Topic 2: The Collection & Processing of Forensic Evidence: Hall & Player (2008)

Question 1

State the aim of this study.

Answer 1

To investigate if fingerprint experts are emotionally affected by a case’s circumstances, and does the crime report affects the identification of poor-quality prints.

Question 2

Describe the sample of this study.

Answer 2

70 volunteer fingerprint experts from the Met Police (58 active, 12 managerial roles).

Question 3

Describe the procedure of this study.

Answer 3

• Ambiguous print from a known source placed on a £50 note; 14 copies made.
• Participants (at New Scotland Yard) received a copy, suspect prints, crime scene reports, and context.
• Half were given a high-emotion (murder) case, half a low-emotion (forgery) case.
• Participants decided match, no match, insufficient for comparison, or insufficient detail.
• Participants reported crime scene info use and its impact on their analysis.

Question 4

What did chi-squared results show?

Answer 4

No significant difference in outcomes between the high and low emotion contexts (no bias present).

Question 5

What was the conclusion made from this study?

Answer 5

Fingerprint experts can deal with analysis in a detached and non-emotional way.

Question 6

Describe the results of this study.

Answer 6

• 57/70 said that they had read the crime scene report (30 were in high emotional context).
• 52% of the 30 said they felt the crime scene report had influenced their decision (6% in low emotional context).