It is an honour to have been elected as President of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences. I acknowledge the many eminent professionals who have preceded me in this role since it was founded 51 years ago. My discipline is psychiatry. The founder of the Academy, Dr Oscar Schmalzbach was a psychiatrist, as was another founding member, Dr Maurice Sainsbury. Dr Schmalzbach served as President for two terms and was Secretary-General for over 20 years. Dr Sainsbury was an active member for 28 years, member of council for 18 years, served as Vice- President and assistant editor of the journal. Dr David Bell served as editor of the journal for 14 years. Other eminent and respected psychiatrists have contributed as members and served on council.
The relevance of various branches of science and the emphasis placed on those fields waxes and wanes over time. The common thread is the involvement of branches of science and their usefulness in the detection of crime and application in related areas. With the development and expansion of forensic sciences, we have seen scientific disciplines such as pathology, anthropology, dentistry, entomology, radiology and photography adding forensic divisions. Some disciplines, such as biology (DNA evidence), forensic anthropology and radiology are likely to become more important while others, such as handwriting analysis might become less relevant. James RobertsonCitation1 has pointed out that the journal can only reflect what is submitted for publication, and that the journal has become more scientific in content, reflecting changes in emphasis that have occurred over past years.
Where does psychiatry fit into this? It is accepted in most democratic societies that a person should not be convicted of an offence if at the time of commission of the offence he/she was unconscious or incapable of understanding what was occurring at the time. The psychiatrist is medically qualified and has the training and experience to be able to determine whether the person is fit to plead and stand trial. The psychiatrist is able to assist legal representatives by establishing whether the person is suffering from a mental illness or might have been affected by a mental illness or other condition at the time of the offence. These distinctions may be problematic, as in the case of Anders Brevik who committed mass murder in Norway in 2011. An initial panel assessment found that he was delusional (because he held and expressed extreme unusual beliefs), but the court accepted the evidence of a second panel of psychiatrists who determined that he was not mentally ill. This decision had obvious implications for the relatives of the deceased victims and those victims who suffered serious injuries, including psychiatric after-effects. Police rely on the assistance of psychiatrists for advice on the management and treatment (sometimes with involuntary detention) of persons in states of emotional distress in the community. Psychiatrists are involved in the treatment and management of prison inmates suffering from mental illness and those who have been determined ‘not guilty by reason of mental illness’ and who are detained in a designated hospital.
There are many scientific disciplines working under the rubric of forensic sciences, the older established professions of law and medicine, together with the laboratory and technology sciences. This brings great opportunities for collaboration but also challenges and potential conflicts. Recent plenary sessions of the Academy have demonstrated modern technology and synergies of disciplines. Dr Chris McDonnell showed how post-mortem imaging is used to determine cause and manner of death, with CT scanning applied to post-mortem examinations. This application of a collaborative approach uses ‘virtual’ autopsies, employs a combination of external pathological examination, radiology and computer imagery, sparing families the emotional trauma of waiting for results of an intrusive pathological examination. At the Academy plenary session in May 2019, Dominic Raneri and Lucas van der Walt of the NSW Police Force demonstrated how 3D computerization was used to provide an extensive reconstruction of crime scene exhibits and deceased persons to clarify issues in a crime scene that presented confusing information and images. Many other scientific disciplines are contributing to assist forensic investigations. DNA profiling is increasingly used in identification and crime scene investigation and in tracing missing persons, and further research in this area has the potential to expand into other areas of investigation and research.
With so many disciplines competing, how are resources allocated? Most of the funding for work in the forensic sciences: facilities, staff and equipment are provided by government. Managers present to government a report of the work that has been done and their assessment of future demands on services and what is required to meet those demands. Each manager will present a plan of (usually increased) services proposed for the following year. How is the allocation of funds for the following year to be determined? Should funding continue to a mental health program when there is no demonstrable improvement in the mental health of the subject population? Should a ‘suicide prevention’ program be continued when it has been shown that the rate of suicide in the subject group has increased over the duration of the program?
Allocation of resources is not based on scientific research or successful and efficient use of funds. Factors influencing politicians, and hence government decisions change over time and in different circumstances. Today information disseminated by media is quickly taken up by other online outlets and personal accounts such as Facebook, to an extent that would not have occurred 20 years ago. Sometimes an individual case triggers a public response that attracts sufficient attention to generate political action. Publicity generated by the television series ‘CSI’ has aroused public interest that might have led to political awareness and provision of funding. A tragic case in Sydney when a young man died as the result of an assault led to widespread media interest and eventually to a change in state laws regarding late-night liquor licences. Other individual cases have resulted in changes in government policy or grants of financial support for schemes that appear to present solutions to a problem but are not supported by research or outcomes. This presents a dilemma for the politician who desires to bestow a speedy solution that has popular appeal. How should resources be allocated for forensic science disciplines?
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.