“Why should we expect a part of the criminal justice system to make money?”

Another article from The Guardian about the closure of the Forensic Science Service. I put here some highlights worth to take into consideration when we speak about the closure of FSS.

The article starts with the following sentence: “Why should we expect a part of the criminal justice system to make money?”

About the future of the existent archive in the FSS:  "The chances of the many cold cases that remain being resolved would be negligible and a large and irreplaceable collection of evidence will be lost.”

The FSS was also an important centre of research: "The impacts on research and development, on the capacity of private providers to absorb the FSS's market share, on the future of the archives and on the wider impacts to the criminal justice system appear to have been hastily overlooked in favour of the financial bottom line."

And the concerns about the driving force behind the private labs, which obviously are profit driven like any other company in the world: "While individual forensic scientists may be primarily concerned with issues relating to justice, the companies that employ them are driven by commercial motives: maximisation of profit, increasing market share, brand identity etc," .

Outro artigo do jornal The Guardian sobre o encerramento do Forensic Science Service. Coloquei aqui alguns das frases chave do artigo, que vale a pena ter em consideração, quando falamos sobre o encerramento do FSS.

O artigo começa com a seguinte frase: “Porque devemos esperar que uma parte do sistema de jsutiça criminal gere dinheiro?

Sobre o futuro do arquivo existente no FSS: “As probabilidades de que muitos dos Cold Cases sejam resolvidos seria diminuta, e a perda de uma grande parte de provas de recolhidas e insubstituíveis será perdida.”

O FSS funcionava ainda como um importante centro de investigação de ciências forenses: “Os impactos na investigação e desenvolvimento, na capacidade das empresas privadas de absorver o espaço de mercado do FSS, no futuro dos arquivos e nos impactos a longo prazo no sistema de justiça criminal parecem ter sido negligenciados, em detrimento dos factores financeiros.”

Para finalizar as reservas sobre a força motriz por detrás dos laboratórios privados, que será, sem duvida, a do lucro, como qualquer empresa no mundo: “Enquanto cientistas forenses estão, antes de mais, preocupados com questões relacionadas com a justiça, as empresas que os empregam, terão motivações financeiras: a maximização do lucro, aumentar quotas de mercado, a sua marca e identidade etc”.  


Source:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/feb/16/closing-forensic-science-service

Forensic Science Service

Here is the link  for the article of New Scientist about the closure of Forensic Science Service in United Kingdom and its impact in the results, where questions such as impartially and accreditation of private and police ones.

It is a pertinent theme. Moreover, when governments are cutting back justice expenses.

When someone states that FSS is not generating money, I wonder if a government´s institutions which deals with such a delicate matter: the protection of citizen´s rights when suffer any kind of offence, should be generating money instead of assuring their rights.

It´s a fact that private labs coexisted with FSS, they argue that they will stay true to the standards of quality. On the other hands, forensic scientists assume that sometimes feel pressured to produce a determined result. When it comes to the incorporation of Forensic Labs in the Police Forces this aspect will be definitely an issue to consider.

Itiel Droer assumes: “Many of us do not have enough time to do our work, but if you combine this with the fact that nearly a third of [forensic scientists] are coming under pressure to produce a particular result, it gets extremely dangerous,"

“Overall, 92.3 per cent of respondents said they thought the impact of the closure on criminal justice would be mostly negative, while 76.4 per cent said they thought it would lead to an increase in miscarriages of justice."

“The market is overseen by the Home Office's Forensic Science Regulator”  but will that be enough?

Aqui está o link para o artigo da Revista New Scientist sobre o encerramento do Forensic Science Service no Reino Unido e o seu impacto sobre as perícias, onde são abordadas questões como a imparcialidade e acreditação do sector privado e dos laboratórios incorporados nas forças policiais.

É um tema pertinente, especialmente, quando os governos em crise cortam nas despesas da justiça.

Interrogo-me quando leio que o FSS não esta a gerar lucro, mas sim a gastar, se instituições governamentais que lidam com uma matéria tão delicada como a: da protecção dos direitos dos cidadãos quando sofrem qualquer tipo de ofensa, deveriam gerar lucros em vez de assegurar os seus direitos, somente.

De acordo, com este inquérito para determinar a exactidão e a fiabilidade das perícias, 70 por cento concordaram que com o encerramento do FSS se iria reduzir a imparcialidade da interpretação da prova.

William Thompson da Universidade da Califórnia diz que “Numa altura quando as deficiências  da ciência forense estão, aparentemente, a aumentar, perder uma dos institutos de investigação não e apenas uma perda para o Reino Univdo, mas representa uma perda para o mundo inteiro”.

Os laboratórios privados que exercem ciência forense coexistiram com o FSS, argumentam que se manterão fieis aos seus critérios de qualidade. Por outro lado, cientistas forenses afirmam que por vezes se sentem pressionados para produzir um determinado resultado. No que toca  à incorporação de laboratórios dentro das forças policiais este aspecto da qualidade e imparcialidade são, definitivamente, uma questão a considerar.

Itiel Droer assume que “Muitos de nós não temos o tempo suficiente para realizar o nosso trabalho, mas se combinarmos isto com facto de que perto de 1 terço dos cientistas forenses estão sob pressão para produzir um determinado resultado, isto torna-se extremamente perigoso.

“No geral, 92.3 por cento dos inquiridos dizem pensar que o impacto do encerramento do FSS terá sobretudo um impacto negativo sobre o sistema de justiça criminal, outros 76.4 por cento dizem pensar que irá levar a erros judiciais”. 

O mercado privado é regulado pelo Home Office's Forensic Science Regulator” , mas será isto suficiente?

Sources: here

Portugal and United Kindgom

Portugal and U.K had created a special team to investigate an international group of trafficking of Human Beings. The agreement was signed with the supervision of Eurojust.
This group develops its activity also in other European countries.



Source

Mary Ann Cotton

Who was this woman? Britain´s first serial killer?
Find out more in this article .

Baltazar Garzon

Prostests in Spain over the accusation of Baltazar Garzon, of open an inquiry to investigate the missing persons during Franco´s dictactorship and for corruption.

Here

Italian Website on Forensic Geology

Here is the new Italian Website about Forensic Geology.
It could be a useful resource for professionals.


Here

Rei Ghob

Francisco Leitao was presented to court today. This man, the so -called "Rei Ghob" is accused of murdering four persons and even hide their bodies and other crimes.

The bodies of these four persons were never found.

Hoje Francisco Leitão foi presente a julgamento dos crimes pelos quais responde, entre outros o homicídio de quatro pessoas, bem como a ocultação dos seus cadáveres.

Os corpos destas pessoas não foram encontrados.

Here

The Lisbon Ripper #2

Hello!

As promised a short brifieng of the case

The case – The Lisbon Ripper

During the 90´s (1992-1993) 3 women (prostitutes), in Lisbon, were killed. The murders had a padron, some of their organs were taken by the ripper, they were all killed still being alive, they have the same professional occupation and similar physical traits: small, skinny and with brown hair. The autopsies determined that all the victims were alive when suffer lesions.

Case 1 – Date:  July 1992 – Valentina

22 years old, Zone Odivelas (Lisbon suburbs ).

Drug addict;

She was battered and stabbed.

Case 2- Date: January 1993 - Fernanda

24 years old; Zone Entrecampos (Lisbon city)

She was sober during the attack.

Battered, apparently tried to resist the aggressions. Several wounds in the head and face.  

Apparently, the perpetrator had used part of a bottle in order to cut the body and take their organs out (Lungs, Gallblader, and Intestines) and  had taken with him small portions of these organs.

Case 3 – Date: April 1993, Maria João

27 years old; Zone: Odivelas (Lisbon suburbs)

Two months after the last murder.

Drug addicted.

Friend of the first women murdered

Battered and stabbed with a glass bottle, once again the organs were taken out of the body and taken with him.

Somebody heard that she shouted “ Luís, please don´t this!”.

Investigators share that the murderers showed an evolution, but the lack of evidence leave space for several interpretations.  

The case is closed, and once the Portuguese law dictates that 15 years after a murder being committed, a suspect or even the killer cannot be judged and consequently being arrested.

Well, what happen last week (here in Portugal) was that a man spoke to a Portuguese journalist (Felícia Cabrita) and confessed these murderers, assuming himself as the Lisbon Ripper.

After interviewing the man the journalist called the police, which arrest the man.

How this man was discovered by this journalist? Allegedly his son wanted to be in Reality Show – Secret Story 2 and applied with the secret:” I know who is the Lisbon Ripper”.  Interesting, hum? A son who wants to be famous by knowing that his father is the Lisbon Ripper.

The interview was published in the portuguese newspaper : “Sol” , and also the videos where the man describes what had done with the women killed during the 90´s.

The police is trying to determine if this man is the famous Lisbon Ripper, as he claimed to be. His favourite book was Jack the Ripper and all his life told his family that he was the Lisbon Ripper.

He also claimed to the journalist that he killed a prostitute in Aveiro. And he is being investigated for this crime, which was committed in 2000.

Accordingly to the media he said to the police he was not the killer, and he son appeared on Tv saying that he was lying, after all he just wanted to be in Secret Story 2 and perhaps be famous!

Note: The information contained in this post was recovered from the social communication, which sometimes is not the most reliable source as it should be.

P.S: In this interview to the journalist who interviewed this man, she is asked: How do you have identified this man?

Related video

Related video

Breaking Serial Killer stereotypes

The post about The Lisbon Ripper will be posted soon, I hope.In a meanwhile this talk about Serial Killers with Dr. Katherine Ramsland  and Dr . Hickey can be served as “Appetizer” .


You can listen here

Modus Operandi

"A Cátia sabe quem matou a Rosalina?"

I´m afraid but I think this link will work as a Private Joke to portugueses only.
I will post soon something about the Lisbon Ripper Case that is in every portuguese newspaper in the last few days.
Good Weekend!

O Estripador de Lisboa?

The Lisbon Ripper was arrested?

Reflexion

"Os portugueses têm razões para duvidar da Justiça"


"Portuguese have reasons to doubt of Justice."

Paula Teixeira da Cruz (Ministra da Justiça/Justice Minister), in Expresso.

Sudan´s Mass Graves found

In images provided by George´s Clooney satellite mass graves were identified..
These mass graves apparently result from confronts in Sudan, between the army and a rebel group.
In the image we can spot three areas, that could be consistent with these informations.
Any expert in aerial imagery?



Image taken from here here




Here
Here