Section A Flashcards
Multiple choice
“I know that there is at best a moderate chance of my winning a local singing competition, because the local singers are good. There is a competition in the next town, but I don’t know how good the singers are there, so rather than ‘risk it,’ I will enter the local competition.”
This statement is an example of which of the following:
(a) Anchoring effect
(b) Over-confidence effect
(c) Expectation effect
(d) Ambiguity effect
(e) Context effect
(d) Ambiguity effect
A partial DNA profile was obtained from a crime scene in Bayswater that matched the DNA of a person of interest (POI) at the 5 sites (DNA loci) analysed. It was estimated that the chance of this DNA matching a random member of the population was 1 in 700,000.
Which one of the following statements is most likely to be true?
(a) The chance that someone other than the POI committed the crime is 1 in 700,000
(b) The chance that the POI is the offender is 700,000 is to 1
(c) Given that there are 2,100,000 people in Perth, statistically speaking there are 3 people in Perth (ie 2,100,000 divided by 700,000) with DNA that would match this partial profile
(d) There is a 66.6% likelihood (ie 2 chances out of 3) that the crime was committed by someone other than the POI
(e) The application of random-match probabilities is inappropriate because it is applying population-based data to an individual
(c) Given that there are 2,100,000 people in Perth, statistically speaking there are 3 people in Perth (ie 2,100,000 divided by 700,000) with DNA that would match this partial profile
In developing a Forensic Strategy to support the investigation of a serious crime, which one of the following is not taken into consideration?
(a) Prioritisation of scene examinations
(b) Prioritisation of laboratory submissions
(c) Investigative support
(d) Identification of persons of interest (suspects)
(c) Investigative support
A young woman who was a known heroin user with prior convictions for drug trafficking was found dead in a hotel bedroom. Investigating officers who first attended the scene found her with a hypodermic syringe clutched in her right hand and a tourniquet around her left arm. They concluded that she had died of a self-administered overdose. The scene was not processed; no fingerprints were taken from the scene; the syringe was not examined nor analysed, and the body was buried before blood heroin levels had been determined. This inadequate investigation of a possible hidden homicide resulted from which of the following heuristic factors:
(a) Confirmation bias
(b) Stereotyping
(c ) Anchoring effect
(d) Expectation effect
(e) Context effect
(f) All of the above
(f) All of the above
In each of the following a statement is followed by a reason. Read each carefully and respond according to the key below by writing the appropriate number from the key in the box provided:
KEY
1 Both statement and reason are correct
2 Statement is correct but the reason given is incorrect
3 Statement is incorrect but the reason given is a correct statement
4 Statement is incorrect and the reason given is an incorrect statement
(a) The Greiss test is regarded as a presumptive test for the presence of nitrogycerine rather than a definitive evidential test because it relies upon the production of nitrite which can be generated from other substances such as nitrocellulose, some soaps and detergents
(b) The probability of two children in the same family dying of “Sudden Unexplained Death in an Infa1nt” (SUDI; cot death) in Australia is approximately 1 in 9 million (ie 3,000 X 3,000) because the incidence
of SUDI in the Australian population is approximately 1 in 3,000 births
(c) Gastric emptying is one of the more reliable methods for estimating the post mortem interval because the rate at which food moves from the stomach into the small intestine is relatively constant and independent of the type of food consumed
(d) Subjective comparative methodologies in forensic science, such as bite mark analysis often lack foundational validity because, amongst other issues, there is a tendency to look for similarities between the samples rather than differences
(e) In blood alcohol determinations conducted in compliance with Section 71 of the Road Traffic Act of Western Australia, the retrospective value estimated at the time of occurrence of a traffic crash is often less than the value determined by the evidential test because the Act requires that the value must be reduced by 0.016 grams alcohol per 100mL of blood per hour (average population-based disposal rate of alcohol) to allow for the metabolism of alcohol during the 2 hour period immediately following consumption of the last drink
(a) 1
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 1
(e) 2
Which of the following is not a Daubert guideline for the admission of scientific testimony in Court?
(a) Whether the technique can be, and has been, tested
(b) Whether the technique has involved only objective methodology
(c) Whether the technique has been subjected to peer review and publication
(d) Whether the rate of error of the technique has been reliably estimated or clearly determined (e) Whether the technique has widespread acceptance amongst the scientific community
(b) Whether the technique has involved only objective methodology
Indicate whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F)
(a) Drug analysis of hair derived from unidentified human remains can sometimes provide useful intelligence as to the population subtype to which the individual belonged but cannot provide evidence of the person’s identification
(b) The observer-expectancy effect is a conscious and intended misinterpretation of data in order to confirm an expected result
(c) An epidural haematoma in an incinerated body is indicative of an ante-mortem head injury and is suggestive of “hidden homicide”
(d) For a person who dies at home, scene markers often provide a better estimate of the post-mortem interval than any of the pathological/biological methods used to estimate the time of death
(e) Selective attention and in-attentional blindness are heuristic mechanisms that we use to arrive at a conclusion when confronted with more information than we can process simultaneously
(a) Drug analysis of hair derived from unidentified human remains can sometimes provide useful intelligence as to the population subtype to which the individual belonged but cannot provide evidence of the person’s identification - True
(b) The observer-expectancy effect is a conscious and intended misinterpretation of data in order to confirm an expected result - False
(c) An epidural haematoma in an incinerated body is indicative of an ante-mortem head injury and is suggestive of “hidden homicide” - False
(d) For a person who dies at home, scene markers often provide a better estimate of the post-mortem interval than any of the pathological/biological methods used to estimate the time of death - True
(e) Selective attention and in-attentional blindness are heuristic mechanisms that we use to arrive at a conclusion when confronted with more information than we can process simultaneously - True
Indicate whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F)
(a) Finding the “gold standard” is one of the aims of crime science
(b) Most risk prediction systems are skewed to high false positives
(c) Statistical prediction outperforms clinical prediction in almost all cases
(d) Evaluations of offender profiling indicate very strong empirical support for offender profiling
(e) Signature or personisation changes over time as the offender gains experience and confidence
(a) Finding the “gold standard” is one of the aims of crime science - False
(b) Most risk prediction systems are skewed to high false positives - True
(c) Statistical prediction outperforms clinical prediction in almost all cases - True
(d) Evaluations of offender profiling indicate very strong empirical support for offender profiling - False
(e) Signature or personisation changes over time as the offender gains experience and confidence - False
Which of the following is incorrect?
(a) In the clinical approach to making predictions, the clinician is generally considered to be an expert
in his/her field
(b) In the clinical approach to making predictions the clinician makes a prediction based on intuition
(c) Clinical prediction makes use of crime data bases
(d) Clinical prediction is fundamentally a subjective judgement.
(c) Clinical prediction makes use of crime data bases
With regard to statistical or actuarial predictions, which of the following is correct?
(a) Qualitative
(b) Structured
(c) Linked to different criterion
(d) All of the above
(b) Structured
Available evidence indicates that risk instruments should be used for CJS decision making because they
(a) Are sufficiently efficient
(b) Meet reasonable evidence requirements (c) Are fair
(d) All of the above
(e) None of the above
(e) None of the above
With regard to modus operandi, which of the following is incorrect?
(a) It is the routine method by which an offender works
(b) It is learnt behaviour
(c) It is consistent over time
(d) It is dependent upon the victim
(c) It is consistent over time
Inbau et al. (authors of the Reid technique) suggest which of the following?
(a) Both the innocent and guilty will show the same degree of anxiety due to the fact that both are
being interrogated
(b) Anxiety will increase with the innocent over time because they are being accused of something they did not do
(c) Anxiety will decrease with the guilty over time because they realise the interrogator does not have sufficient evidence to show guilt
(d) All of the above
(e) None of the above
(e) None of the above
