Environmental and Criminal Geoforensics
Geological techniques are widely used in two aspects of serious criminal investigations: (1) the search for clandestine burial sites, based on near-surface geophysics or through the detection of decomposition signals and (2) the analysis of trace evidence to identify its source location or test the possible association between the trace evidence and a known location of an offence. Although geoforensics is used in such investigations world-wide there are still considerable gaps in the published literature. In addition, there is increasing concern regarding the illegal release of wastes either into the atmosphere, water courses or on to the land surface, and a growing realization that the techniques used in criminal forensics are equally useful in the investigation of environmental crime. This book bridges the gap between environmental and criminal geoforensics with conceptual, methodological and case study contributions. This demonstrates the significant potential that geoforensics holds for investigating and regulatory officers.
Geomorphological and geoforensic interpretation of maps, aerial imagery, conditions of diggability and the colour-coded RAG prioritization system in searches for criminal burials
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Published:January 01, 2013
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CiteCitation
Laurance Donnelly, Mark Harrison, 2013. "Geomorphological and geoforensic interpretation of maps, aerial imagery, conditions of diggability and the colour-coded RAG prioritization system in searches for criminal burials", Environmental and Criminal Geoforensics, D. Pirrie, A. Ruffell, L. A. Dawson
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Abstract
The objective of this paper is to draw attention to the use of air photographs, diggability surveys and the RAG (Red–Amber–Green) prioritization system during police ground searches for burials. The acquisition, analysis and interpretation of aerial imagery by a geologist may provide a useful reconnaissance technique to help delineate and prioritize search areas. A diggability survey may provide information on the ease and efficiency with which the ground may be dug and reinstated by an offender. This is influenced by the depth of the soils, the geology, groundwater, obstructions, the digging implements used, the ability of the offender, the nature of item being buried and the time frames involved. The results of a diggability survey may conveniently be presented as a RAG, map which can help in prioritizing the search. The RAG system appears to have been used independently by geologists, police/law enforcement and the military, and has evolved differently and independently since the early part of the 1900s. These methods have been applied to law enforcement searches for graves and other buried objects as demonstrated by operational case examples.