Creation of a universal experimental protocol for the investigation of transfer and persistence of trace evidence: Part 1 - From design to implementation for particulate evidence

TY - JOUR

T1 - Creation of a universal experimental protocol for the investigation of transfer and persistence of trace evidence

T2 - Part 1 - From design to implementation for particulate evidence

AU - Ménard, Hervé

AU - Cole, Christian

AU - Gray, Alexander

AU - Mudie, Roy

AU - Klu, Joyce K.

AU - Nic Daeid, Niamh

N1 - This work was funded by the Leverhulme Trust RC-1015-011.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Understanding the transfer and persistence of different types of trace evidence between different donor and receiving surfaces under specific conditions, circumstances and alleged competing defence and prosecution hypotheses is a significant need. Acquiring such a knowledge base enables hypothesis testing to be undertaken more readily and with greater confidence. A longstanding goal has been to develop a unified approach to transfer and persistence studies which are fit for purpose but also scalable. Here we propose a low cost, universal experimental protocol using a recognised and well researched proxy material for the development and aggregation of ground truth transfer and persistence data at scale. We also propose and provide the tools to enable the creation of an open source and open access data repository of experimental data to act as a resource for practitioners and researchers in addressing transfer and persistence questions.

AB - Understanding the transfer and persistence of different types of trace evidence between different donor and receiving surfaces under specific conditions, circumstances and alleged competing defence and prosecution hypotheses is a significant need. Acquiring such a knowledge base enables hypothesis testing to be undertaken more readily and with greater confidence. A longstanding goal has been to develop a unified approach to transfer and persistence studies which are fit for purpose but also scalable. Here we propose a low cost, universal experimental protocol using a recognised and well researched proxy material for the development and aggregation of ground truth transfer and persistence data at scale. We also propose and provide the tools to enable the creation of an open source and open access data repository of experimental data to act as a resource for practitioners and researchers in addressing transfer and persistence questions.

KW - Transfer and persistence

KW - Universal protocol

KW - Trace evidence

KW - Open access

U2 - 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100165

DO - 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100165

M3 - Article

C2 - 34527896

SN - 2589-871X

VL - 3

JO - Forensic Science International: Synergy

JF - Forensic Science International: Synergy

M1 - 100165

ER -