Newswise Feature Channel: Crime and Forensic Science

MSU College of Law opens Public Defender Clinic

Michigan State University — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:05:08 EST

Bradley Hall, interim director for MSU College of Law's new Public Defender Clinic this academic year, will begin training the next generation of lawyers in a highly specialized area of law: preconviction appeals.

Expert Available: Thwarted Terror Plot at a Taylor Swift Concert in Austria

George Washington University — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 12:00:38 EST

Three of Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna, Austria were cancelled after authorities thwarted a planned terror attack at one of the singer's shows. ...

How America's elites may hold the key to lowering murder rates

Ohio State University — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 10:05:22 EST

New crime laws, police funding and similar efforts may have some effect on homicide rates in the United States - but the biggest impact will come from the actions of our political and economic elites.

Study shows catalytic converter thefts surge amid rising metal prices

Middle Tennessee State University — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:45:50 EST

Metal prices are skyrocketing and so are thefts of catalytic converters. Dr. Ben Stickle emphasizes the need for proactive measures to combat this growing trend, including public awareness campaigns and legislative action.

Study sheds light on rising epidemic of pet theft

Middle Tennessee State University — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:45:26 EST

Pet theft is a type of property crime, but pet-owner relationships include emotional dimensions and life experiences that can compound their loss far beyond property value. Their bondedness with humans includes companionship as well as healthy lifestyle and mental wellness benefits, which are abruptly halted at junctures of pet loss.

Study: Wire-Cut Forensic Exams Currently Too Unreliable for Court

University of Nebraska-Lincoln — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:05:36 EST

A research article published June 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the importance of careful application of high-tech forensic science to avoid wrongful convictions.

Study finds distinct patterns lead to domestic partner homicide

University of Portsmouth — Wed, 01 May 2024 09:05:29 EST

Researchers have analysed more than 30 years of Canadian criminal records to shed light on intimate partner homicide indicators.

The Vandal Theory Podcast - Season 7, Episode 2: Human Remains, Politics and Curiosity

University of Idaho — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 11:05:27 EST

Meet Kate Kolpan, an assistant professor in the Department of Culture, Society and Justice at University of Idaho. Kolpan is a bioarchaeologist and forensic anthropologist whose research focuses on migration, violence, warfare and the politics related to the exhumation, identification and commemoration of human remains in both the past and present.

Native UM Student Works to Create Missing Persons Database

University of Montana — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 06:05:37 EST

Haley Omeasoo was already studying forensic science at the University of Montana when she saw the poster that redefined her life.

The Vandal Theory Podcast - Season 6, Episode 7: Omi Hodwitz -- Missing and Murdered Indigenous

University of Idaho — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 12:05:08 EST

Meet Omi Hodwitz, an associate professor in the Department of Culture, Society and Justice at University of Idaho. Hodwitz and her students are compiling the most comprehensive database to date of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirits in Canada and the United States.

NYC ranks safest among big U.S. cities for gun violence, new research from NYU Tandon School of Engineering reveals

NYU Tandon School of Engineering — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:05:37 EST

In a paper published in Nature Cities, a research team explored the role that population size of cities plays on the incidences of gun homicides, gun ownership and licensed gun sellers. The researchers found that none of these quantities vary linearly with the population size. In other words, higher population did not directly equate to proportionally higher rates of gun homicides, ownership, or gun sellers in a predictable straight-line way across cities. The relationships were more complex than that.

Scientists ID burned bodies using technique used for extracting DNA from wooly mammoths, Neanderthals

Binghamton University, State University of New York — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:05:52 EST

A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

New study finds anti-piracy messages backfire, especially for men

University of Portsmouth — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 10:05:08 EST

Threatening messages aimed to prevent digital piracy have the opposite effect if you're a man, a new study from the University of Portsmouth has found.

Study shows background checks don't always check out

University of Maryland, College Park — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 20:05:03 EST

Employers making hiring decisions, landlords considering possible tenants and schools approving field trip chaperones all widely use commercial background checks.

Older adults rely more on trust in decision making. It could open them up to scams.

University of Florida — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 10:05:04 EST

Elderly adults lose billions to financial scams by people they trust every year. New psychological research suggests this vulnerability could be linked to older adults' overreliance on initial impressions of trustworthiness.

Groundbreaking study on decomposing microbes could help transform forensic science

Colorado State University — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 22:05:06 EST

For the first time, researchers have identified what appears to be a network of approximately 20 microbes that universally drive the decomposition of animal flesh.

Black women in the US murdered six times more often than White women over last 20 years

Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health — Sun, 11 Feb 2024 21:05:40 EST

Black women in the U.S were, on average, six times more likely to be murdered than their white peers for the years 1999 through 2020, according to an analysis of racial disparities in U.S. homicide rates released by Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.

Lifting of federal funding ban tied to increase in gun violence research

Yale University — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:05:36 EST

The lifting of a two-decade drought in federal funding for firearm injury prevention research was strongly associated with an increase in both clinical trials and publications on gun violence, according to a new report published in JAMA Surgery.

Michigan Ross Professor Explores Implications of Trump's Impending Trials

University of Michigan Ross School of Business — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:35:42 EST

High-profile incidents of police brutality sway public opinion more than performance of people's local law enforcement, new study from NYU Tandon reveals

NYU Tandon School of Engineering — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 09:30:36 EST

In a study published in Communications Psychology, a NYU Tandon research team tracked media coverage of police brutality in 18 metropolitan areas in the United States - along with coverage of local crimes - and analyzed tweets from those cities to tease out positive attitudes from negative ones towards the police.