AnIntrototheWorldofForensics

MayJenAmolat‐Apiado,MD,MFM,MPHForensicPathologist,ForensicScienceAdjunct

FORENSICSDEFINED•  Forensic‐fromforensis‐todebate/argue,relatedtothelaw,akaforum

•  Forensicscience‐anyscienceappliedtolegalissues

•  Forensicmedicine‐medicalknowledgeappliedtolegalissues(appliedtotheliving;forensicnursing;forensicpathology;forensicpsychiatry)

•  Differentdisciplineswithintheforensicssciences‐criminalisOcs(hair,fiber,physical/biologicalevidence),quesOoneddocuments,anthropology,pathology,odontology,profiling,digitalmedia,engineering,wildlifeforensics

VALUEOFFORENSICSCIENCE

CRIMESCENERECONSTRUCTION FORENSICSCIENTIST(S)

MEDICALEXAMINER

INVESTIGATOR/POLICE

GENERALEDUCATIONALTRACK

•  Bachelors•  (Masters•  PhD/terminaldegree•  Postgradwork/forensicsubspecializaOon)• MembershipsinsocieOes•  (Board‐cerOficaOoninparOcularfield•  RelevantpublicaOons)•  Onthejobexperience

FORENSIC‐RELATEDCAREERS•  INSCHOOLSForensiceducators‐K‐12teachers,college/gradschool

• WITHPOLICE:Evidence/crimescenetechnicians,police(policeacademy)

•  INCRIMELABS:BS;orMSinForensicScienceorPhDwww.aafs.org,www.criminalists.org

•  INCOURT:lawyers:JD,passingthebar

CAREERS2•  InMEDICALEXAMINERSOFFICEHAS:MDtrainedinanatomicpathologyandforensicpathology(medicalexaminer)

•  PhD‐levelandboard‐cerOfiedforensictoxicologists‐detecOonofchemicalsubstancesinpostmortemorlivingsample

•  Morguetechnicians‐anatomy(biology/funeraldirectorbackground)furthertraininginphotography,radiology

•  Supportstaff‐secretaries/administrators‐asset;BA/BS/AA/AS

•  InvesOgators‐nursing,EMS,Physicianassistant,morgue/funeraldirectorslatertrainedandcerOfiedbyAMERICANBOARDOFMEDICOLEGALDEATHINVESTIGATORS– OPTIONALBUTMOSTWELCOME:Counselors‐PsyD,PhDorMSWforbereaved/PTSD/violent;EPIDEMIOLOGISTS;MS,PHDorMPH

CAREERS3•  INHOSPITALS:Forensicnurses;RNwithSANE+forensicmedicine

training(www.iafne.org);forensicphysicians(inUKcalledpolicesurgeons,employedbypolice)

•  FORENSICODONTOLOGY‐bitemark,ID,DDSdegree,www.abfo.org

•  FORENSICBIOLOGISTS/ENTOMOLOGISTS/DNASCIENTISTS‐BS,MA,PhD

•  CRIMINALPROFILING‐FBIbehavioralscienceunit;forensicpsychologists,MA,PhD,alsowww.forensic‐science.org

•  WILDLIFEFORENSICS‐USFishandWildlife,criminalistsalsovetswithforensictraining/experiencewww.lab.fws.gov

CAREERS4

•  INNGOsvsWARCRIMES:Forensicanthropology(BS(4),MA(2),PhD(4‐6)pluspostgraduatework)www.theabfa.org

•  INOWNCOMPANIES:Digital/computerforensics,quesOoneddocuments‐‐AmericanSocietyofQuesOonedExaminerswww.asqde.org,AmericanBoardofForensicDocumentExaminerswww.abfde.org

•  INACADEMIAorGovtorNGOsefng,alsoPRIVATEPRACTICE:alloftheabove

BEETHICALASANEXPERTWITNESS;DONOTFALSIFYORCONFOUNDJURYJUSTBECAUSEYOUARE“BELIEVABLE”TOTHEJURY

•  MEDIAPERSONALITY:Dr.G(DiscoveryChannel),Dr.Baden(HBO‐Autopsy),Dr.HenryLee,DeadMenTalking,aCBSshow;alsoCSIshowconsultants

TRUTV.COMTRUTVLIBRARY

WHATNEXT?CHECKOUT—AAFS.ORG,

FREEONLINEFORENSICINVEST.COURSE

www.physicians

forhumanrights/forensics

NEXTFRONTIER•  Morepeople,morestudentsinbekerschools(CSIeffect‐inTVcrimesissolvedsomuchfaster,BUTrealityismorecolorfulormorebizarrethanficOon)

•  Improvedscienceandtechnology(fasterDNAthroughputsonobackloginpropertyandpersonalcrimes),moreandbekerresearch

•  Bekerstandardsinlawandforensics,sotherewillbenowrongfulconvicOons(ex.Innocenceproject)

•  OUTCOMES:LESSCRIME,SAFERCOMMUNITIES,LESSPEOPLEDYINGBEFORETHEIRTIME

MayJenniferAmolat‐Apiado,MD,MFM,MPHAmericanAcademyofForensicSciencesAnnualMeeOng

ACauseforForensicPublicHealth:Preven7onandPublicHealthContentinTwoU.SForensicJournals

GLOBALINJURYBURDEN

•  Injuryresultsin9%oftheworld’smortality

– mostlyfromlow‐andmiddle‐incomecountries

– 5Mdieannuallyfrominjury– Thenumberofhomicides(500,000)orthenumberofsuicides(860,000)ishigherthanthenumberofdeathsfromHIV,malariaandtuberculosiscombined(1)

1.PedenM,McGeeK,SharmaGTheInjuryChartbook:AGraphicalOverviewoftheGlobalBurdenofInjuries.Geneva:WorldHealthOrganizaOon;2002.

NUMBEROFPAPERSbyINJURYMECHANISM/FORENSICTOPIC2

Injury mechanism/forensic topic No. of Papers % of total

Criminology/criminalistics 15 9%

Infection 15 9%

Transportation fatalities 15 9%

Abuse (elder, domestic, sexual, interpersonal, child)) 14 9%

Occupational health 13 8%

Environment-related deaths 13 8%

Mental health 11 7%

Custody/Police-related deaths 10 6%

Medical devices/complications 6 4%

Drowning 6 4%

Electrical injuries 5 3%

Natural (aside from infection) 2 1%

Others 2 1%

NO.OFPAPERSbyMANNEROFDEATH

Manner of death Number of Papers

Percentages of total

Accidents 61 37%

Suicide 30 19%

Homicide 29 18%

Natural 24 15%

Therapeutic complication/misadventure

7 4%

Other/not applicable 36 22%

NUMBEROFPAPERSBYPRIMARYAUTHOR’SSPECIFICAFFILIATION1

Specific affiliation of 1st author No.of Papers % of total Medical examiners’ offices 34 21%

Academic forensic medicine department 18 11%

Hospital department, pathology 18 11%

Other government public health agencies 16 10%

Hospital departments, psychiatry 14 9%

Medical school/med center/hospitals 12 7%

University department/university 11 7%

NUMBEROFPAPERSBYPRIMARYAUTHOR’SSPECIFICAFFILIATION2

Specific affiliation of 1st author No.

of Papers % of total

Thinktanks/NGOs 7 4%

Hospital departments, public health 7 4%

Hospital departments, other 7 4%

Laboratories 7 4%

Law enforcement departments 4 2%

Professional individuals 3 2%

Coroners’ offices 2 1%

AREWEDOINGENOUGH?

PublichealthpracOcecanbenefitfromincreasedparOcipaOonofmedicalexaminersandotherforensicdisciplinesastheyareinherentlyinvolvedincasesofinjuryandviolence

THEBESTFORENSICSISNOTENOUGH!WENEED

SOCIALWORK/MENTALHEALTHREFERRALS,PARTICIPATIONINCOMMUNITY,IMPROVESCHOOLS,PARENTINGPRACTICES/PEERQUALITY,ANTI‐CRIMELAWS(ex.firearms),JOBSANDBETTERSURROUNDINGS(environmentalpolicing)

ECOLOGICALMODELFrameworkfordeterminingrisksandintervenOons

age,educaOon,income,substanceandalcoholabuse,psychiatricorpersonalitydisordersandhistoryofviolentbehaviororabuse

poorparenOngpracOces,conflictinthehome(marriageorfamily)andassociaOonwithdelinquentorviolentfriends

drugtrade,highratesoftransients(residenOalmobility),poverty,unemployment,socialisolaOonandweakorineffecOveinsOtuOons.

normsthatsupporttheuseofviolence,availabilityofweapons,weakcriminaljusOcesystems,policiesthatperpetuateorincreasesocioeconomicinequaliOes

YES,YOUCAN!

WECANALLCONTRIBUTEINHELPINGSAVELIVES.

ADDRESSINDIVIDUAL,FAMILY,COMMUNITYANDSOCIETALRISKFACTORSTHROUGHABROAD‐BASEDFORUMOR(PUBLICHEALTH)GROUP.

USEINTERVENTIONSTHATAREPROVENTOWORK!(SEEHANDOUTorblog)

VIOLENCEINTERVENTIONSECOLOGICAL CONTEXT

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE INFANT AND TODDLER (AGED 0–3) CHILDHOOD (AGED 3–11)

Individual • Reduce unintended pregnancies • Increase access to prenatal/postnatal services • Treatment programmes for victims of maltreatment to reduce consequences • Services for children who witness violence

• Social-development training • Pre-school enrichment

• School-based child maltreatment prevention programmes

• Drug-resistance education • Gun-safety training

Relationship (for example, family, peers)

• Home-visitation services • Parenting training • Therapeutic foster care

• Mentoring • Home-school partnership programmes to promote parental involvement

Community • Lead monitoring and toxin removal • Screening by health-care providers for maltreatment

• Safe havens for children on high-risk routes to and from school • After-school programmes to extend adult supervision • Recreational programmes

• Community policing • Improving emergency response and trauma care • Training for health-care providers in the detection and reporting of child maltreatment • Promotion of safe storage of firearms and other lethal weapons • Prevention and educational campaigns to increase awareness of child maltreatment • Child-protection service programmes • Services for incarcerated perpetrators

• Gun buy backs

Societal • Reduce media violence • Public information campaigns to promote pro-social norms

• Strengthen police and judicial systems • De-concentrate poverty • Reduce income inequality

ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE

ADOLESCENCE (AGED 12–19) ADULTHOOD (AGED 20 AND OVER)

Individual • Social-development training • Educational incentives for at-risk, disadvantaged high-school students • School-based dating violence prevention programmes • Academic enrichment programmes

• Individual counselling • Shock probation or parole • Residential programmes in psychiatric or correctional institutions • Gun-safety training • Boot camps • Trying young offenders in adult court • Drug-resistance education • Programmes modelled on basic military training

Relationship (for example, family, peers)

• Mentoring • Family therapy

• Temporary foster-care programmes for serious and chronic delinquents

• Peer mediation, counselling

AdaptedfromRosenbergMLetal.Violence.ChaptersubmikedtoJamisonDTetal.(Eds)DiseasecontrolprioriBesindevelopngcountries,secondediOon.NewYork,OxfordUniversityPress.InButchartA,PhinneyA,CheckP,VillavecesA.PrevenBngviolence:aguidetoimplemenBngtherecommendaBonsoftheWorldreportonviolenceandhealth.DepartmentofInjuriesandViolencePrevenOon,WorldHealthOrganizaOon,Geneva,2004.(BOLD‐WORKS,GRAY‐SHOWSPROMISE;ITALICS;NOTHELPFUL)

Community

• Recreational programmes • Reduce alcohol availability • Train health-care professionals in identification and referral of high-risk youth and victims of sexual violence • Metal detectors in schools

• Reduce alcohol availability • Establish adult recreational programmes • Shelters and crisis centres for battered women and victims of elder abuse • Criminal justice reforms to criminalize child maltreatment, intimate-partner violence, and elder abuse • Mandatory arrest policies for intimate-partner violence • Public shaming of intimate partner violence offenders • Services for identifying and treating elder abuse • Train health-care professionals in identification and referral of battered women, victims of elder abuse, and victims of sexual violence

• Multi-component gang-prevention programmes

• Laws permitting gun carrying in public

• Community policing • Improve emergency response and trauma care • Disrupt illegal gun markets • Forbid firearm sales to high-risk purchasers • Mandatory sentences for gun use in crimes • Coordinated community interventions for violence prevention • Prevention and educational campaigns to increase awareness of youth violence, intimate-partner violence and elder abuse

• Gun buy backs

Societal • Reduce media violence • Enforce laws prohibiting illegal transfers of guns to youth

• Establish job-creation programmes for the chronically unemployed

• Strengthen police and judicial systems • Promotion of safe storage of firearms • De-concentrate poverty • Reduce income inequality • Change cultural norms that support violence and abuse of children and adults

ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE ADOLESCENCE (AGED 12–19) ADULTHOOD (AGED 20 AND OVER)

WHO‐VIPwebsite

hkp://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevenOon/violence/en/

CDC

THANKYOU!

•  Dr.AMOLAT‐APIADO’sCONTACTANDHANDOUTS:

Blog:

theautographer.wordpress.com

Email:

forensicsmadeec@gmail.com