meet the need for scientific rigour. There has been an exponential increase in the complexity of the networks with the rise of the Internet of Things, cloud technologies and fog computing altering business operations and models. Adding to the problem are the increased capacity of storage devices and the increased diversity of devices that are attached to networks, operating autonomously. We argue that the laws and standards that have been written, the processes, procedures and tools that …

A Practitioner Survey Exploring The Value Of Forensic Tools, Ai, Filtering, & Safer Presentation For Investigating Child Sexual Abuse Material, Laura Sanchez, Cinthya Grajeda, Ibrahim Baggili, Cory Hall

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

For those investigating cases of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), there is the potential harm of experiencing trauma after illicit content exposure over a period of time. Research has shown that those working on such cases can experience psychological distress. As a result, there has been a greater effort to create and implement technologies that reduce exposure to CSAM. However, not much work has explored gathering insight regarding the functionality, effectiveness, accuracy, and importance of digital forensic tools and data science technologies from practitioners who use them. This study focused specifically on examining the value practitioners give to the tools …

The Impact Of Environmental Degradation On The Analysis Of Manufactured Fibers, Alexis R. Weber

Master's Theses

The analysis of fiber evidence involves the ability to link a questioned fiber back to its known source. But before the collection and analysis of questioned fibers, they could be potentially exposed to various environmental conditions for an extended period of time. There has been little research on how manufactured fibers are affected by various environments and if this interaction affects the ability to link a questioned fiber back to its known source. Changes to the manufactured fibers are essential to be aware of, in order to avoid the possibility of erroneous exclusions when performing fiber comparisons. A six-month time …

Assay Development For The Identification Of Species And Bioactive Compounds Of Morinda Citrifolia (Noni) In Dietary Supplements By Rt-Qpcr, Dna Sanger Sequencing And Spectroscopy (Uv-Vis/Ftir), Ricardo L. Fernandez Walker

Master's Theses

Regulation standards for dietary supplements lack greatly. Due to this, fraud during the manufacturing of these products might be committed. Previous investigations on herbal dietary supplements have shown that the main ingredient was not present in most of the herbal supplements tested and that these products also contained other substances not stated in the label The purpose of this study was to develop a fluorescent qPCR assay for the identification of Morinda citrifolia herbal species in dietary supplements. Primers for genetic regions rbcL and matK of M. citrifolia were designed. The potential of novel matK primer showed discrimination potential …

Screening Sexual Assault Evidence With Low Concentrations Of Male Dna Utilizing The Rapidhit 200 And Paradna Intelligence Test, Taylor L. Koepfler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the last several years, crime laboratories have largely focused on the sexual assault kit (SAK) backlog, where they are often confronted with many low-quality samples. The lack of available screening techniques has prevented analysts from gaining insight into the disposition of the sample earlier on in the testing process; requiring analysts to rely on visual observations and little background information. Consequently, resulting in the hindrance of probative STR profiles while expending a large amount of time and resources to gain this result. In recent years, crime laboratories have explored a male screening technique, recommended by SWGDAM, to combat this …

Assessing The Reliability Of Physical End Matching And Chemical Comparison Of Pressure Sensitive Tapes, Meghan Nicole Prusinowski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pressure sensitive tapes are a common evidence type in a variety of forensic cases, including violent crimes, drug trafficking, and terrorism. Forensic laboratories are often requested to analyze tape samples for composition and potential source identification. Tape samples manufactured from different sources are often distinguishable when using a combination of sensitive analytical techniques. Nonetheless, the interpretation of the data remains challenging due to a lack of standard criteria and guidelines from which examiners can support their conclusions. As a result, there is a need to standardize the protocols of interpretation of physical and chemical comparisons of tape evidence.

The manufacture …

Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis Of Amino Acids In Biological Tissues: Applications In Forensic Entomology, Food Authentication And Soft-Biometrics In Humans, Mayara Patricia Viana De Matos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this work we demonstrate the power of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to analyze proteinaceous biological materials in three distinct forensic applications, including: 1) linking necrophagous blow flies in different life stages to their primary carrion diet; 2) identifying the harvesting area of oysters for food authentication purposes; and 3) the ability to predict biometric traits about humans from their hair.

In the first application, we measured the amino-acid-level fractionation that occurs at each major life stage of Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) blow flies. Adult blow flies oviposited on raw pork muscle, beef muscle, or chicken liver. Larvae, pupae …

Inception: Virtual Space In Memory Space In Real Space, Peter Casey, Rebecca Lindsay-Decusati, Ibrahim Baggili, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Virtual Reality (VR) has become a reality. With the technology's increased use cases, comes its misuse. Malware affecting the Virtual Environment (VE) may prevent an investigator from ascertaining virtual information from a physical scene, or from traditional “dead” analysis. Following the trend of antiforensics, evidence of an attack may only be found in memory, along with many other volatile data points. Our work provides the primary account for the memory forensics of Immersive VR systems, and in specific the HTC Vive. Our approach is capable of reconstituting artifacts from memory that are relevant to the VE, and is also capable …

Cannabinoid Conundrum: A Study Of Anti-Epileptic Efficacy And Drug Policy, Kennedy Dickson

Honors Theses

Cannabis is the most commonly used, cultivated, and trafficked drug worldwide. The use and acceptance of marijuana is evolving rapidly, as indicated by the volume of new State cannabis legislation across the U.S. Many of the changes in state laws have occurred without significant input from medical or scientific communities. Additionally, marijuana policy in the US is convoluted with significant inconsistencies between state and federal law. The status of marijuana as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act creates numerous restrictions and issues that impact the industry as a whole. The most promising development has been the 2018 …

Development Of A Dart-Mass Spectral Database For 3d-Printed Firearm Polymers, And Airborne Mercury At Three Lakes In North Mississippi, Parker Ball

Honors Theses

This research focuses on two studies: a development towards a DART-mass spectral database for 3D-printed firearm polymers, and a test for airborne mercury concentrations at three lakes in North Mississippi. With the relatively recent developments in 3D-printing technology, 3D-printed firearms have become increasingly prevalent as they have become more accessible to the public. Despite its growing popularity, little research has been done regarding the forensic analysis of evidence from 3D-printed firearms. Using DART-MS in conjunction with thermal desorption techniques, we obtained the mass spectra for 50 different commercially available 3D-printing polymers. Chemometric analysis was done to account for the high …

A Study Of The Kratom Alkaloids And Their Binding To The Μ-Opioid Receptor, Reba Elizabeth Ann Chamblee

Honors Theses

Kratom, a plant commonly found in southeast Asia, has traditionally been used for medicinal treatments. Recently, however, the popularity of the drug has significantly increased due to its euphoric effects, leading to it being used as an alternative to illegal opioids. Several alkaloid compounds have been isolated from the leaves of the plant. The main alkaloids seen are the following five alkaloids: mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, speciociliatine, speciogynine, and paynantheine. Two alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, have exhibited high potencies and are potentially even more potent than morphine. Previous studies have indicated that the main mediator of the psychoactive effects is the opioid …

Investigating The Binding Of Fentanyl And Fentanyl Analogs To The Μ-Opioid Receptor, Marissa Anne Teske

Honors Theses

In 1960, Dr. Paul Janssen of the Janssen Company synthesized fentanyl. It is a rapid-acting analgesic that, unlike similar analgesics around that time, did not have negative cardiovascular effects. Fentanyl, and its derivatives, are strong μ-opioid receptor agonists. Rates of fatal opioid overdoses involving fentanyl have increases rapidly over the past two decades Due to these increasing concerns related to fentanyl and its derivatives, it is important to not only study fentanyl and its known derivatives, but to also study and understand potential new derivatives and how all these compounds interact with the opioid receptors. This study examined the interactions …

Optimizing A Method For Dna Recovery While Preserving Latent Prints On Paper, Niti Dalal

Student Theses

Paper evidence is commonly encountered in cases of kidnapping, threatening letters, extortion, and bank robbery, and the optimal workflow between latent print processing and DNA collection is of interest to the forensic community. The overall aim of this project was to achieve optimal amounts of DNA for typing without destroying the fingerprint. The first study compared two collection techniques—tape-lifting by Scotch Removable Poster Tape and dry swabbing with FLOQSwabs— using prints deposited in defined locations. Samples were processed for DNA and developed with 1,2-indanedione. The second aim was to determine if visualizing print locations with fingerprint powder prior to DNA …

Revolution In Crime: How Cryptocurrencies Have Changed The Criminal Landscape, Igor Groysman

Student Theses

This thesis will examine the ways in which various cryptocurrencies have impacted certain traditional crimes. While crime is always evolving with technology, cryptocurrencies are a game changer in that they provide anonymous and decentralized payment systems which, while they can be tracked in a reactive sense via the blockchain, are seen by criminals as having better uses for them than traditional fiat currencies, such as the ability to send money relatively fast to another party without going through an intermediary, or the ability to obscure the origin of the money for money laundering purposes. Every week there are new cryptocurrencies …

Detection Of In Utero Cannabis Exposure By Umbilical Cord Analysis, Jiyoung Kim

Student Theses

According to 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 7.1% of pregnant women smoked marijuana in the past month in 2017. Although this prevalence is expected to increase as a growing number of states and countries are now considering legalization, there are scarce data on effects of in utero cannabis exposure. For the monitoring of fetal cannabis exposure, two methods are employed; self-report and the analysis of biological matrix. Due to inaccuracy of self-report, the analysis of neonatal matrixes such as meconium, hair, and urine is perferred. Although umbilical cord is becoming a useful objective tool to detect in …

Analysis Of Synthetic Opioids In Postmortem Blood, Vitreous Humor, And Brain Tissue, Rachel K. Chesser

Student Theses

In the United States, the use of new synthetic opioids (e.g. fentanyl and derivatives) has become an increasing health issue with thousands of overdose deaths being observed since 2013. With the high mortality rate associated with these substances, postmortem analyses and interpretation of synthetic opioids has become extremely important. However, due to the novelty of these compounds, the available data is limited and provides challenges to toxicologists. The focus of this project was to examine the postmortem distribution of new synthetic opioids in blood, vitreous humor, and brain tissue. New methods were developed and validated to quantify 13 synthetic opioids …

Introduction, Shari S. Diamond, Richard O. Lempert

Articles

Experts bedeviled the legal system long before seventeenth-century Salem, when the town's good citizens relied on youthful accusers and witchcraft experts to identify the devil's servants in their midst. As in Salem, claims of expertise have often been questioned and objections raised about the bases of expert knowledge. Expertise, then and now, did not have to be based on science; but the importance of science and the testimony of scientific experts has since medieval times been woven into the fabric of the English jurisprudence that Americans inherited. In cases as long ago as 1299 we find examples of courts seeking …

Forensic Analysis Of Fiber Dyes Via Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Mircea A. Comanescu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fibers are a common piece of evidence found at crime scenes that may become a link between the scene and a suspect, or allow for the reconstruction of certain crime events. Although a big portion of fibers are still white cottons, the advancement of commercial fiber production and dyeing in the past century led to an increase in types of synthetic fibers and dye applications that can be found and used in forensic analyses. Nonetheless, the fiber evidentiary value is not fully explored, as for the most part, the separation and analysis of the dye on the fiber is not …

Digital Forensics In The Next Five Years, Laoise Luciano, Ibrahim Baggili, Mateusz Topor, Peter Casey, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cyber forensics has encountered major obstacles over the last decade and is at a crossroads. This paper presents data that was obtained during the National Workshop on Redefining Cyber Forensics (NWRCF) on May 23-24, 2017 supported by the National Science Foundation and organized by the University of New Haven. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed from twenty-four cyber forensics expert panel members. This work identified important themes that need to be addressed by the community, focusing on (1) where the domain currently is; (2) where it needs to go and; (3) steps needed to improve it. Furthermore, based on the …