Current Challenges and Perspectives of Undergraduate Forensic Science Students in India – An Academic Survey

Forensic Science involves the application of scientific principles and theories to criminal justice system. Undergraduate Forensic Science course is offered by a number of Colleges and Universities in India. It includes both theory and practical aspects and is divided into six semesters. The syllabus contains a multi-disciplinary approach of study. An academic survey research was conducted to find out certain characteristics of the students currently pursuing the course in India. The study was conducted with the help of questionnaires, which contained close ended questions to analyse characteristics such as academic awareness of the students, perspective of the students, challenges faced by the students and satisfactoriness of the students. The interpretation of results was done through percentage analysis and the hypotheses were proved. Through this study, it is found that the students are satisfied with the course and majority of the students has opted for this course as a result of a genuine interest in providing justice through forensic analysis and a small section of them opted for this course due to CSI effect caused by the crime shows. However, most of the students are facing challenges with respect to laboratory facilities focused on Forensic Science at their institutions and also issues related to career guidance while pursuing the course. The findings from this research study can be utilised by different institutions which are currently offering or planning to offer UG Forensic Science courses in India. Educational implications can be made for bringing necessary modifications in the curriculum. Keywords: Forensic Science, Education, Curriculum, Academic, Survey

Beliefs about error rates and human judgment in forensic science

Forensic science techniques are often used in criminal trials to infer the identity of theperpetrator of crime and jurors often find this evidence very persuasive. Unfortunately, two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions are forensic science testing errors and false or misleading forensic testimony (Saks & Koehler, 2005). Therefore, it is important to understand jurors pre- existing beliefs about forensic science, as these beliefs may impact how they evaluate forensic evidence in the courtroom. In this study, we examine people’s perceptions of the likelihood of error and human judgment involved at each stage of the forensic science process (i.e., collection, storage, testing, analysis, reporting, and presenting). In addition, we examine peoples’ perceptions of the accuracy of — and human judgment involved in — 16 different forensic techniques. We find that, in contrast to what would be expected by the CSI effect literature, participants believed that the process of forensic science involved considerable human judgment and was relatively error-prone. In addition, participants had wide-ranging beliefs about the accuracy of various forensic techniques, ranging from 65.18% (document analysis) up to 89.95% (DNA). For some forensic techniques, estimates were lower than that found in experimental proficiency studies, suggesting that our participants are more skeptical of certain forensic evidence than they need to be. Keywords: Forensic science, forensic evidence, accuracy, error rate, CSI effect.

Forensic Application of Palatal Rugae in Dental Identification

Introduction: The palatal rugae are anatomical folds or wrinkles located on the anterior third of the palate behind the incisive papilla on each side of the palatal raphe. The rugae patterns have been studied for various purposes mainly in the field of anthropology, comparative anatomy, genetics, prosthodontics, orthodontics and forensic odontology. This study is aimed to determine the difference in number and pattern of palatal rugae in males and females. Methods: This is a prospective study in which maxillary impressions of 50 volunteers, 25 males and 25 females were taken and the casts prepared. The boundaries of the rugae were marked with a HB pencil and were observed with a magnifying glass following the classification used by Kapali, et al, (1997). Association between rugae number and sex and rugae shape and sex were tested using two sample unpaired t test. Results: The study revealed significant difference in the pattern of converge rugae which were found to be higher in females than males, however, no statistical significant difference was found in the number of rugae between the two sexes. Conclusions: The rugae pattern can be an additional method of differentiation between the males and females in conjunction with the other methods used in forensic sciences. Keywords: forensic science; human identification; palatal rugae.

PERAN ILMU KEDOKTERAN FORENSIK DALAM PEMBUKTIAN TINDAK PIDANA PEMERKOSAAN SEBAGAI KEJAHATAN KEKERASAN SEKSUAL

- Rape is a serious crime and a violation of human rights. The act of rape causes serious psychological trauma to the victims and families. According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) from 1998 to 2010 almost one third of cases of violence against women is a case of sexual assault, or sexual assault cases recorded 91,311 of 295,836 total cases of violence against women. During 2010 there were 1751 victims of sexual violence. Rape is an event that is difficult to prove even though the case has been examined and evidence gathering is complete. In an effort to prove that there has been crime of rape, then in this case Forensic Science was an instrument in conducting the examination and to obtain an explanation for what happened medically. This study aims to determine the management of Forensic Science in the proof of criminal rape. To know the legal and medical aspects of Forensic Science in the proof of crimes of sexual violence. Keywords - forensic science, sexual assault, rape. Abstrak – Perkosaan merupakan kejahatan yang serius dan bukti pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM). Tindakan perkosaan menyebabkan trauma psikologis yang serius pada korban serta keluarga. Menurut Komisi Nasional Anti Kekerasan Terhadap Perempuan (Komnas Perempuan) sejak tahun 1998 hingga 2010 hampir sepertiga kasus kekerasan terhadap perempuan adalah kasus kekerasan seksual, atau tercatat 91.311 kasus kekerasan seksual dari 295.836 total kasus kekerasan terhadap perempuan. Selama 2010 tercatat 1.751 korban kekerasan seksual. Perkosaan merupakan suatu peristiwa yang sulit dibuktikan walaupun pada kasus tersebut telah dilakukan pemeriksaan dan pengumpulan barang bukti yang lengkap. Dalam upaya pembuktian hukum bahwa telah terjadi tindak pidana perkosaan, maka dalam hal ini Ilmu Kedokteran Forensik sangat berperan dalam melakukan pemeriksaan dan untuk memperoleh penjelasan atas peristiwa yang terjadi secara medis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui penatalaksanaan Ilmu Kedokteran Forensik dalam pembuktian tindak pidana pemerkosaan. Untuk mengetahui segi hukum dan medis Ilmu Kedokteran Forensik dalam pembuktian kasus kejahatan kekerasan seksual. Kata kunci – forensic science, sexual assault, rape.