Presented in this thesis are two methods that are coupled to the instrumentation for the recovery and analysis of ultra-trace illicit drug residues. The electrostatic dust lifting process is coupled with nanomanipulation-nanospray ionization to retrieve drug particles off of hard surfaces for analysis. For the second method, drug residues from fingerprint impressions are extracted followed by analysis. The methodology of these hyphenated techniques toward forensic science applications is applied as to explore limits of detection, sensitivity, and selectivity of analytes as well as immediacy and efficiency of analysis. The application of nanomanipulation-coupled to nanospray ionization-mass spectrometry toward forensic science based applications is considered as future improvements to trace and ultra-trace analysis.

A 2009 report published by the National Research Council addressed the need for improvements in the field of forensic science. In the report emphasis was placed on the need for more rigorous scientific analysis within many forensic science disciplines and for established limitations and determination of error rates from statistical analysis. This research focused on multivariate statistical techniques for the analysis of spectral data obtained for multiple forensic applications which include samples from: automobile float glasses and paints, bones, metal transfers, ignitable liquids and fire debris, and organic compounds including explosives. The statistical techniques were used for two types of data analysis: classification and discrimination. Statistical methods including linear discriminant analysis and a novel soft classification method were used to provide classification of forensic samples based on a compiled library. The novel soft classification method combined three statistical steps: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Target Factor Analysis (TFA), and Bayesian Decision Theory (BDT) to provide classification based on posterior probabilities of class membership. The posterior probabilities provide a statistical probability of classification which can aid a forensic analyst in reaching a conclusion. The second analytical approach applied nonparametric methods to provide the means for discrimination between samples. Nonparametric methods are performed as hypothesis test and do not assume normal distribution of the analytical figures of merit. The nonparametric iv permutation test was applied to forensic applications to determine the similarity between two samples and provide discrimination rates. Both the classification method and discrimination method were applied to data acquired from multiple instrumental methods. The instrumental methods included: Laser Induced-Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Some of these instrumental methods are currently applied to forensic applications, such as GC-MS for the analysis of ignitable liquid and fire debris samples; while others provide new instrumental methods to areas within forensic science which currently lack instrumental analysis techniques, such as LIBS for the analysis of metal transfers. The combination of the instrumental techniques and multivariate statistical techniques is investigated in new approaches to forensic applications in this research to assist in improving the field of forensic science.

No / The differentiation between genuine and fake lapis lazuli specimens using Raman spectroscopy is assessed using laboratory and portable instrumentation operating at two longer wavelengths of excitation in the near-infrared, namely 1064 and 785 nm. In spite of the differences between the spectra excited here in the near infrared and those reported in the literature using visible excitation, it is clear that Raman spectroscopy at longer wavelengths can provide a means of differentiating between the fakes studied here and genuine lapis lazuli. The Raman spectra obtained from portable instrumentation can also achieve this result, which will be relevant for the verification of specimens which cannot be removed from collections and for the identification of genuine lapis lazuli inlays in, for example, complex jewellery and furniture. The non-destructive and non-contact character of the technique offers a special role for portable Raman spectroscopy in forensic art analysis.

O panorama das ciências forenses no Brasil poderia ser mais auspicioso. O aumento incontrolável das dissensões sociais e da criminalidade comum, o crescimento de facções do crime organizado, o surgimento de novas modalidades de delitos, os desastres de massa e o incremento de novas tecnologias são fatores que apontam no sentido de uma maior demanda por exames periciais e da crescente complexidade dos trabalhos relacionados com as ciências forenses. Paradoxalmente, a falta de investimentos públicos na área, os baixos salários, a ausência de perspectiva profissional e o acúmulo de serviço são alguns dos fatores que claramente influenciam na queda de qualidade do trabalho técnico. Não se publicam mais obras de Criminalística e Medicina Legal no país. As revistas especializadas são poucas e os cursos de Direito paulatinamente vão destinando cada vez menos espaço para aquelas que, ao lado da formação jurídica específica, deveriam ser as matérias principais na formação do bacharel, especialmente daqueles que militam na área penal. Além disso, e exatamente pela natureza técnica da matéria, poucos são os questionamentos que recaem sobre a cadeia de custódia ou sobre a validade das provas periciais apresentadas pelos organismos públicos encarregados da prevenção e da repressão criminal. Este trabalho pretende apresentar uma breve revisão dos dispositivos que regulamentam a prova pericial no sistema processual penal, recentemente alterados pela Lei n. 11.690, de 09/06/08, a estrutura da polícia científica e os procedimentos periciais de levantamento dos locais de interesse à Justiça Criminal, desde o momento que antecede à perícia até a entrega do relatório técnico, apontando seus limites, deficiências e qualidades. / The overview of forensic sciences in Brazil could be more auspicious. The uncontrollable raise of social disagreements and common criminality, the increase of organized crime factions, the appearance of new forms of crime, mass disasters and improvement of new technologies are factors which leads to a sense of higher demand for expert examinations and an increasing complexity of works related to forensic sciences. Paradoxically, the absence of public investment in the area, the low wages, the lack of professional perspectives and the accrual of workload are some of the factors that clearly influence the decline of quality of technical works. There are few new publications about Criminalistics and Legal Medicine in Brazil. The specialized journals are few and law schools are gradually giving less space for those which, like specific legal matters, should be the main ones in the training of new lawyers, especially those who work with criminal law. Besides that, and exactly because of the technical nature of the matter, few are the questions which fall upon the chain of custody or the validity of the expert evidence shown by the public organisms which are responsible for the criminal prevention and repression. This dissertation intends to present a brief review of the articles that regulate the expert evidence in the criminal procedural law, recently altered by Law nº 11.690 of 09/06/08, and the structure of forensic science and the expert procedures to gather places of interest to the Criminal Justice, from the moment preceding the expertise until the delivery of the technical report, pointing out its limitations, shortcomings and qualities.

In forensic sciences, the serological methods used to determine which body fluid was collected from the crime scene are merely presumptive or labor intensive since they rely on protein detection or on microscopic identification of cells. Given that certain forensic cases may need the precise identification of a body fluid to determine criminal contact, such is the example of a suspected sexual assault of a minor; certainty in the body fluid of origin may depict a precise picture of the events. The identification of loci that show differences in methylation according to the tissue of origin can aid forensic analysts in determining the origin of a DNA sample. The process of DNA methylation occurs naturally in the genome of living organisms and consists in the presence of a methyl group on the carbon 5 of a cytosine, which is typically followed by a guanine (CpG). Analyzing patterns of DNA methylation in body fluids collected from a crime scene is preferential to the analysis of proteins or mRNA since the same extracted DNA used for STR typing can be used for DNA methylation analysis. We have validated and identified loci able to discriminate blood, saliva, semen and vaginal epithelia. In the current study, we have also established the minimum amount of DNA able to provide reliable results using methodologies such as pyrosequencing and high-resolution melt (HRM) analysis for the different markers identified. Lastly, we performed an alternative bioinformatic analysis of data collected using an array that studied methylation in over 450,000 individual cytosines on the human genome. We were able to sort the locations that showed potentially higher methylation differences between body fluids and investigated over 100 of them using HRM analysis. The results of that study, allowed the identification of three new loci able to distinguish blood and two new loci able to distinguish saliva and vaginal epithelia, respectively. The use of DNA methylation patterns to aid forensic investigations started with a publication in 2010, therefore each small contribution such as this work may, similarly to what occured in the biochemistry field, result in the discovery of a method able to put the technology in the hands of forensic analysts.

[Truncated abstract] The analysis and subsequent interpretation of trace evidence is of paramount importance to the forensic scientist. While a variety of methods are available to facilitate comparison between recovered and control samples, the use of a specific analytical method depends upon both the physical and chemical nature of the material itself and the material to which it is to be compared. Elemental analysis of evidentiary material is one such method of sample comparison and has been extensively applied to this purpose following the introduction of neutron activation analysis in the early 1960s. However, over the last 15 years, another instrumental technique has taken centre stage in the analytical armoury of the forensic scientist: laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The modification and adaptation of this technique, to a point where it is possible to distinguish between glass materials produced only hours apart on the same production line, is detailed in this thesis. Additional protocols have also been developed for the analysis of fibreglass and plastic crime scene debris. Finally, a method for quantification of elemental concentrations in headlamp plastics has also been developed to facilitate inter-comparison of data between both different analytical techniques and different laboratories. Glass material is one of the most common varieties of trace evidence and the forensic examination of glass traditionally involves the determination of its refractive index (RI). ... The analytical protocol involves the analysis of 46 analytes on material comprising the exterior surface of the lens. Using this data, it was found that although minor variations in elemental composition exist within a single headlamp lens, discrimination between lenses produced from a single manufacturing plant over a short period of time could still be achieved. Discrimination between all headlamp lenses, with the exception of some lenses produced on the same day, could be facilitated using the analytical protocol developed. Furthermore, an interpretational protocol has been developed that has successfully classified all unknown headlamp lens samples investigated in this study, within the discrimination limits of the analytical method. The semi-quantitative analysis of glass and plastic samples has also been examined using LA-ICP-MS. The concentrations of 16 analytes in container and float glass samples were determined. However, the levels of discrimination afforded by the semi-quantitative data were inferior to those achieved using qualitative data. Finally, a series of plastic-based standards, containing 25 analytes of known concentrations, was produced. Using these standards, relative concentrations of the study analytes were determined in polycarbonate headlamp lenses. Interpretation of the data produced made it possible to discriminate between all study samples. Consequently, the total analytical and interpretational protocol developed in this study has established the foundation for LA-ICP-MS to be adopted internationally as a recognised method for the analysis of plastic crime scene debris.

Thesis (M.A. (Hons.))--University of Wollongong, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 159-171.

O panorama das ciências forenses no Brasil poderia ser mais auspicioso. O aumento incontrolável das dissensões sociais e da criminalidade comum, o crescimento de facções do crime organizado, o surgimento de novas modalidades de delitos, os desastres de massa e o incremento de novas tecnologias são fatores que apontam no sentido de uma maior demanda por exames periciais e da crescente complexidade dos trabalhos relacionados com as ciências forenses. Paradoxalmente, a falta de investimentos públicos na área, os baixos salários, a ausência de perspectiva profissional e o acúmulo de serviço são alguns dos fatores que claramente influenciam na queda de qualidade do trabalho técnico. Não se publicam mais obras de Criminalística e Medicina Legal no país. As revistas especializadas são poucas e os cursos de Direito paulatinamente vão destinando cada vez menos espaço para aquelas que, ao lado da formação jurídica específica, deveriam ser as matérias principais na formação do bacharel, especialmente daqueles que militam na área penal. Além disso, e exatamente pela natureza técnica da matéria, poucos são os questionamentos que recaem sobre a cadeia de custódia ou sobre a validade das provas periciais apresentadas pelos organismos públicos encarregados da prevenção e da repressão criminal. Este trabalho pretende apresentar uma breve revisão dos dispositivos que regulamentam a prova pericial no sistema processual penal, recentemente alterados pela Lei n. 11.690, de 09/06/08, a estrutura da polícia científica e os procedimentos periciais de levantamento dos locais de interesse à Justiça Criminal, desde o momento que antecede à perícia até a entrega do relatório técnico, apontando seus limites, deficiências e qualidades. / The overview of forensic sciences in Brazil could be more auspicious. The uncontrollable raise of social disagreements and common criminality, the increase of organized crime factions, the appearance of new forms of crime, mass disasters and improvement of new technologies are factors which leads to a sense of higher demand for expert examinations and an increasing complexity of works related to forensic sciences. Paradoxically, the absence of public investment in the area, the low wages, the lack of professional perspectives and the accrual of workload are some of the factors that clearly influence the decline of quality of technical works. There are few new publications about Criminalistics and Legal Medicine in Brazil. The specialized journals are few and law schools are gradually giving less space for those which, like specific legal matters, should be the main ones in the training of new lawyers, especially those who work with criminal law. Besides that, and exactly because of the technical nature of the matter, few are the questions which fall upon the chain of custody or the validity of the expert evidence shown by the public organisms which are responsible for the criminal prevention and repression. This dissertation intends to present a brief review of the articles that regulate the expert evidence in the criminal procedural law, recently altered by Law nº 11.690 of 09/06/08, and the structure of forensic science and the expert procedures to gather places of interest to the Criminal Justice, from the moment preceding the expertise until the delivery of the technical report, pointing out its limitations, shortcomings and qualities.

Orientador: Felippe Bevilacqua Prado / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T15:43:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Matoso_RodrigoIvo_M.pdf: 5791267 bytes, checksum: 01cfe26513615d72227501ff1a54a3c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Armas de fogo podem causar feridas fatais e serem identificadas pelos vestígios deixados no corpo ou em torno deste. Entretanto, há casos em que nem projétil e nem arma do delito estão dispostos no local de crime. Estudos balísticos envolvendo modelos de elementos finitos podem reproduzir condições biomecânicas computacionais, sem ferir princípios bioéticos, pois não ocorrem testes diretos em animais ou em seres humanos. O objetivo deste estudo é comparar as morfologias de orifícios de entrada causados por projéteis calibre .40 Smith & Wesson (S&W), calibre .380 e calibre 9x19 mm Luger. Um projétil .40 S&W encamisado total, um projétil .380 encamisado total e um projétil 9x19 mm Luger encamisado total foram computacionalmente disparados contra região de glabela do modelo de elementos finitos, à distância de 10 cm, com incidência perpendicular ao ponto do alvo. Os resultados apresentam diferentes morfologias nos orifícios de entrada produzidos pelos três projéteis, utilizando-se o mesmo modelo de crânio e na mesma distância de tiro. Os resultados e as características dos orifícios de entrada foram discutidos. Modelos de elementos finitos permitem pesquisas balísticas computacionais praticáveis, que podem ser úteis para peritos forenses quando da comparação e análise de dados relacionados a feridas por arma de fogo na região frontal do crânio / Abstract: Firearms can cause fatal wounds, which can be identified by traces on or around the body. However, there are cases where neither the bullet nor gun is found at the crime scene. Ballistic research involving finite element models can reproduce computational biomechanical conditions, without compromising bioethics, as they involve no direct tests on animals or humans. This study aims to compare the morphologies of gunshot entrance holes caused by .40-caliber Smith & Wesson (S&W), .380-caliber, and 9x19-mm Luger bullets. A fully metal-jacketed .40 S&W projectile, a fully metal-jacketed .380 projectile, and a fully metal-jacketed 9x19-mm Luger projectile were computationally fired at the glabellar region of the finite element model from a distance of 10 cm, at perpendicular incidence. The results show different morphologies in the entrance holes produced by the three bullets, using the same skull at the same shot distance. The results and traits of the entrance holes are discussed. Finite element models allow feasible computational ballistic research, which may be useful to forensic experts when comparing and analyzing data related to gunshot wounds in the forehead / Mestrado / Odontologia Legal e Deontologia / Mestre em Biologia Buco-Dental

Le XXIème siècle étant le siècle du passage au tout numérique, les médias digitaux jouent un rôle de plus en plus important. Les logiciels sophistiqués de retouche d’images se sont démocratisés et permettent de diffuser facilement des images falsifiées. Ceci pose un problème sociétal puisqu’il s’agit de savoir si ce que l’on voit a été manipulé. Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre de la criminalistique des images. Trois problèmes sont abordés : l'identification de l'origine d'une image, la détection d'informations cachées dans une image et la détection d'un exemple falsification : le rééchantillonnage. Ces travaux s'inscrivent dans le cadre de la théorie de la décision statistique et proposent la construction de détecteurs permettant de respecter une contrainte sur la probabilité de fausse alarme. Afin d'atteindre une performance de détection élevée, il est proposé d'exploiter les propriétés des images naturelles en modélisant les principales étapes de la chaîne d'acquisition d'un appareil photographique. La méthodologie, tout au long de ce manuscrit, consiste à étudier le détecteur optimal donné par le test du rapport de vraisemblance dans le contexte idéal où tous les paramètres du modèle sont connus. Lorsque des paramètres du modèle sont inconnus, ces derniers sont estimés afin de construire le test du rapport de vraisemblance généralisé dont les performances statistiques sont analytiquement établies. De nombreuses expérimentations sur des images simulées et réelles permettent de souligner la pertinence de l'approche proposée / The remarkable evolution of information technologies and digital imaging technology in the past decades allow digital images to be ubiquitous. The tampering of these images has become an unavoidable reality, especially in the field of cybercrime. The credibility and trustworthiness of digital images have been eroded, resulting in important consequences in terms of political, economic, and social issues. To restore the trust to digital images, the field of digital forensics was born. Three important problems are addressed in this thesis: image origin identification, detection of hidden information in a digital image and an example of tampering image detection : the resampling. The goal is to develop a statistical decision approach as reliable as possible that allows to guarantee a prescribed false alarm probability. To this end, the approach involves designing a statistical test within the framework of hypothesis testing theory based on a parametric model that characterizes physical and statistical properties of natural images. This model is developed by studying the image processing pipeline of a digital camera. As part of this work, the difficulty of the presence of unknown parameters is addressed using statistical estimation, making the application of statistical tests straightforward in practice. Numerical experiments on simulated and real images have highlighted the relevance of the proposed approach