Bloodstain Pattern Analysis - Essay Example

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Introduction The concept of BPA (Bloodstain Pattern Analysis) is referred to the opinion that when blood exits from an individual’s body or an object is covered with blood, it results in the production of patterns that can be analyzed and interpreted. These patterns can be witnessed in various criminal scenes and crime scene investigators predict that in the event of a violent crime, there will be existence of bloodstain pattern. The analysis of these patterns and the outcome of these analysis in conjunction with the event or the situation in which these patterns are found and the level of reliability of these patters are dependant on the individuals who have gained training and experience in the field of understanding and analyzing them. History The concept of BPA is not new to the principle of crime scene investigation and has attracted various individuals into gaining training for the interpretation and analysis of these patterns. The activity of BPA started within the University of California Berkley in United States by the operations conducted by Dr. Paul Kirk (Chisum, 2011, p.41). During the 1950’s Dr. Kirk was employed to assist in the investigation of the death of the wife of Dr. Sam Sheppard. Dr. Sheppard was held responsible for killing his wife, but he claimed that his wife was killed by an intruder. Dr. Kirk investigated and analyzed the crime scene and he testified in compliance to the statement of Dr. Sheppard and stated that there were blood patterns that show that there was a third party involvement. Later a book was written and complied by Dr. Sheppard and Cynthia Cooper in which they wrote about evidence of spotty DNA and in their book they revealed that the analysis of Dr. Kirk was completely correct (Chermak, 2007, p.226). This incident became an example for crime scene investigation but this kind of work was not welcomed by investors who did not have sound knowledge of scientific reasoning. After the work of Dr. Kirk, the second most important work done in the field of BPA was by Herbert MacDonell who published a book in which he conducted experiments in laboratories and worked on researches conducted on the same issue by researchers throughout the world (Becker, 2013, p.104). Soon the law enforcement sector became interested in BPA and MacDonell started offering training to officers of the agency of law enforcement regarding the analysis and interpretation of BPA. The training programs conducted by MacDonell were very simple, entertaining and quite different from other trainings provided for crime scene investigation purposes. These training sessions were not backed by assessment and testing, thus those who participated were not concerned about failing the tests that were taken after the completion of training sessions. Due to increased importance for this technique of crime scene investigation, MacDonell realized the importance of an establishment through which people interested and practicing in this field could easily communicate their idea. This led to the creation of IABPA (International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts). Training programs and growth of the base of the members of IABPA led to the increase in number of people who started solving crimes through BPA and helped in indentifying those who were innocent or guilty. Later BPA became more and more popular and became a part of scientific research due to which various scientific books and articles regarding the topic of BPA were issued. The books were created to help those who were directly or indirectly linked to criminal justice system and the publications were quite easy to understand as terminology which was non-scientific in nature was used. The IABPA is an establishment comprising of members from scientific as well as non-scientific backgrounds and the establishment is involved in the task of publishing newsletters which encouraged presentations that are scientific in nature (Nissan, 2010, p.1143). Later the IAI was separated from BPA and became a part of crime scene investigation and it held the responsibility of certifying members in the field of BPA (Houck, 2010, p.244). During the period of 2009, the scientific nature of BPA was questioned and scrutinized by the NAS (National Research Council) (Nadel, 2012, p.113). Before this report came into being, during the period of 2008 those scientists working in the crime laboratory of Minnesota stated that BPA education along with research is scientific in nature. Looking at the increased interested in the study of BPA, a scientific group was sponsored by FBI to create standards regarding BPA. The group started standardizing the practice of BPA by first standardizing the terminology that was used by analysts of BPA in order to accommodate communication between different analysts and to decrease the confusion created due to the usage of terminology on ad hoc basis. Strengths and Weaknesses There are several strengths and weaknesses attached to different bloodstain pattern analysis, these strengths and weaknesses differ along the various methods used in bloodstain pattern analysis. One of the method through which bloodstain pattern is analyzed is the eye method, in this method, no technology is used and an investigator tries to analyze bloodstains with his/her bare eyes. This method is the quickest of all methods and has no cost attached to it as no technology is required and no specific training which is scientific in nature is required. The weakness of this method is that the analysis of this method is not documented and there is lack of scientific evidence in this approach and the probability of this method ending up in a wrong analysis is quite high. Another method is the string laser method which is backed by scientific evidence but is inexpensive because digital technology usage does not takes place in this method and the calculation errors associated with this method are quite low (Cecchetto, 2010, p.9). The usage of this method consumes ample amount of time and mechanical restrictions make it quite difficult to apply. Another method through which BPA is conducted is BackTrack, the strengths of this analysis method are that it provides accurate calculations and is inexpensive, it has calculated error attached to it and its results can be reviewed by other professionals of BPA (Cecchetto, 2010, p.9). This method is quite difficult to apply during practical situations and can only be conducted with the aid of CAD. The last method through which BPA is conducted is 3D laser based BPA with cluster analysis, the advantages of using this method is that this method is backed by digital technology and can be reviewed by others and can help in studying the crime scene at micro level. The cost of using this method is very high, individuals who do not have training in using this method can not make use of this method and highly trained individuals are required to conduct analysis with this system and have not yet become a standard application for BPA. Certification To become a certified Bloodstain Pattern Expert and operate as an expert in US, an individual requires a certificate from IAI (International Association of Identification). To gain this certification an individual needs to be a person who has high morale, places great importance to trust and integrity, has a good reputation in society and should be highly ethical towards his/her profession. Other requirements for gaining a certification from IAI includes at least 40 hours of education in a workshop that concentrates on practical and theoretical side of BPA. The applicant even should have practiced in the field of BPA for more than 3 years after they have gained 40 hours of workshop training. Applicant even requires to have spend 240 hours in fields related to BPA, including: photography, recovery of evidence, technology used in crime scene investigation and related fields. In case of Canada, bloodstain pattern analysis experts take up courses offered by the ICS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and these certificates include a wide range of courses regarding forensic science and BPA is a part of all the courses. This means that in Canada, BPA is not taken up as a specialized subject; it is rather incorporated in the complete study of Forensic Science. Technology Involvement Forensic Science has become quite advanced over the previous few years and technology has become a central part of the entire crime scene investigation process. Use of technology has been conducted to redevelop the crime scene and predict what actually happened and what changes took place at the crime scene over the period of time. A major part of the entire Bloodstain Pattern Analysis scene is technology; technology is used in various areas of BPA. It is used in determining whose blood it is, whether it is the blood of the victim or the criminal or a third party. These technological advancements even help investigators decide about the location of the criminal at the time of crime and the location of the victim while he was being victimized. It is even used to determine what kind of weapon was used by the criminal and at what distance was it used to conduct the crime. These technologies are even a part of bloodstain pattern analysis and are used in every day practice. For example: Ruslander believes that the most inexpensive method of conducting BPA is torpedo laser levels and states that it is one of the most accurate and precise ways of conducting BPA (Ruslander, 2008). According to him, these lasers can be utilized to create laser lines according to an individuals own projected lines and later these lines can be aligned together to figure out the converging point. These lines then can be photographed with the aid of digital cameras such as the SLR camera. Certain computer softwares such as Hemospat are used for the calculation of place where the impact took place and where the bleeding started to occur at a particular scene of crime (De, 2011). With the help of these directions an investigator can figure out the accurate posture of the individual when he was harmed by a weapon and the exact place where the victim was standing. Conclusion Blood Pattern Analysis (BPA) has become an integral part of crime scene investigation. It has been in use for several years since Dr. Sheppard was held responsible for killing his wife and through BPA Dr. Kirk figured out that a third person was available at the crime scene. Later Dr. MacDonell started working on BPA and started providing training courses, now these training courses have become more formal and certificates are issued to individuals who complete the requirements of IAI. There are certain limitations and strengths of BPA, these includes the high cost of conducting these analysis, and the accuracy of investigation of these analysis. References Becker, R. F., & Dutelle, A. W. (2013). Criminal investigation (4th ed.). Burlington, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Cecchetto, Benjamin Thomas. (2010). Nonlinear blood pattern reconstruction. University of British Columbia Chermak, S. M., & Bailey, F. Y. (2007). Crimes and trials of the century. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Chisum, W. J., & Turvey, B. E. (2011). Crime reconstruction (2nd ed.). Waltham, MA: Academic Press/Elsevier. De, B. K. G., Stoel, R. D., & Limborgh, J. C. M. (November 01, 2011). Improving the Point of Origin Determination in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 56, 6, 1476-1482. Houck, M. M., & Siegel, J. A. (2010). Fundamentals of forensic science (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Academic Press. Nadel, L. (2012). Memory and law. New York: Oxford University Press. Nissan, E. (2010). Computer applications for handling legal evidence, police investigation and case argumentation. Dordrecht: Springer. Ruslander, H. W. (March 01, 2008). Convergence: How To Use Inexpensive Laser Torpedo Levels To Determine Points of Convergence in Bloodstain Patterns. Evidence Technology Magazine, 6, 2.) Read More