Forensic Investigation Techniques Research Articles

Forensic Accounting Investigation Techniques: Any Rationalization?

In any profession, there exist ways of doing things. These are sometimes referred to as methods, skills, and or techniques. Forensic accounting has been recognized as a profession and thereby has some techniques in approaching its engagements in order to ensure its products are admissible in the law court. This study investigates the techniques available in forensic accounting investigation and interrogates the justification for same. This paper explores the overview of forensic accounting investigation and its various available techniques. Methodology used in arriving at the conclusion in this paper is “content analysis”, which is the review of relevant books, journals, and articles on the subject of discussion. Readers of this paper would appreciate the need for forensic accounting professionals to equip themselves with these techniques in order to achieve their forensic engagement objectives.

Forensic methods of crime investigation: current state and problems of development

Analyzed the issue of formation methods of investigating crimes. The modern scientific views on the nature and objectives of forensic techniques. The article explored some of the problems of the current state and trends of the final section of criminalistics – crime investigation techniques. Analyzed the views of modern forensic scientists on the principles of formation forensic techniques. Proposed allocation of two levels of the following principles: 1) aimed at forming the principles of theoretical development of certain forensic techniques and 2) designed to optimize the practice of investigation of crimes. Copyright expressed views on classification, content and form separate forensic investigation techniques. Increased interest in this section of criminalistics as a method of investigation of crimes due to several reasons. First, the theoretical basis of forensic methods for years in complex and diverse not been developed, which can be explained by accumulation, understanding, processing and adaptation knowledge in the field of philosophy, computer science, management theory and information theory, praxeology and other natural sciences and humanities, resulting Update, extension, revision and systematization of the conceptual apparatus of this section of forensic science. Second, changing socio-economic relations in the states that were formerly part of the USSR, new types of crime, organized crime have spread formation, increased and strengthened professional and recurrent crime that caused the scientific development of many new and significantly upgrade existing individual (interspecies, species, subspecies) investigation techniques. Thirdly, such a methodology had different, sometimes not elaborate structure that affects and their sense perception, theoretical understanding and practical application efficiency.

Lip outline: A new paradigm in forensic sciences.

Introduction:Personal identification is becoming increasingly important not only in legal medicine but also in crime/criminal investigation and identification. Sometimes establishing a person's identity can be a very difficult process. Dental, fingerprint, and DNA comparisons are probably the most common technique used. However, there are many well-known implanted methods of human identification, one of the most interesting emerging methods of human identification which originates from the criminal and forensic practice, is human lips recognition. Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that deals with the identification based on lip traces. The lip outline of every person is unique and can be used to fix the personal identity.Aim:The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of lip outline patterns among males and females, and to evaluate the uniqueness of lip outline pattern.Materials and Methods:The study group comprised of 200 individuals from Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences. Lip outline patterns were obtained and were transferred to the proforma sheet for analysis.Results:The results of the study revealed that the lip outline patterns for each individual were unique.Conclusion:This study showed that lip outline patterns are unique to each individual and can be used for personal identification.

Cheiloscopy: A Frequency Based Approach for IV Quadrant in Female Lip Print

Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that deals with identification of humans based on lips traces. The aim of this study was to establish the uniqueness of lip prints and to look out for any new character which aids in personal identification. In the study, we followed the classification of patterns of the lines on the lips proposed by Jerzy Kasprzak in 1990. In the present study we collect the lip prints of 50 females of 18-25 years of age (having full dentition) were collected the lip prints were then studied for the pattern and characteristic features present at its quadrant for analyzing variations, and to determine the most common pattern in the study population. The statistical calculation after study estimated that Simple Bifurcation is more prominent in upper lip with 56% and Simple Bottom Bifurcation is prominent in lower lip with 68%. However calculation shows that A Line Like (I) feature is most common, when both upper and lower lips are taken into consideration with 44% presence. On extensive of lip prints samples, a new character “A Bar” denoted as “x” in the script was found in both upper and lower lip with a requency of 14% and 16% respectively. The present study is an attempt to propose a better method of personal identification based on lip prints for forensic investigation.

Forensic Accounting and Investigation: A Means of Curbing Money Laundering Activities in Nigeria

The theme of this summit is “Putting Nigeria on the Pedestal of Sustainable Economic Development: Challenges Strategies and Way Forward”; while my discussion will be on the topic; “Forensic Accounting and Investigation: A means of Curbing Money Laundering activities in Nigeria”.You will all agree with me that to really Put Nigeria on the Pedestal of Sustainable Economic Development, all social, political, and miss-governance vis-a-vis corruption which are seen as the order of the day, and related activities must be checked in order to reduce, and or totally eradicate them. That is when there can be a country of our choice, a country in which our forefather labored and known for.It is a known fact that Money Laundering and its related activities constitutes major problem and impediment to the development of our dear Nation “Nigeria”. This is because, the proceeds of these corrupt practices are constantly being moved out the economic system and later to be re-introduced to the system as though they are “clean monies” from “clean businesses”. Forensic accounting and investigation techniques when properly deployed would help in curbing the menace that is derailing Nigeria’s train from the rail to the Pedestal of Sustainable Economic Development. This my presentation will look critically at the concept of Forensic accounting and Investigation vis-a-vis it’s roles in curbing the activities of corrupts Nigerians who devices Money Laundering as a means of making their illicit monies look clean. A number of available literature were reviewed to arrive at an informed conclusion and recommendation.

Lip print pattern: an identification tool

Background: Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that deals with the identification based on lip traces. Based upon the research, it was established that the arrangement of lines on the red part of human lips is unique for each human being. Objectives: To analyze and compare quadrant wise and sex wise predilection of lip print pattern. Methods: A total of 200 (18-25 years) Nepalese undergraduate students of BPKIHS were selected. Thin layer of lip-stick was applied on the lips of these sub-jects. The hinged por-tion of a folded paper was inserted between the lips and the sub-jects were asked to press their lips onto it. Only middle 10 mm of both upper and lower lips were taken as study area. The lip prints, thus obtained were stud-ied on the basis of Tsuchihashi’s classification. Chi square test was used to analyze and compare the lip print patterns in all the quadrants of males and females, with the level of significance p<0.05. Results: Type I pattern was predominant in all the four quadrants among males (62%, 56%, 54%, 57% in first, second, third and fourth quadrants respectively). In female also type I was predominant in 2nd, 3rd and 4th quadrant (40%, 45%, 51% respectively) whereas in 1st( right upper) quadrant type II pattern was predominant (37%). Conclusion: Lip print pattern can be used as an additional tool for personal identification and sex determination. Further work on the subject can help to make cheiloscopy a practical reality in the forensic identification process. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hren.v11i3.9637 Health Renaissance 2013;11(3):229-233

Special Section on Performance of Bridges under Critical Natural Hazards

In recent years, extreme monsoon events and devastating earthquakes have caused serious damage to infrastructure, including bridges. Failures of bridges not only result in threats to vehicles and people traveling on them at the time of the failure but also interrupt emergency evacuation and rescue traffic, increasing the severity of the disaster and adding to casualties and economic loss. Often, awareness of the need for design or retrofit code revisions is raised immediately following extreme hazard events. Bridges that fail during extreme natural hazards usually have complicated failure causes, including environmental system collapses and massive structural malfunctions. Forensic investigations and performance analyses for bridges suffering such natural hazard events can be more challenging than those for bridges that fail in general service condition. General investigation guidelines or specific observational methods for such forensic investigations are not an easy task. Thus, actual performance of bridges under critical natural hazards is of great interest to practicing engineers and researchers. This special section of the Journal of Performance ofConstructed Facilities (JPCF) was proposed in an effort to introduce the current state-of-the-art for forensic investigations of bridge failures in recent extreme natural hazard events and to provide insights of performance analysis for the behavior of bridges under such extreme natural hazards. Fortunately, we were able to invite professional experts who had personally been involved in forensic investigation, failure analysis, and performancemonitoring during recent extreme natural hazards including the 2011 Turkey Van Earthquake, the 2010–2011 New Zealand Christchurch Earthquakes, the 2011 Japan Tohoku Earthquake, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina in the United States, and the 2009 Typhoon Morakot that overran Taiwan. Case histories and performance data presented in these invited papers are invaluable to practicing engineers and researchers. This special section includes case histories of bridge performance involving more than 20 bridges suffering from a variety of natural hazards such as strong ground motions, soil liquefaction, tsunami, storm surge, extreme winds, scour, and debris impact. Whether the bridge was damaged, failed, or luckily survived, such performance information and analysis results are instrumental to bridge design and retrofit against critical natural hazards, including great earthquakes and massive storms. Results of the forensic investigations and analyses have deterministic influences on upgrading guidelines of risk assessment, hazard mitigation, structural design, and retrofit. Invited papers within this special section are generally divided into two major categories: bridge performance under seismic hazards and under storm hazards. The reported seismic hazards include strong ground motion in a recent Turkish earthquake and the Japan Tohoku Earthquake that caused severe damage to both highway and railroad bridges. These bridges were in locations that had undergone in-depth evaluations and design code revolutions in recent years. Very rare, yet devastating, failures caused by the tsunami accompanying the 2011 Japan Tohoku Earthquake are instructive not only to bridge engineers, but also to the general public. Studying these failures leads to a better understanding of the power of Mother Nature. A research team from the University of Canterbury at Christchurch, New Zealand, introduces valuable performance data from bridges suffering from soil liquefaction and describes useful investigation practices. Such soil liquefaction causing bridge damage was broadly observed in previous large earthquakes, yet less detailed forensic investigation works were previously reported. Both the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and the 2009 TyphoonMorakot are recognized as critical storm events. Both resulted in substantial damage to bridges and a large number of bridge failures. Invited papers contributed by the Bridge Technology Office of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and by Taiwanese research groups provide valuable forensic investigation and failure analysis techniques. Study efforts described in these papers are applicable internationally including advanced field investigation technologies and innovative Fig. 1. Wei F. Lee, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE, Guest Editor

Lip prints: Role in forensic odontology.

Identification plays a major role in any crime investigation. The pattern of wrinkles on the lips has individual characteristics like fingerprints. Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that deals with identification of humans based on lips traces. In the past decades, lip-print studies attracted the attention of many scientists as a new tool for human identification in both civil and criminal issues. The lip crease pattern is on the vermilion border of the lip, which is quite mobile and lip prints may vary in appearance according to the pressure, direction and method used in making the print. It concludes by enlightening the readers with the fact that the possibilities to use the red part of lips to identify a human being are wider than it is commonly thought.

The application of forensic fire investigation techniques in the archaeological record

This paper seeks to assist in defining a role for a suite of adapted techniques of analysis and interpretation that are drawn primarily from the methods of contemporary forensic fire investigation. In so doing, the paper identifies a general paucity of literature providing detailed discussions of structural fires preserved in the archaeological record. In addition the paper provides a generalised account of the manner in which structural fires (most especially compartment fires, defined later) will tend to burn and which tools can assist in the interpretation of fire dynamics, the identification of points of origin of fire within buildings, and the response of building materials to burning. Ultimately, such an approach can improve understanding of past structures, and also provide an interpretative avenue for understanding human response to fire and the risk of structural fire in the past.

Digital quantum forensics: future challenges and prospects

Recent developments in technology suggest that within the next one to two decades some form(s) of quantum computing device will become viable. Once such devices become generally available they will doubtless be employed by cyber-criminals to perform brute-force decryption tasks that were previously infeasible. This paper attempts to address the question of how digital forensic investigation techniques will need to develop in order to respond to the challenges posed by such future generation computing devices.

Electrospray Ionization Using Wooden Tips

Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a mass spectrometric technique widely used in various fields including chemistry, biology, medicine, pharmaceutical industry, clinical assessment, and forensic science. In this study, we report a simple and economical ESI-mass spectrometry (MS) technique, which makes use of disposable wooden tips (wooden toothpicks) for loading and ionization of samples. Samples could be loaded by normal pipetting onto the tip or simply dipping the tip into sample solutions. The hydrophilic and porous nature of wood allows effective adhesion of the sample solution for durable ion signals. The tip can be directly connected to nano-ESI ion sources of various mass spectrometers. Upon application of high voltage to the tip, desirable mass spectra could be obtained. We demostrated that this new technique is applicable for analysis of various samples, including organic compounds, organometallic compounds, peptides, proteins, and samples that cannot be directly analyzed by conventional ESI techniques, e.g., slurry samples and powder samples. The slim and hard properties of the wooden tip enable sampling from specific locations such as corners and small openings, indicating potential applications of the new technique in forensic investigations. The observation of electrospray ionization from wooden materials also allows us to get new insights into the materials that can be directly ionized for mass spectrometric analysis.

Cheiloscopy : An aid for personal identification

Aim:Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that deals with identification of humans based on lips traces. The aim of this study is to establish the uniqueness of lip prints which aids in personal identification.Materials and Methods:The study group comprised of 200 subjects. The materials used were dark-colored lipstick, paper, cellophane tape, a brush, and a magnifying lens.Results:This study shows that lip prints are unique and permanent for each individual, and the lip prints among family members and between twins revealed different patterns on the whole with few similar grooves suggesting the existence of heredity in the lip prints.Conclusion:Our study showed that lip prints are unique to each individual and can be used for personal identification.

Continuous Fraud Detection in Enterprise Systems through Audit Trail Analysis

Enterprise systems, real time recording and real time reporting pose new and significant challenges to the accounting and auditing professions. This includes developing methods and tools for continuous assurance and fraud detection. In this paper we propose a methodology for continuous fraud detection that exploits security audit logs, changes in master records and accounting audit trails in enterprise systems. The steps in this process are: (1) threat monitoring-surveillance of security audit logs for ‘red flags’, (2) automated extraction and analysis of data from audit trails, and (3) using forensic investigation techniques to determine whether a fraud has actually occurred. We demonstrate how mySAP, an enterprise system, can be used for audit trail analysis in detecting financial frauds; afterwards we use a case study of a suspected fraud to illustrate how to implement the methodology.

A fluorescent microscopy-screening test for efficient STR-typing of telogen hair roots

Nuclear DNA-profiling from human hairs is a well-known technique in forensic investigations, but its success rate is quite low with some hair types. As nuclear DNA (nuDNA) extracted from telogen hair roots is in short supply and is often degraded, a simple and effective method of estimating the number of nuclear DNAs in telogen roots has been developed. DAPI, a fluorescent, non-destructive DNA stain, allows the visualization of “nuclei” (DAPI-positive spots the shape and size of the human follicular cell nuclei) and does not interfere with subsequent PCR analyses. We stained 3242 telogen roots from 27 donors. Surprisingly, of the 2572 club roots without any soft tissue remnants 11% contained visible “nuclei” and 3.3% even contained many. At the same time 57% of the 670 telogen roots with soft tissue remnants did not show any fluorescent “nuclei”. We analysed the STR-profile of some of the roots selected by the DAPI screening, i.e. 132 telogen roots without soft tissue remnants, with a success rate of 79%. Our proposed screening method allows the DNA laboratory to analyse nuclear DNA only in the most promising hair roots.

The visualization and quantification of cell nuclei in telogen hair roots by fluorescence microscopy, as a pre-DNA analysis assessment

Although nuclear DNA-profiling of human hairs is a well-known technique in forensic investigations, its success rate is quite low. Because the extracted nuclear DNA (nuDNA) is scarce and often degraded, a simple and effective method was developed to estimate the number of cell nuclei in telogen roots. DAPI, a fluorescent, non-destructive DNA-stain, allows visualizing nuclear DNA and does not interfere with subsequent PCR analyses. After staining 3242 roots from 27 volunteers and subsequent STR-profiling of a selection of roots, we show that the amount of analysable nuDNA can be predicted. This screening method allows the genetic laboratory to analyse only the most promising hair roots.

A componential approach to hypnotic memory facilitation: focused meditation, context reinstatement and eye movements

AbstractAlthough hypnosis is now less popular as an interviewing technique in forensic investigations than it used to be, recent evidence suggests that some of the components of hypnotic interviewing might still be useful in the development of brief memory facilitation procedures. Two experiments are described which continue this componential approach to hypnotic interviewing. In the first experiment, the effects on episodic memory of a brief context reinstatement (revivication) procedure were examined together with a focused breathing meditation technique which shares similarities with traditional hypnotic induction. A second experiment investigated the effects of horizontal eye movements which some have also associated with hypnotic responding. Results indicated that a combined context reinstatement and focused meditation procedure was more effective than context reinstatement alone in facilitating memory for an emotional event without the increase in false positive errors familiar to more traditional hypnosis techniques. In contrast, an instruction to perform horizontal eye movements was not effective in facilitating memory and, when combined with a suggestion for improved recall, produced higher confidence in incorrect responses. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2007 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

New forensic tool for the identification of elephant or mammoth ivory

A new method for the analysis and the identification of elephant and mammoth ivory is reported; this fast and non-macroscopically disruptive method, based on the thermogravimetric analysis, is useful in the characterization of elephant ivory which is often illegally imported, with respect to mammoth ivory which can be used with no restrictions. By the characteristic thermal profile, the nature of the analyzed sample can be easily proved; moreover, no pretreatments are required by this simple but very sensitive technique. The results are compared with those obtained by the classic method, and the thermogravimetric method is proposed as a routine technique in forensic investigations because of its low cost and the easy-to-read diagnostic answer. The very low quantity of ivory needed (about 2–3 mg) allows the application of this technique to manufactures without any damage or loss of the analyzed sample.