No Trace to Waste: working on more effective trace evidence

1. Improving the detection and interpretation of traces

Thanks to technological advancements, forensic examiners are becoming better able to analyse and interpret traces such as tiny bits of DNA and gunpowder residue from firearms. While this is naturally an advantage when it comes to identifying potential perpetrators, it also gives rise to certain questions. That’s because the increasing sensitivity and accuracy of forensic science also means investigators find many traces of people and activities that have nothing to do with the crime.

Imagine that a tiny bit of DNA from a suspect is found in the victim’s home. What does this tell us about how it got there? Are those traces that were left behind in the course of the criminal act, or is it possible that they ended up there at another time or in a different way? If we want to correctly interpret the growing quantity of trace evidence, we must learn to understand it better.

Bas Kokshoorn

Professor of Forensic Trace Dynamics

2. Preserving trace evidence during packaging, transport and storage

The second research line focuses on how the various steps in the forensic process influence the investigation of traces. When trace evidence is found on an object, such as an item of clothing, the object is first secured. This means the object is packaged and taken to a police station for temporary storage until it is sent to a laboratory for analysis. Do these steps have an impact on the information that can be obtained from the traces? Do objects bearing trace evidence get lost, or do they get moved around? The No Trace to Waste project wants to gain more insight into this.

3. Substantiated decisions when investigating the scene of an incident

The third research line is about enabling forensic examiners to make better substantiated decisions on how to handle trade evidence. Should they move an object bearing trace evidence from the scene of the incident to the laboratory, and thereby risk losing relevant trace evidence? Or should they take samples of the traces at the scene, without using the advanced investigative methods available in the lab, which increases the risk that relevant traces are overlooked? To help investigators make a decision when facing dilemmas such as this, data science applications are being used to research data from historical cases in order to identify the most successful investigative strategies.

Education

Students from the Forensic Science programme cooperate closely with researchers within the projects. During internships and final projects, the students learn to think about what traces can tell them. This enables them to gain knowledge that is in high demand in the field of forensic science, giving AUAS graduates a favourable starting position in the labour market. At the same time, the results of the students’ work help to advance the research in this field.

Team

• Christianne de Poot
• Bas Kokshoorn
• Anouk de Ronde
• Yoram Goedhart
• Katharina Draxel

Partners and funding

For the No Trace to Waste project, AUAS cooperates closely with the National Police, the Police Academy and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI). There is also a sounding board group consisting of representatives from all parties in the criminal justice system, the Netherlands Register of Court Experts (NRGD) and internationally renowned scientists. Together with the researchers, they ensure state-of-the-art research that is closely aligned to the needs of the professional field. The project is being funded through the RAAK-PRO scheme run by Taskforce for Applied Research SIA.