Special Issue on Forensic Practice Shapiro, David Lewis
Practice innovations (Washington, D.C.),
09/2023, Letnik:
8, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This is an introduction to the special issue “Contemporary Perspectives in Forensic Practice.” (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
Introduction: The consumption of psychoactive substances in Portugal has been decreasing in the last decade. However, the latest report from the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug ...Addiction (EMCDDA) indicates that 5.1% of the Portuguese population has frequent cannabis use. The effect of psychosocial development in childhood and adolescence, or their life history, is considered to be a particularly important element in the genetic variation of the endocannabinoid system
1
. There are several techniques and instruments that can be used in the evaluation of drug addiction, namely: interview, self-registration, psychometric instruments and biological tests
2
. Although this study has a genetic and psychosocial approach, we will only present the psychological component of the research.
Materials and methods: Objective data, such as consumption changes, age, initiation substance, routes of administration used, substances consumed, relapse circumstances, previous attempts to quit, and drug-related health problems allow access to the standard of consumption, as well as data on the subject's feelings, circumstances and thoughts before and after consumption. To assess drug use we opted for the development of a small questionnaire focused on the above mentioned issues and aimed. Due to the association with psychopathology we use the Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI). All ethical principles have been taken due to the sensitive nature of the data involved.
Results: The large majority of studies on cannabinoid consumption suggest that hereditary influences that may be at the basis of predisposition towards substance use are attenuated in the presence of adequate parental monitoring/supervision
1
,
3
. Although this is still an investigation in curses, with no final results, there is a tendency for those evaluated to show a history of initiation of adolescents' consumption with cannabis, followed by harder drugs. There is also a lack of parental control and supervision, apparently capable of correcting patterns of early deviant behavior. The psychopathology not yet have significant results due to sample size.
Discussion and conclusions: As a working paper which derives from the application of a research pre-test, the results obtained only seek to understand the adequacy of the methodology to be used in the pilot study that will be started soon. This research is a pioneer, since it analyzes in parallel, possible genetic and psychosocial impacts on the consumption of psychoactive substances, contrary to what appears in most of the literature of reference.
Introduction: Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) is becoming a major public health concern as their use grows. In the EU, synthetic cannabinoids (SC) are the most frequently reported class of NPS. ...SC are widely distributed as 'legal' substitutes of cannabis. However, these substances are just legal until scheduled by specific legislation
1
. Following identification of the first SC, many countries have taken measures to control the free circulation of these products. Though, clandestine street manufacturers change the chemical structures to evade law enforcement
2
. Consequently, new SC are constantly appearing on the market, making it proliferation and use difficult to control
3
. The major consequences of contemporary NPS use are an increasing number of hospitalizations and fatalities. Previously we put forward that JWH-018, the first SC found on the streets, is not toxic per se to human neuroblastoma cells
4
. In this study we propose that the modifications that SC have been undergoing to avoid the law are potentiating the toxicity and hazard of emerging SC.
Materials and methods: JWH-018 and EG-018 acquired had a purity degree of 99%. The human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were grown in DMEM supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum and 1% (v/v) Pen/Strep-Glutamine and cultured in humidified 5% CO
2
at 37 °C. The media were changed every 3-4 days and the cultures were removed for cell assays when at 80% confluence. For the viability assays the cells were seeded at a density of 5 × 10
4
cells per well in 96-well plates, allowed to attach. Then the cells were exposed, for 24 hours, to several concentrations of each SC and its viability was assessed through MTT assays.
Results: MTT results for SH-SY5Y cells in the presence of JWH-018 and EG-018 (
Figure 1
) show that cell viability does not decrease in the presence of JWH-018 at the range of concentrations used. However, when the same cell line was exposed to EG-018 there is a decrease in cell viability with the increase in the concentration of this substance.
Discussion and conclusions: The results from the present study points EG-018, a new SC appearing on the market, as more toxic to the neuroblastoma cells than JWH-018, the first SC found on the street in 2008. These results suggest that emerging modified SC, to avoid the law, may become more toxic and dangerous. Given the emergence of this situation, it is time to rethink current legislation to prevent rise on public health issues derived from consumption of molecules of unknown toxicological profile.
Introduction: Forensic research dating ballpoint pen inks on paper is among the most difficult and hardest problems. The two main challenges are to determine when the ink was manufactured and to ...determine time since deposition (TSD) of the ink on a handwriting document
1
. Ink´s TSD depends on internal ink properties and external factors, such as environmental conditions. Once a document has been handwritten the ink deposited starts the aging process, which involves solvent evaporation, dye degradation, polymerization and hardening of the resins
2
. The analysis of quantitative differences or chemical changes of solvents on a given set of environmental conditions can provide a measure of TSD. To obtain a chemical fingerprint of ink changes, chromatographic methods have been explored. The aim of this work is to do a review research that provides an overview of chromatographic procedures that allow ink dating, on paper, through ink pen solvent analysis.
Materials and methods: A review of the literature was performed at the b-on database, between October 2017 and April 2018. Articles were selected between 1985 and 2018 in English and Spanish. Search was conducted using the terms "writing inks" AND "dating" AND "solvents" AND "GC". 343 articles have been found. According to the title/abstract, studies on volatile compounds present on pen inks were included while those on dating ink studies based on resins and dyes were excluded. After title/abstract analysis 28 studies were considered in this overview, including 6 review articles.
Results: The most used techniques to get a time frame of ink deposition on paper are based on Gas Chromatography (GC) coupled to an FID or an MS detector. Chromatographic techniques take advantage of getting ink dynamic profile with time to determine time since deposition values. Nowadays the elective technique is GC-MS. In GC-MS inks must be extracted from the paper with an extraction solution. Concerning the extraction method, 18 articles described the most commonly used solvents for the extraction (methanol, acetonitrile, chloroform/pyridine/MSTF, Dimetilformamide). 4 articles used headspace coupled to GC, to analyze the volatiles, instead of traditional extraction procedures. Overall the results presented in the previously mentioned papers show that it is possible to estimate the age of an ink when deposited in a document.
Discussion and conclusions: GC/MS and HS-GC-FID prove to be promising in the field of ink aging of a questioned entry, allowing getting information about solvents chemical changing and providing a measure of TSD
3
. Nevertheless, no solvent ink age standard method has been implemented in forensic sciences laboratories.
Introduction: There is evidence that genetic factors contribute substantially to cannabis dependence risk. Until recently, different genes were identified as having an association with cannabis use ...and dependence, including CNR1, CNR2, FAAH and C1orf110
1
,
2
. Moreover, the reported genes are also related to the dependence and consumption of other psychotropic substances. For example, variants in CNR1 and FAAH genes are associated with alcohol and amphetamines abuse
3
. In addition to the verified dependency charts, a tendency towards comorbidity with psychopathology is reported. Though, the relationship between psychopathology development and genetic influence, among consumers, is not established
4
. The aim of this project is to analyse the presence of genetic variants within these genes and evaluate their association with vulnerability to cannabis dependence.
Materials and methods: The DNA samples collected from each participant are analysed by PCR-amplification followed by Sanger sequencing to assess the presence of described SNP in individuals with history of consumption and to screen novel variants in flanking regions of SNP already described in literature. Herein, the effect of such variants and their association with drug use, including the increase of susceptibility to cannabis dependence, is under study. The ethical principles will be safeguarded with the application of established protocols.
Results: The preliminary results points to no or weak correlation between CNR1, CNR2 and FAAH variants and cannabis dependence. However, we expect that the study reaches a sample of 150 participants and achieve more robust results through further data analysis.
Discussion and conclusions: In previous studies a strong correlation between polymorphisms in mentioned genes and cannabis dependence has not always been verified. This fact was observed with CNR1 variants, where the action of these variants remains unclear
1
,
2
. Besides that, we expect that our findings will suggest an etiologic contribution of CNR1, CNR2 and FAAH genes to vulnerability to cannabis dependence. Further research linked to social and familial environment will help to understand how genetic and psychological perspectives are connected to each other and involved with the consumption of a psychoactive substance.
Introduction: Attachment theory focuses on the emergence and development of models acquired during child development and on the role that such models play in future interpersonal relationships ...throughout the life cycle
1
. The insecure attachment can be seen as a risk factor for intimate partner violence. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate attachment as a risk factor, mainly analyse the relationship between adult attachment, beliefs about intimate violence, aggression, and the presence of psychopathology in adulthood.
Materials and methods: Data was collected in Victims Information and Assistance Office (partnership with Egas Moniz High University), between 2014 and 2018 from lawsuits, semi-structured interviews of the defendant, collateral information and clinical and forensic assessment tools e.g. Experiences in Close Relationships, Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998; Portuguese Version Moreira, et al., 2006; Scale of Beliefs about Marital Violence, Matos, Machado & Gonçalves, 2000; Aggression Questionnaire, Buss & Perry, 1992; Portuguese Version Simões, 1993; Brief Symptom Inventory, Derogatis, 1993; Portuguese Version Canavarro, 1995). Defendants signed an informed consent term, which contained the goal of the evaluation, the limits of the confidentiality, and also information about the ethics and impartiality of the technicians. A total of 41 intimate partner violence offenders were evaluate.
Results: The results show us that 21 offenders had a secure attachment and 20 had an insecure attachment (assess the two basic dimensions of individual differences in adult attachment style, namely avoidance and preoccupation). We found a positive association between preoccupation and beliefs about violence, namely minimizing small acts of violence (r=.55; p=.00), supporting violence through women's misconduct (r=.36; p=.02), supporting violence through family privacy (r=.41; p=.00) and the general level of tolerance/acceptance of physical and psychological violence (r=.48; p=.00). There is a significant correlation between preoccupation and aggression (r=.52; p=.00), specifically anger (r=.48; p=.00) and hostility (r=.44; p=.00). Finally, we corroborate a relationship between preoccupation and psychopathology: Somatization (r=.34; p=.02), interpersonal sensitivity (r=.40; p=.01), depression (r=.44; p=.00), hostility (r=.37; p=.01), phobic anxiety (r=.49; p=.00) and psychoticism (r=.45; p=.00).
Discussion and conclusions: The data demonstrated that some offenders tends to develop an insecure attachment in their intimate relationships, have an intense concern with relationships and a constant desire of closeness and obsession with abandonment and loss of intimacy. In a global analysis it appears that the attachment is relate with beliefs, aggression and psychopathology. In fact, these results allow aid professionals and institutions to have a deep knowledge about adult attachment as a risk factor.
Introduction: In the last decades, the areas of criminal recidivism and risk assessment have been gaining prominence in the scientific community
1
. The literature confirms we must assess the risk ...and protective factors to know how to intervene with those who are serving prison sentences
2
. It also points to the importance of certain variables such as age
3
and criminal versatility
4
. The main goals of this study are to characterize the risk and protective factors of a sample of prison inmates; to verify the association between the risk, current age and age at the time of the first arrest; and to analyse the differences in the risk according to criminal versatility.
Materials and methods: The current study has an exploratory, quantitative and comparative design, with a non-probability convenience sample composed by 73 male inmates, who have more than one conviction leading to imprisonment. For data collection we used the Historical, Clinical and Risk Management Scheme
5
(HCR-20) and the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk
6
(SAPROF), as well as a form to assess age and criminal versatility. The investigation was approved by the Ethics Committee of Fernando Pessoa University, as well as by both the General Management of Social Reintegration and Prison Services and Setúbal's prison establishment.
Results: The results point to a high risk of recidivism among inmates (low risk - 15.1%; medium risk - 43.8% and high risk - 41.1%). There are some risk factors prominently present in the sample, such as previous violence, substance abuse, impulsiveness and negative attitudes. The absence of certain protective factors such as empathy, adaptative coping, self-control and motivation for treatment can also be noted. No association could be found between the inmates' current age and risk (r=−.18, p=.13), but we confirmed a negative association between age at first arrest and risk (r=−.34, p=.00). The were no statistically significant differences between the means of the criminal versatility groups for risk F(2.69) = 2.92, p=.06, but a negative association could be found between criminal versatility and risk (r=−.28, p=.02).
Discussion and conclusions: Although most of the participants have a high or medium risk of recidivism, their risk factors and absent protective factors are mostly dynamic, leading us to the conclusion that intervention in these cases would lower the risk. The negative association between age at first arrest and risk, as well as the negative association between criminal versatility and risk are supported by the previous literature. Age and criminal versatility are two factors that deserve to be studied in future works. The present investigation raises some serious questions about the rehabilitative work that can be done in prison establishments.
Introduction: In our everyday life we see a large number of faces that share a set of basic elements, making it necessary to distinguish those that we already know from those we know for the first ...time. This is particularly important in crimes where victims need to identify their offenders, making facial recognition an important theme in Forensic Psychology
1
. Over the time, there are more and more studies that attach greater importance to the face, which is increasingly considered an important aspect for human interaction since it provides a large amount of information that should be analyzed efficiently
2
. It is known that we have more difficulties in recognizing a face from a different race of our own, and this variable has been designated as race bias, cross race effect, other race bias and own race bias.
This paper aims at a better understanding of race effects in face recognition from the 80's until today as it is still an understudied but relevant subject to Forensic Psychology.
Materials and methods: For this study we included articles that focused on the effect of race on face recognition. To that end, studies were included from the 80's until 2018, written in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Quantitative studies were included. Finally, the research was limited to articles published in peer-reviewed journals/journals limited to full-text articles. The articles were selected by reading the title and the respective abstract.
The included articles are available in full text in the EBSCOhost Web, B-On and SAGE Journals databases. The articles were found by combining the following descriptors: "other race bias"; "own race bias" and "eyewitness AND cross-race identifications".
After applying the inclusion criteria, a total of 510 articles were found (already with the duplicates removed). Of the total number of articles 497 articles were excluded. These were excluded for the following reasons: they were not available for reading (n = 257); are not quantitative studies (n = 113); do not report the effect of race on face recognition (n = 77); were not relevant to forensic psychology (n = 50).
Results: In this review, 13 empirical articles were included, most of them being carried out between 2004 and 2016, reinforcing the importance given to this issue today. The absence of studies between 1990 and 2004 could be due to a possible lack of interest in the subject during this time. Most studies are distributed across Europe (n = 7) and North America (n = 5) and only one in Asia (Zhou, Pu, Young, & Tse, 2014). The total number of participants is 1493, with the lowest being 40 participants (Brigham, Maass, & Martinez, 1983, Yan, Andrews, Jenkins & Young, 2016) and the largest being 304 participants (Lawson & Dysart, 2014). Only five studies used an experimental method (38%) while the others used quantitative methods (62%).
After analysing the articles chosen, it was possible to underline some results. In the 80's, it was believed there was no bias in facial recognition when it came to race
3
, thus it was pointed out that own-race effect is no more common than the cross-race identifications
4
. However, in the 90's it started to be implied that there was a better memory to identify own race faces than other races, which meant that other race bias would increase when the contact with other races would decrease
4
. In the new millennium, a greater number of variables, as well as the use of different methodologies and facial recognition technique begins to emerge. In a showup, observing an innocent person of the same race of the perpetrator suspect increased the identification of false lineups
5
. Young people have a better accuracy when discriminating their own race from other races, which is not influenced by interracial contact, unlike what happens with elderly
6
. Also, Caucasian people were found to make more mistakes in identifications, comparing to other races, and it's more common to mistake identity and expressions of Caucasian than Asian faces
7
. Facial expressions began to be given more relevance in the last few years
7
.
Discussion and conclusions: There are significant differences in how individuals of different races look at the same face and determine recognition points differing from each other. Some faces are better recognized than others, creating practical implications in white witnesses which will lead to a greater probability of identifying a non-familiar black face than an unfamiliar face white and thereby increasing the likelihood of "false positive" results when the lineups are shown
5
. There is still no significant methodology evolution to test the effect of race in facial recognition, being the most used one the grey-scale photography line up.
Introduction: Violence against the elderly is a complex multidisciplinary social problem that requires cooperation between institutions and professionals. World Health Organization
1
defines this ...kind of violence as a single or repeated action, or the absence of an appropriate action, arising in the context of a relationship where there is an expectation of trust that causes suffering or harm to an elderly person. Occurs through several behaviors involving psychological, physical, sexual, financial violence, neglect and self-neglect
2
. In Portugal it is possible to identify a small number of studies about elder abuse, only about general prevalence and about some subtypes of elder abuse
3
, but not about risk assessment. According to Portuguese Association for Victims Support, between 2013 and 2015, were recorded 2.063 processes of elderly people were victims of violence
4
. The main goal of this research is to contribute for the definition and prevalence of elder abuse in Portugal, identifying familiar, social and cultural dynamics and develop an integrative risk management protocol that will allow the elder abuse risk assessment.
Materials and methods: In order to assist the victims' support professionals and the criminal justice system have been developed a new risk assessment tool, called "Assessment Guidelines for Elder Domestic Violence" (AGED). This work is organized in 3 phases/studies: Study I. Elderly abuse prevalence, risk, protective and vulnerability factors study, and checklist variables construction; Study II. Retrospective study of the elder abuse cases reported in the victims support organizations and criminal justice system; Study III. Development of the AGED. All ethical principles have been taken due to the sensitive nature of the data involved.
Results: After study 1 and study 2, the results of the development of AGED were composed by five sections/areas: I. Victim's Risk factors; II. Offender's Risk Factors; III. External, Contextual and Relational Risk Factors; IV. Victim/Context Protective Factors; and finally, V. Institutional Risk Factors, if applicable. AGED also contemplates the possibility of the evaluator being able to add other additional factors that they consider necessary, contributing to the effectiveness of the measurement of the level of risk of the victim (low, moderate or high) and critical factors.
Discussion and conclusions: AGED is developed with the main goal to supporting professionals who work in domestic violence. Scientific community make evident the need for an evidence-based, valid, user-friendly risk assessment tool of elder abuse to support the professionals. This study offers the opportunity to provide professionals specific knowledge, skills, competences and a tool, in order to an effective risk assessment and management of elder abuse, contributing to the efforts for protect victims and prevent the occurrence of future cases.
Introduction: Crimes involving firearms have been increasing and is a current transnational concern. To face such issues the development of analytical procedures is paramount to increase the efficacy ...of criminal investigation on homicides and other gun related crimes. The identification of an ammunition type or brand from a simple residue would represent a major contribution for gunshot residues analysis. Such a breakthrough will benefit homicides and war crimes investigation. The composition of gunpowder varies and each ammunition type contains a given formula and often specific components
1-3
suggesting that Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) might be a useful technique for the rapid analysis of gunpowders
2
. Indeed, FTIR has an outstanding discriminatory ability when coupled with chemometrics analysis
3
. Here we present the optimization of the extraction organic solvent for analysis of ammunition contents by FTIR which is an essential step for the discriminatory study of ammunition brands.
Materials and methods: An ammunition of caliber .22RL was purchased at Soldiers®. The sample was dissolved in eight different solvents (Acetone, Acetonitrile, Dichloromethane (DCM), Ethanol, Isooctane, Methanol, Methyl Ethyl ketone and n-Hexane), subjected to ultrasound for 30 min and followed by centrifugation. The supernatant was collected and analyzed on a Perkin Elmer 65 FTIR spectrometer coupled to an ATR accessory. A spectral window of 4000-525 cm
−1
was used and 32 scans were accumulated at 1cm
−1
resolution.
Results:
Figure 1
shows the FTIR spectra of methanol and n-hexane for the sample used. From the spectra it is clear that methanol is a better extractor than n-hexane. Of the eight solvents used, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone and methanol had the better extraction efficiency of gunpowder (GP) while n-hexane and dichloromethane were not able to extract GP.
Discussion and conclusions: This study showed that the best solvents for extraction of GP are the more polar solvents containing carbonyl (C = O) and hydroxyl (OH) groups. The best extraction solvents were Methyl ethyl ketone and acetone followed by methanol.
PDF