Solving cold cases from the comfort of your living room… The Skeleton Crew provides an entree into the gritty and tumultuous world of Sherlock Holmes–wannabes who race to beat out law enforcement—and one another—at matching missing persons with unidentified remains. In America today, upwards of forty thousand people are dead and unaccounted for. These murder, suicide, and accident victims, separated from their names, are being adopted by the bizarre online world of amateur sleuths. It’s DIY CSI. The web sleuths pore over facial reconstructions (a sort of Facebook for the dead) and other online clues as they vie to solve cold cases and tally up personal scorecards of dead bodies. The Skeleton Crew delves into the macabre underside of the Internet, the fleeting nature of identity, and how even the most ordinary citizen with a laptop and a knack for puzzles can reinvent herself as a web sleuth.
The Art of Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts examines the qual- ities required to be a professional, thorough, and effective investigator and is a follow up to the authors’ highly touted book, The Art of Investigation (2019). This book features a wholly new line-up of investigators, experienced professionals in the field, who delve into the "soft skills" that make an investigator effective. Each chapter examines a specific quality required to be a professional, thorough, and—most importantly—successful in this challenging discipline. The editors, and contributing authors, are all top in their field and bring a wealth of real-world knowledge and experience to the subject. While several publications exist on the procedures and steps of an investigation, few books cover the creative and intuitive skills required. Such traits are necessary to continually question in the face of investigative roadblocks, unique qualities endemic to an inquisitive mind that can be trained to improve an investigator’s professional skill set. Each chapter discusses the applicability of the traits and requirements to the contributor’s own work and experience as an investigator. In doing so, the contributors will provide valuable stories from their personal experience, which demonstrates their use or a given trait and its importance in the course of their investigative work and career. The case examples included throughout are engaging and, as is often the case, surprising. An investigator must keep an open mind above all else and this book seeks to "lift the veil" on the inner workings of an investigation and the thought pro- cess and inner monologue of an investigator as part of that process. The book is a welcome addition to any investigator’s toolkit and is also of interest to students in criminal justice, security and Homeland Security programs, security consultants, corporate and private security professionals, and the legal community.
Forensic Dental Evidence: An Investigators Handbook highlights the discussion regarding unjust convictions caused by inaccurate bitemark opinions. The book focuses on cases that use forensic techniques, emphasizing modern methods and protocols. Through this book, the latest information available is offered to the forensic community. This book demonstrates expertise in forensic dentistry by presenting chapters on human identification in domestic and international situations; investigations on missing person and violent crimes against persons; mass-disaster planning and disaster response; and new threats from terrorist attacks on urban centers. Furthermore, it discusses topics regarding bitemark evidence, such as forensic photography, analysis and legal issues. The book also presents two chapters on new scientific topics: The Next Level in Victim Identification: Materials Properties as an Aid in Victim Identification; and DNA for First Responders: Recognizing, Collecting, and Analyzing Biological Evidence Related to Dentistry (chapters 3 and 8, respectively). This book is suited to anyone seeking knowledge on forensic dentistry; it will be of great value to investigators, lawyers, medical examiners, nurses, and dentists with an interest in forensic dental cases. - Contributions by internationally recognized and experienced forensic experts cover missing persons cases and mass disaster cases from around the world - Contains over 200 full-color photographs of crime scene evidence, human identification cases and bitemark details - Includes many new exoneration cases derived from the Editor's work with the Innocence Project
This book explores the act of criminal profiling and the effective methods of case analysis and linkage. Intriguing cases studies are used to thoroughly examine the behavioural aspect of serial homicide and the investigative issues that criminal justice professioals face.
Dynamically written and richly illustrated, the Routledge International Handbook of Visual Criminology offers the first foundational primer on visual criminology. Spanning a variety of media and visual modes, this volume assembles established researchers whose work is essential to understanding the role of the visual in criminology and emergent thinkers whose work is taking visual criminology in new directions. This book is divided into five parts that each highlight a key aspect of visual criminology, exploring the diversity of methods, techniques and theoretical approaches currently shaping the field: • Part I introduces formative positions in the developments of visual criminology and explores the different disciplines that have contributed to analysing images. • Part II explores visual representations of crime across film, graphic art, documentary, police photography, press coverage and graffiti and urban aesthetics. • Part III discusses the relationship of visual criminology to criminal justice institutions like policing, punishment and law. • Part IV focuses on the distinctive ethical problems posed by the image, reflecting on the historical development, theoretical disputes and methodological issues involved. • Part V identifies new frameworks and emergent perspectives and reflects upon the distinctive challenges and limits that can be seen in this emerging field. This book includes a vibrant colour plate section and over a hundred black and white images, breaking down the barriers between original photography and artwork, historic paintings and illustrations and modern comics and films. This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to criminologists, sociologists, visual ethnographers, art historians and those engaged with media studies.
The identification of unknown individuals and the estimation of age, race, and gender are among the chief functions of forensic dentistry. Other important applications include the investigation and analysis of bitemarks and oral injuries in abuse cases and evaluating, reporting, and testifying in civil litigation cases. Twelve years after the benchmark first edition of this book explored these topics, the long-awaited Forensic Dentistry, Second Edition offers a comprehensive update and revision of the material. Offering insight from many new contributors on the cutting edge of forensic science and odontology, this new edition expands the book’s scope to include a broader historical and theoretical analysis, a thorough assessment of the past decade’s developments, and a far-reaching projection of future trends. New topics in the second edition include: Forensic dental radiography Age estimation Jurisprudence and legal issues History of forensic dentistry Landmark cases, including September 11th and Hurricane Katrina In order for forensic odontology to continue to progress as a specialty of forensic science, there must be a consistent stream of new ideas and original and applied research. Heavily illustrated and enhanced with a 16-page color insert with additional photos, this volume captures the critical issues that confront today’s forensic dentist, explores the field’s limitations, and provides a window on the future of this crucial sector within the forensic identification science arena.
Details elements of the US corrections system for beginning students. Treatment is reader friendly, but layout is austere, with no illustrations or boxes. Part I examines the history of US corrections and overviews the criminal justice and sentencing systems. Correctional alternatives are examined,
