Visualisation of latent DNA. This project aims to deliver a proof-of-concept that allows visualisation of invisible DNA (latent DNA) into a quick, inexpensive and practical DNA collection method that will lead to DNA evidence being available in more cases. It will build upon a proof-of-concept method ready for transferal to forensic casework. This will allow DNA evidence recovery technicians to improve their hit rate in recovering latent DNA from real crime items, leading to more informative DNA ....Visualisation of latent DNA. This project aims to deliver a proof-of-concept that allows visualisation of invisible DNA (latent DNA) into a quick, inexpensive and practical DNA collection method that will lead to DNA evidence being available in more cases. It will build upon a proof-of-concept method ready for transferal to forensic casework. This will allow DNA evidence recovery technicians to improve their hit rate in recovering latent DNA from real crime items, leading to more informative DNA profiles. Crime items that currently yield no genetic information will now be informative, assisting investigations of serious crimes or terrorist incidents.Read moreRead less
Universal immunogenic reagents for the detection of latent fingermarks. This project will deliver the first antibody reagents for the routine detection of natural fingermarks. This will assist law enforcement agencies to provide a safer society through improved crime clearance, as they will be able to enhance and detect fingermarks that otherwise remain undetected with current techniques (e.g. fingermarks on human skin).
The effective treatment of drug using offenders: the impact of treatment modality, coercion and treatment readiness on criminal recidivism. Drug use is associated with significant health, social, and economic costs. Given the established drug-crime connection and the high rate of relapse among drug-using offenders, the outcomes of this research will assist policymakers in identifying clinically and cost effective approaches to service delivery. Moreover, in view of the debate that surrounds the ....The effective treatment of drug using offenders: the impact of treatment modality, coercion and treatment readiness on criminal recidivism. Drug use is associated with significant health, social, and economic costs. Given the established drug-crime connection and the high rate of relapse among drug-using offenders, the outcomes of this research will assist policymakers in identifying clinically and cost effective approaches to service delivery. Moreover, in view of the debate that surrounds the efficacy of coerced treatment, and the extent to which Australia should follow the United States of America’s lead of mandating treatment for all substance using offenders, the project will test the proposition that compulsory treatment has positive outcomes in terms of reductions in recidivism.Read moreRead less
A model of sex offender registration, monitoring, and risk management. This research will investigate the ways in which sexual offenders are managed in the community and identify the most effective means of preventing further offending, thereby promoting community safety.
How feedback can impair recognition judgments and undermine border security, criminal investigations, educational testing, and medical screening. If a customs officer learns that they have missed an explosive device while screening luggage, will this affect their judgment? In many scenarios, a person receives feedback about their recognition memory performance and has to try again without having another chance to study the material. Almost no research has examined the effects of feedback on reco ....How feedback can impair recognition judgments and undermine border security, criminal investigations, educational testing, and medical screening. If a customs officer learns that they have missed an explosive device while screening luggage, will this affect their judgment? In many scenarios, a person receives feedback about their recognition memory performance and has to try again without having another chance to study the material. Almost no research has examined the effects of feedback on recognition in the absence of opportunity for further study. This is problematic because many vitally important recognition decisions lack such opportunity. Using various scenarios (face recognition, security screening, multiple-choice testing, and medical screening) this project will demonstrate that feedback affects recognition performance differently depending on the nature of the recognition decision.Read moreRead less
Human identification, ancient DNA and genomics. This project aims to develop and apply a novel targeted sequence capture and high throughput DNA sequencing approach to simultaneously type thousands of informative identity, ancestry and phenotype markers in a single assay to facilitate identification of unknown suspects and missing persons. DNA based human identification is both critical and central to criminal and coronial investigations, disaster-victim and missing persons identification, repat ....Human identification, ancient DNA and genomics. This project aims to develop and apply a novel targeted sequence capture and high throughput DNA sequencing approach to simultaneously type thousands of informative identity, ancestry and phenotype markers in a single assay to facilitate identification of unknown suspects and missing persons. DNA based human identification is both critical and central to criminal and coronial investigations, disaster-victim and missing persons identification, repatriation of war dead and counter-terrorism operations. Persistent technological and conceptual issues associated with the application of standard procedures to trace degraded DNA, or when profiles have no match in DNA databases, limit their application to real-world human identification problems.Read moreRead less
Who should join the suspect in a police photo array? The traditional police line-up often produces inaccurate decisions, with witnesses failing to pick the culprit or picking an innocent suspect. Surprisingly, despite all the scientific advances with respect to the collection of eyewitness evidence, there is absolutely no objective basis for selecting the ‘fillers’ to accompany the suspect in the line-up. Guidelines merely suggest the fillers should not be too similar or too dissimilar to the su ....Who should join the suspect in a police photo array? The traditional police line-up often produces inaccurate decisions, with witnesses failing to pick the culprit or picking an innocent suspect. Surprisingly, despite all the scientific advances with respect to the collection of eyewitness evidence, there is absolutely no objective basis for selecting the ‘fillers’ to accompany the suspect in the line-up. Guidelines merely suggest the fillers should not be too similar or too dissimilar to the suspect. However, the fillers are likely to have a crucial influence on decision accuracy. This project aims to remedy this striking deficiency by developing and testing a flexible and universally applicable methodology for photo array composition that will optimise judgmental discriminability and curtail bias.Read moreRead less
DNA and the missing: ancient DNA and advanced forensic identification. Identifying the remains of missing persons, disaster victims and war dead is of major social and cultural importance and has significant implications for national and international justice systems. This project will apply expertise in analysis of ancient DNA to build capacity and expertise within Australia to identify highly degraded human remains.
A formal signal detection model of eyewitness identification. The project aims to aid in producing better procedures for the collection and assessment of eyewitness identification evidence. In a police line-up, a witness is asked to identify a perpetrator from a group of similar individuals. Applied research has focused on conditions that optimise witness performance but many of the conclusions from this research have been challenged on the basis that they use inappropriate measures of performan ....A formal signal detection model of eyewitness identification. The project aims to aid in producing better procedures for the collection and assessment of eyewitness identification evidence. In a police line-up, a witness is asked to identify a perpetrator from a group of similar individuals. Applied research has focused on conditions that optimise witness performance but many of the conclusions from this research have been challenged on the basis that they use inappropriate measures of performance. Recent work has highlighted the usefulness of analyses based on the theory of signal detection. However, the line-up task does not fit easily within standard signal detection paradigms as it combines two tasks; detection and identification. The project aims to understand how these components work in order to measure witness performance.Read moreRead less
How we remember and misremember traumatic experiences. The project addresses a significant and important problem: the role of memory distortion in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a global disorder with significant personal, societal and economic costs. The aim of this project is to empirically investigate the extent, causes and triggering conditions of errors in memory for traumatic experiences; particularly exaggeration of these memories, which has been linked to poor psychological adjus ....How we remember and misremember traumatic experiences. The project addresses a significant and important problem: the role of memory distortion in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a global disorder with significant personal, societal and economic costs. The aim of this project is to empirically investigate the extent, causes and triggering conditions of errors in memory for traumatic experiences; particularly exaggeration of these memories, which has been linked to poor psychological adjustment. Understanding how people exposed to trauma remember, and misremember, aspects of their experiences in ways that influence their recovery is both theoretically and practically important. Indeed, it will help us refine theory and identify possible points of intervention for PTSD sufferers.Read moreRead less