Have you ever wanted to know how long a corpse had been dead, or what was used to kill a person, or maybe how was that fraud case solved then a good place to start is the University of Western Australia’s Postgraduate Diploma/Masters course in Forensic Science.

This course is about to produce its third group of diploma and first group of masters graduates and with current enrolments this year (2001) around 23, it seems that many more people have caught the investigative bug.

A series of events led to the establishment of this course, all of which have now culminated in a course like no other at least in the southern hemisphere. For many years the Western Australian Police Service and the justice system have relied on numerous scientists at UWA for partnerships in solving crime.

The range of sciences are many but to mention a few include entomology, anthropology, palynology, computer science, botany, dentistry and chemical (drug), mineral (gold and diamond) and DNA analyses.

Why should we have a degree in forensic science?

By any measure, crime and safety are some of the most important issues for the Australian public. Crime costs Australia an estimated $11 - $13 billion each year. (Walker, J. (1997) Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No.72. Australian Institute of Criminology).

The criminal justice system costs States, Territories and the Commonwealth another $6.4 billion. Overall, crime costs us at least $18 billion per annum or $1,000 per man, woman and child (2.5 % of GDP).

Therefore, the value of “a safer and more secure Australia” can hardly be in doubt as well as better-equipped investigators to solve crime.

The Course

The Master and Graduate Diploma Programme in Forensic Science is a multidisciplinary degree articulating the research and teaching of the University of Western Australia with the public and industry needs of WA and beyond.

Although primarily focused on concerns in regard to violent crime within WA, the course also addresses the needs of forensic investigation within allied industries such as insurance and the law.

The programme links expertise in the PathCentre®, the CSIRO, the Chemistry Centre and Agriculture WA, and other allied industries.

It also incorporates the wealth of current forensic practice in the WA Police Service, Ministry of Justice and the Department of Public Prosecutions. Importantly the course links Forensic Science with the University’s Crime Research Centre, which offers a parallel Degree and Diploma in Criminal Justice.

What do you get

The programme consists of both course-work and research. In the first year students are exposed to a broad range of disciplines that carry the potential for significant practical application.

Students will gain hands-on experience in the analysis of material associated with a crime scene, use techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy, experience chemical analytical techniques including Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and High Performance Liquid Chromatography, image processing as well as learning how to employ DNA sequencing using specific genomic markers.

In addition students will conduct experiments with animal carcasses as human models. From these experiences the student will not only learn basic human anatomy that may be relevant to violent crime, but also aspects of pathology and decompositional processes associated with estimating the time of death. As part of their Case Research Study, students will be required to receive instruction within the Faculty of Law. This component of Law is specifically designed to enable students to understand both Criminal Justice and the process of presenting evidence as an expert witness within a courtroom.

If a student is successful in the first year they may like to attempt a second year devoted to research. In doing so you will articulate your postgraduate diploma for a Masters in Forensic Science. Projects that some students are embarking on in the Masters program include:

1. Extracting human DNA from blowfly larvae. This project was developed up because sometimes bodies maybe dumped in bins where fly larvae are present. Because post mortem intervals are based on fly developmental rates then the fly larvae present may give a false determination if they have moved from another resource onto the body.
2. Clandestine Drug Laboratories. This study is investigating a number of ways to short cut the production of amphetamines. What is the minimum equipment and precursor needed for the successful production of these drugs?
3. Detecting DNA from fingerprints. This project aims to extract DNA from fingerprints recovered in tape lifts from scenes of crime. How long after the crime can a profile be detected?

The other major component of the course is the Case Study. There are two to complete, one during the postgraduate diploma, where you pick a subject you think you want to be an expert in and in most cases this is related to your first degree. A good example is if you have a background in DNA then for the case study you become a forensic DNA expert. You take on an old case where you are required to either become the actual analyst or review the case as a third party analyst. The case study culminates in a mock court with a judge and lawyers presiding.

You are required to present your evidence in chief and are then cross-examined. In most cases this gives defence lawyers access to experts, which they may not normally experience in real court cases. In the Masters, the case study is generally linked to your field of research. Again this culminates in the presentation of evidence in a mock court.

The mock court generally takes place twice per year, the first during the July court holidays, which the DPP organises, and the second in November conducted on campus.

Contacts

Course design and other helpful information can be found at our web site www.forensicscience.uwa.edu.au/. Or contact:

Meera AMIN (Student), Nicola BARRETT (Student), John BREEDEN (Fisheries Officer), Graeme BRACKEN (Police Officer), Rozanne BYASS (Student), Jason CLARK (Medical Scientist), Lisa COTELLESSA (Business Manager), Jonathan CREAMER (Student), Christie DUNSTAN (Nurse), Judith FORDHAM (Barrister), Leonie FORREST (Solicitor), Ivan GARIC (Mortuary Technician, Student), Wanda GIZA (Laboratory Assistant), Natalie HALL (Student), Julie HANSEN (Police Officer), Ryan HEDLEY (Student), Bernard IRIKS (Investigator), Barbara LARKIN (Lecturer), Richard MILNER (Police Superintendent), Francois OOSTHUIZEN (Chemist), Dr Terence QUICKENDEN (UWA Lecturer), Mark REYNOLDS (Police Officer), Joanne STEVENS (Veterinary Surgeon), Vicki THOMAS (Teacher), Dean TOPPING (Med. Scientist).

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Lawyers Weekly - Expert Witness Directory

(Details from Nathan Kelleher)

In June 2001, THC Press were proud to announce the introduction of a brand new weekly feature in Lawyers Weekly – Australia’s number one magazine for partners and lawyers.

The title of the new feature is the Expert Witness Directory. Following its inaugural June launch, the Directory has become a regular weekly feature in this highly successful publication.

The aim of the Directory is to give Expert Witnesses - regardless of their legal speciality – an opportunity to present themselves to over 60,000 readers in a constantly updated weekly publication.

Distribution reaches all the major legal professionals throughout Australia; partners, lawyers, in-house corporate counsel and top the 1,000 company corporate leaders all receive the magazine each Friday. It is the most effective magazine to target the Australian legal community.

Lawyers Weekly may be an appropriate means through which companies, and other professional bodies, promote and identify people with a wide range of important forensic skills.

Publication contact details, as well as fee structures, advertising deadlines and other useful information, can be found in each edition

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Lasting Impressions - New Fingerprint Technology

(By Jarrod Greenwood - From an article published in Newsbeat (WA Police magazine)

New information technology systems are the driving force behind advances in the field of forensic science. The Police Service now has access to “cutting edge” technology with the introduction in April of the “Sagem Morpho” National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or NAFIS as it is commonly known.

According to the Acting Senior Supervisor of the Fingerprint Bureau, Sergeant Rob Gough, the new system capabilities have revolutionised Fingerprint Bureau practices throughout Australia. “The implementation of the new Sagem NAFIS is probably the most important advancement seen in the fingerprint field since the original NAFIS began in the late 1980’s and the inception of the fingerprint science over 100 years ago,” he said.

The Federal Government via CrimTrac, an initiative designed to create a national approach to Australian policing information systems, determined the need to replace the previous NAFIS system that had operated for the past 14 years. Linking police jurisdictions Australia-wide, NAFIS is a national database that enables in excess of two million fingerprints to be searched in a matter of minutes.

One of the many benefits of the new technology is in the area of persons of interest providing false identification details. A quick check of the database can soon establish their real identity and subsequently any outstanding enquiries can be dealt with.

The ability to search palm prints is another important feature of NAFIS. Like a fingerprint, palm prints are comprised of unique individual impressions. Australia now has the largest database of palm prints in the world, increasing our ability to help resolve volume and major crime in Western Australia.

Every time a new crime scene finger or palm print impression is scanned and processed onto the system it is searched against the national database of arrest fingerprints. The fingerprint expert identifies the impressions that are searched and match with arrest set data. Any crime scene fingerprint searches that don’t result in a match are stored on the unsolved “Latent” database. As new and repeat arrest forms are processed they are automatically checked against the outstanding crime scene fingerprint data stored on the system.

According to Sergeant Steve Foster, who supervises the NAFIS processing area, the results achieved so far have been encouraging.

“In the short time we have been using NAFIS we have already seen some excellent results. Identifications have been made on the new NAFIS system that were “missed” by its predecessor. The greatest improvement has been the introduction of palm searches. Over 70 identifications a month are being made at the Fingerprint Bureau alone.

“As with all technology, the new system’s searching capabilities are not only quicker, but we are also seeing a higher percentage of matches from searches undertaken compared to the previous NAFIS. Some District fingerprint officers are achieving as high as a 42% hit rate for all searches conducted,” he said.

NAFIS has also proven useful in lifting prints from unusual objects like tyre levers and crowbars. The fingerprint is digitally recorded by a camera linked to NAFIS allowing for a direct search of the database from the object. Prior to NAFIS, this could not be achieved.

Future uses for NAFIS will include ‘Livescan’ – technology that allows digital scanning of fingerprints at the point of arrest that provides identification of Persons of Interest in real time (replacing the current ink strip methods).

In due course, technology will allow a forensic officer to digitally scan a fingerprint at the scene of a crime and use a laptop computer linked to NAFIS to identify the offender within a matter of minutes.

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Visit of Dr Ross Zumwalt - Chief Medical Examiner New Mexico

On May 30, this year, Dr Ross Zumwalt presented the post-mortem findings of five intriguing cases to our Society.

Dr Zumwalt is the Chief Medical Examiner for New Mexico, USA. He was in Perth for only one week, accompanied by his wife, who was the PathCentre's visiting lecturer in haematology.

We were indeed fortunate that someone with his great depth of experience was so enthusiastic about speaking to our members.

The five cases gave some salient messages. In brief these were as follows:

Case 1 - involved a 19 yr old man with an alleged gunshot injury to the head, but which turned out to be a puncture wound from a Phillips-head screwdriver. Police had originally arrested the wrong person, believing the injuries were inflicted by a firearm. It was only after a thorough post-mortem examination the truth was revealed!

Case 2 - a genuine gunshot wound to the head which emphasised the value of a full and complete post-mortem examination.

Case 3 - that of a victim of multiple penetrating injuries (stab wounds) with further superficial injuries (caused by a broken-off knife tip during an assault).

Case 4 - illustrated circumstances where initial confusion prevailed because multiple pellet-like injuries gave all the signs of being inflicted by a shotgun blast. It transpired that they were caused by a 0.38 Special CCI Shot Shell from a revolver. These unusual rounds contain 9 or so pellets within a brass casing, which is packed with a plastic wad. The wad is capable of being identified by distinctive rifling marks.

Case 5 - an horrific story of a formerly pregnant woman found dead with mysterious abdominal injuries. Investigations turned up a bizarre set of circumstances whereby another woman, desperate to have her own child, kidnapped and hijacked the car of the very pregnant victim outside an anti-natal clinic.

Later, in a deserted location, she performed a crude caesarean-section style operation, using the mother’s car keys. She then took the surviving baby to a local hospital, claiming she herself had just given birth to the child.

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Next Branch Meeting

Our next branch meeting will be at 1730 hrs on Wednesday 17th October, at:

Austin Lecture Theatre
University of WA
Hackett Drive
Nedlands

Theme:

Forensically Led Policing
By Robin Napper
(Internationally renowned police lecturer on wide ranging issues of crime & DNA)

Talk Starts at 1800 hrs.

Members Free - Visitors: $10
Refreshments available after the lecture

RSVP: Tim Currie 08 9222 3039

A detailed flyer, with map, is on its way!

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Reminder

Annual subs are still overdue from some members.

For a miserly outlay of just $35.00 your subscription gives you several high quality presentations each year, as well as copious food and drink, newsletters, forensic links and other goodies.

Please send cheques to Hon Secretary:

Tim Currie
125 Hay Street
East Perth
WA     6001

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Australian Institute of Criminology Conferences 2001

• Best Practice Interventions in Corrections for Indigenous People.   8-9 October at Sydney Hilton Hotel, NSW

• Police & Partnerships in a multicultural Australia: Achievements & Challenges.   25-26 October in Brisbane, Queensland

• Mental Health & Criminal Justice Workshops (at the 21st Annual ANZAPPL Congress, 2001; ANZAPPL, with AIC & Forensicare, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health.   21-22 November in Melbourne, Victoria

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Australian Institute of Criminology Conferences 2002

• Crime, Housing Policy & Social Capital.   March in Canberra, ACT

• ANZFSS Conference, Canberra, ACT.   13-17 May

• Schools & Crime Prevention.   July in Canberra, ACT.

(For more info, please see www.aic.gov.au or contact Julie Dixon at 02 6260 9229 or email Julie.Dixon@aic.gov.au )


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Chemistry Centre Conferences 2001 & 2002

Over the next year there are several scientific conferences that deal with areas of importance to the WA Chemistry Centre. These include:

• 18th Conference of Residue Chemists, 31 October – 2 November 2001 – Canberra;

• AIOH Conference – The Evolving Face of Occupational Hygiene, 1-5 December 2001 – Wollongong;

• International Conference of Organic Synthesis, 14-19 July 2002 – Christchurch New Zealand.

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President’s Report         (Stephen Knott - President WA Branch ANZFSS)

Recently I attended the Indo-Pacific Congress on Legal Medicine and Forensic Science held in Melbourne. There were many and varied papers and posters presented from a total of forty-four different countries. The papers ranged from pure research to the legal ramifications of scientific investigations.

Several speakers put forward some interesting statements. I believe they are worth your consideration even if you might not agree with them. They were:

“A forensic examination is one which is independent and honest.”

“The forensic expert should be as impartial as the jury.”

“Forensic science is not about the dead but about the knowledge we can gain from their death to improve the quality of the living.”

And, similar to the above, “It is important that forensic investigations lead to the benefit of the living- a practical application should be the final goal.”

Another issue highlighted, and obviously pertinent in developing countries, was the possible conflict between professional ethics and loyalty to an employer (usually the State). This was evident in the following quotes:

“… when you carry out a forensic examination you still have to follow normal ethics, particularly in medicine.”

“The question is what is, and who established, the ethics?”

“…but, ethics and morals always override LAWS.”

In Canberra 13-17th May 2002 the debate of some of these issues raised will continue. I encourage all members to have their say by attending the Canberra ANZFSS International Symposium titled

“Outcomes for Society”.

On the local scene, the AGM will be set for mid-November. An agenda will be forwarded as per the constitution. If any member has an issue to raise please notify the secretary ASAP. One item, which will be discussed, is the membership fee structure. At present the annual membership fee is $35. This has to cover the national capitation fee of $14 per member, allowance for two biennial scholarships to the value of $500 each, refreshments for the five general meetings throughout the year, guest-speaker’s gifts and some administration costs. At the moment the sums don’t add up to being in the positive side of the ledger.

I look forward to participation with fellow members at the next two meetings for the year.

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