Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal. / Pour respecter les droits d'auteur, la version électronique de cette thèse ou ce mémoire a été dépouillée, le cas échéant, de ses documents visuels et audio-visuels. La version intégrale de la thèse ou du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal / Pour respecter les droits d'auteur, la version électronique de cette thèse ou ce mémoire a été dépouillée, le cas échéant, de ses documents visuels et audio-visuels. La version intégrale de la thèse ou du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

This study was conducted with the aim to research guidelines for uniformed members, detectives, and public witnesses, for use in testifying in court. The researcher reviewed relevant literature, both national and international, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the research problem. The researcher conducted the research on the basis of an empirical design, be-cause it involved going out into the field and ascertaining the personal experiences and knowledge of the participants. The explicit design was considered the most suitable for this research, because the researcher put everything in the open by checking the weak points and the strong points regarding testifying in court. This means that everything was made open, even police testimony. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Clandestine burials, the interred human remains of forensic interest, are generally small features located in isolated environments. Typical ground searches can be both time-consuming and dangerous. Thermal remote sensing has been recognized for some time as a possible search strategy for such burials that are in relatively open areas; however, there is a paucity of published research with respect to this application. This project involved image manipulation, the analyses of signatures for "graves" of various depths when compared to an undisturbed background, and the use of image classification techniques to tease out these features. This research demonstrates a relationship between the depth of burial disturbance and the resultant signature. Further, image classification techniques, especially object-oriented algorithms, can be successfully applied to single band thermal imagery. These findings may ultimately decrease burial search times for law enforcement and increase the likelihood of locating clandestine graves.

It is said that "one picture is worth a thousand words". This implies that pictorial testimony has more value than ten witnesses. The witnesses may give different views on the same issue, and, furthermore, they may forget some of the facts. Due to human error, omission, and defects such as old age and sight problems, they are contributing factors for people to give different accounts of the same events. The study entails the various roles of photography, such as recording the crime scene and that photography is considered as evidence in court. Investigators may use them for both suspects' and witnesses' interviewing. Furthermore, witnesses and victims may use them to refresh their memories, and the court uses them to prove the matter at issue. This indicates that photographs have a major role to play in the judicial and investigation processes. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Denna studie har utförts i syfte att undersöka om Virtual Reality är användbart för att visa upp brottsplatser, exempelvis för personer som är inblandade i rättsprocesser. För att ta reda på det ställdes två frågor som besvarades med hjälp av data inhämtade från experiment. Experimentet gick ut på att deltagare fick ta del av (brotts)platser genom Virtual Reality och genom en interaktiv vy av 3D-modellen på en datorskärm. Den första frågan handlade om det gick att statistiskt skilja svaren från två observationsgrupper från varandra. Ena observationsgruppen innehöll observationer som är data hämtade efter att en deltagare fått ta del av en plats genom Virtual Reality. Den andra observationsgruppen innehöll observationer hämtade efter att en deltagare tagit del av en plats genom datorskärm. Observationsgruppernas svar analyserades senare i syfte att svara på den andra frågan, om ena gruppen går att skilja från den andra gruppen i förmåga att välja rätt svar på enkäten. Praktiskt fick deltagare alternera mellan att ta del av 3D-skannade (brotts)platser via Virtual Reality och datorskärm. Efter de tog del av en plats fick de svara på ett formulär. Experimentet utfördes med 24 deltagare, vilket resulterade i 12 svar per enkät. Detta genererade kvantitativa data, som senare användes i hypotestest. Hypotestesten som genomförts visade inte på någon signifikant skillnad mellan observationsgrupperna i 3 av 4 fall. Däremot visade ett av hypotestesten på signifikant skillnad i ett av fallen, där även observationsgruppen som tagit del av platsen genom datorskärm har presterat en högre median. Vad detta beror på är svårt att säga, men det finns vissa skillnader i hur detaljerat 3D-modellerna syns som kan vara en del av förklaringen till varför skillnader kunde påvisas.  Med bakgrund av detta resultat finns det ingen självklar fördel med att använda VR-teknologi (åtminstone inte som i denna implementation) i rättsfall. Det är dock viktigt att poängtera att studien och experimentet är utfört på kort tid och i liten skala. Vidare går utvecklingen inom detta område fort, och resultatet kan inte antas bli det samma med andra typer av implementationer. / This study was conducted in efforts to investigate whether Virtual Reality is useful for presenting crime scenes, for example, to individuals involved in legal proceedings. To answer this, two questions were posed and answered using data obtained from an experiment. The experiment involved participants experiencing (crime) scenes through Virtual Reality and through an interactive view of the 3D model on a computer screen. The first question was whether it was possible to statistically distinguish the responses from two observation groups. One observation group consisted of data collected after a participant experienced a location through Virtual Reality, while the other observation group consisted of data collected after a participant experienced a location through a computer screen. The responses from the observation groups were later analyzed to answer the second question: whether one group could be distinguished from the other in their ability to choose the correct response on the questionnaire. Practically, participants alternated between experiencing 3D-scanned (crime) scenes via Virtual Reality and a computer screen. After experiencing a location, they were asked to complete a questionnaire. The experiment was conducted with 24 participants, resulting in 12 responses per questionnaire. This generated quantitative data, which was later used in hypothesis testing. The conducted hypothesis tests did not show any significant difference between the observation groups in 3 out of 4 cases. However, one of the hypothesis tests showed a significant difference in one case, where the observation group that experienced the location through a computer screen also had a higher median. The exact reason for this is difficult to determine, but there are certain differences in the level of detail in the visibility of the 3D models that could partly explain why differences were observed. Based on these results, there is no obvious advantage to using VR technology (at least not in this implementation) in legal cases. However, it is important to note that the study and experiment were conducted in a short period and on a small scale. Furthermore, the development in this field is progressing rapidly, and the results cannot be assumed to be the same with other types of implementations.

Forensic science television shows, especially CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, have been said to influence the public’s perception of how forensic science is used and create interest in studying forensic science and pursuing jobs in the field. This study investigates this claim through a variety of methods. First, definitions of the CSI effect are discussed, including how it was first used and mentioned in the media. Second, survey data from students in a forensic anthropology course regarding interest in forensic science media and educational and career choices are analyzed. Third, the number and debut dates of forensic science non-fiction books, novels, non-fiction television shows, and television dramas are investigated. Finally, a content analysis of the television show Bones is undertaken in order to understand how the forensic anthropology presented in this show differs from the actual practice of forensic anthropology. Results of this study indicate that, overall, students who wanted to pursue forensic science careers and graduate study did not watch more forensic science television shows and read more forensic science novels than those who did not want to pursue forensic science careers and graduate study. Also, based on the decreased interest in a number of forensic careers, it appears that respondents may have started the course with false perceptions regarding the actual job descriptions of these careers. Regarding the number and debut dates of forensic science media, this study found that the majority of non-fiction forensic anthropology books, non-fiction television shows, television dramas debuted after CSI appeared, corroborating the claim that CSI led to an increase in interest in forensic iii anthropology. In addition, this study found that while much of Bones is fictionalized for entertainment purposes, many of the techniques and analyses presented on the show have a peripheral basis in scientific methods.

Policing is more difficult than ever before in today’s world since types of crime and criminal profiles change as a result of technological development and globalization. Police organizations should review their organizational and operational strategies to improve the fight against contemporary crimes and criminals. Behaviors and performance of police officers are very important in fighting crime. In this struggle, especially today, officers should exhibit organizational citizenship behaviors and perform better. One of the most important factors affecting these two concepts in organizations is organizational support. The literature stresses the social exchange cycle and reciprocity rules in the relationships of organizations and their members. In this cycle, if the organization cares about its members and if members perceive that the organization is supportive, they feel obliged to behave positively, perform better, and help the organization to reach its goals and objectives. If they don’t perceive organizational support, they won’t care about the organization, either. Hypotheses were developed based on these assumptions in the literature. This study tested these assumptions in Crime Scene Investigation units of the Turkish National Police (TNP). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships among variables of Perceived Organizational Support (POS), Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), and Perceived Performance (PP). Measurement models for these three latent constructs were developed by deriving the indicators from the literature. Most earlier studies tried to figure out reasons of the OCB. This study has a different perspective that investigates both reasons and results of OCB. A survey was developed to measure the latent variables of the study, and 405 of approximately 3,000 Crime Scene Investigators in the Turkish National Police responded to the iv survey. Results of the study showed that the relationship between POS and OCB is positive and significant. This is consistent with the literature. The relationship between OCB and PP is also positive and significant, and this is also consistent with the literature. However, the relationship between POS and PP is negative and insignificant. This result contradicts the results of previous studies in the literature and can be attributed to the subjective nature of measuring individuals’ perceptions. According to the literature, perceptions are subjective rather than objective; therefore, data coming from reports of individual perceptions may not reflect the actual situation. Demographic information of the participants served as the control variables of the study. Information about the education level, rank, age, gender, size of the unit, and tenure of the respondents was collected by way of the conducted survey, and the effects of these variables were analyzed on the endogenous variable of the study, Perceived Performance. This study found no significant relationships between these control variables and Perceived Performance. Therefore, all these control variables were removed from the Structural Equation Model of the study. This study revealed that the TNP needs to be more supportive toward its members in order to have officers show organizational citizenship behavior and perform better. The TNP should revise its policies, especially regarding rotations from one province to another, working hours, rewards, and overtime pay. These are all indicators of organizational support and will result in a higher performance level among officers.

La fan fiction est un" phénomène qui se caractérise par la rédaction de récits reprenant l'univers et les personnages d'un auteur et ou créateur. Dans cette étude, nous analyserons les différents types de transgressions que les auteurs de fan fictions peuvent effectuer sur une oeuvre originale. Pour ce faire, nous allons nous pencher sur les fan fictions de trois séries télévisées contemporaines appartenant au genre policier: Due South, CSI et Law and Order. En étudiant les oeuvres apocryphes de ces séries, nous pourrons ' montrer les différentes techniques utilisées par les auteurs de récits faniques pour s'approprier et remodeler un texte d'origine.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the role of the first responder at the crime scene, focusing on visible policing members at Ivory Park Police Station situated in Gauteng Province. A qualitative approach was employed in which the multiple data sources of literature, documents (SAPS directives) and structured interviews were compared in an attempt to substantiate the research findings. The interviews were conducted with visible policing members who attended to crime scenes as first responders and with detective branch commanders. This research discussed a number of key concepts: crime scene, criminal investigation, first responder, Locard’s Principle and physical evidence. It explained that criminal investigation is a logical and systematic process of gathering, locating and collecting evidence and the subsequent apprehension of perpetrators of crime in an attempt to secure a conviction. The objectives of criminal investigation are to detect crime; locate and identify possible offenders; gather, collect and process evidence; arrest offenders; recover stolen property; and bring the perpetrators before court to secure a conviction. The basic purpose of investigation is to prevent crime. Locard’s Principle, also known as the “the contact theory”, is that every contact leaves a trace. This research also suggests the processes that must be followed when crime is reported, the meaning of preliminary investigation, and the basic considerations during preliminary investigation, the main mistakes made by the first responder and the solutions to the identified mistakes. It is imperative that visible policing members familiarise themselves with the purpose of investigation and develop an understanding of the term “Locard’s Principle”, the process that must be followed when crime is reported, the basic considerations in the preliminary investigation of a crime and the main mistakes made by the first responders at the scene of crime, as these carry significant weight in the execution of their daily duties. These must be understood by the first responder as they contribute to the successful investigation and prosecution of offenders. This research hopes to assist in securing convictions and decreasing the number of repeat offenders who commit crimes. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminal Justice)