Approaching Utility in Forensic Anthropology

Abstract

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness have emerged as important topics in forensic science. So far, however, social research has tended to neglect infrequently used and highly specialized sub-disciplines of forensic science. This paper begins to address this deficiency with regard to one such sub-discipline, namely forensic anthropology, the analysis of skeletal remains in the interests of criminal justice. A simple attrition model is derived from the quantitative analysis of caseloads encountered at two contrasting regional medico-legal institutes: Sheffield Medico-Legal Center (SMLC) in the United Kingdom and the Centro de Medicina Legal (CEMEL) in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. The pattern of cases encountered in these samples (n = 105) is assessed against 36 measures of case provenance and type, methods employed in casework, case demography, and contribution to the investigation recorded in a matrix of 3,780 data items. Representativeness in relation to forensic anthropology casework in general is established via comparison with four published surveys—Smithsonian (n = 474), Tennessee (n = 513), Montevideo (n = 344), and Porto Alegre (n = 276). The model may be improved via systematic case recording, including courtroom finalizations and verdicts. It suggests case conversions would be increased via scene attendance, improved communication and integration, end-to-end performance management, feedback on evidential reliability, and tailoring of research and education to reflect caseload. Following contemporary expectations in social research, the model is used to identify policy changes that would contribute to crime reduction and prevention. The value of forensic anthropology to public health and safety and its significance to human rights is discussed. Males predominated all of the studies considered in this analysis, whether victims of homicide, suicide, accident, or natural causes. These findings appear to offer compelling evidence to support human rights policies that recognize the right to life and health for males as well as females in countries at all stages of socioeconomic development. The right to life is the most fundamental human right to which one is entitled without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. Despite its longevity, forensic anthropology has many attributes of a nascent discipline. Its definition and its disciplinary boundaries are uncertain, and—outside of the United States, at least—standards and regulation are inconsistent. The paper represents an attempt to offer a comprehensive, if preliminary, approach to utility in forensic anthropology in anticipation that it will provoke debate and further research.

Keywords:

• Methods and practices
• forensic anthropology
• efficacy
• education
• research

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution the forensic pathologists, odontologists, archaeologists, technicians, investigators, graduate students, and practitioners of facial reconstruction who contributed to casework in Brazil and the United Kingdom, and for the generous award from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund for the capacity building collaboration in support of the Rule of Law in Brazil.

Sheffield University's Department of Forensic Pathology closed in 2004 and the forensic pathology unit joined the Forensic Science Service. This unit, in turn, disbanded in 2011 with the announcement of the United Kingdom Government that it would close the Forensic Science Service.The Excel spreadsheet referred to in the text is available from the corresponding author.

Notes

1. One case of buried archaeological remains is considered due to its initially suspicious appearance.

2. Experience suggests investigators are typically not satisfied with statements indicating, “I don't know what it is, but it isn't human.” A positive identification of faunal remains is required.