Forensic Fraud
Evaluating Law Enforcement and Forensic Science Cultures in the Context of Examiner Misconduct
- 1st Edition - March 18, 2013
- Latest edition
- Author: Brent E. Turvey
- Language: English
Forensic Fraud is the culmination of 12 years of research by author Brent E. Turvey. A practicing forensic scientist since 1996, Turvey has rendered this first of its kind study in… Read more
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Description
Description
Forensic Fraud is the culmination of 12 years of research by author Brent E. Turvey. A practicing forensic scientist since 1996, Turvey has rendered this first of its kind study into the widespread problem of forensic fraud in the United States. It defines the nature and scope of the problem, the cultural attitudes and beliefs of those involved, and establishes clear systemic contributors. Backed up by scrupulous research and hard data, community reforms are proposed and discussed in light of the recently published National Academy of Sciences report on forensic science.
An adaptation of Dr. Turvey’s doctoral dissertation, this volume relentlessly cites chapter and verse in support of its conclusions that law enforcement cultural and scientific values are incompatible, and that the problem of forensic fraud is systemic in nature. It begins with an overview of forensic fraud as a sub-type of occupational fraud, it explores the extent of fraud in both law enforcement and scientific employment settings, it establishes and then contrasts the core values of law enforcement and scientific cultures and then it provides a comprehensive review of the scientific literature regarding forensic fraud. The final chapters present data from Dr. Turvey’s original research into more than 100 fraudulent examiners between 2000 and 2010, consideration of significant findings, and a review of proposed reforms to the forensic science community based on what was learned. It closes with a chapter on the numerous crime lab scandals, and closures that occurred between 2010 and 2012 – an update on the deteriorating state of the forensic science community in the United States subsequent to data collection efforts in the present research.
Forensic Fraud is intended for use as a professional reference manual by those working in the criminal system who encounter the phenomenon and want to understand its context and origins. It is intended to help forensic scientist and their supervisors to recognize, manage and expel it; to provide policy makers with the necessary understaffing for acknowledging and mitigating it; and to provide agents of the courts with the knowledge, and confidence, to adjudicate it. It is also useful for those at the university level seeking a strong secondary text for courses on forensic science, law and evidence, or miscarriages of justice.
Key features
Key features
- First of its kind overview of the cultural instigators of forensic fraud
- First of its kind research into the nature and impact of forensic fraud, with data (2000-2010)
- First of its kind typology of forensic fraud, for use in future case examination in research
- Numerous profiles of forensic fraudsters
- Review of major crime lab scandals between 2010 and 2012
Readership
Readership
Forensic science professionals, legal practitioners, laboratory supervisors, forensic science students and academicians
Table of contents
Table of contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction
Background
Definitions of Key Terms
Rationale
Scope and Originality
Thesis Statements and the Prevailing Wisdom
Approach Overview
Chapter 2. Occupational Fraud
Fraud as a Statutory Violation
Differentiating Fraud and Negligence
Occupational Fraud
The Fraud Triangle
Traits of Occupational Fraud Perpetrators
Summary
Chapter 3. Forensic Science: A Primer
Forensic Science—Defined
Criminalistics: Some Relevant Background
“Real” Forensic Scientists
The Role of Forensic Examinations
Cardinal Traits of the Forensic Examiner
A Tale of Two Cultures
Summary
Chapter 4. Fraud in Law Enforcement Culture
Law Enforcement Duties and Obligations
Law Enforcement Discretion and Integrity
Cardinal Traits of Law Enforcement Culture
Noble Cause and Corruption
The Blue Wall of Silence
The Use of Deception
Internal Tolerance for Criminality
Fraud Diamond Theory: Assessing Common Forms of Law Enforcement Fraud
Summary
Chapter 5. Fraud and Scientific Culture
Science, Scientific Knowledge, and the Scientific Method
Science as Falsification
The Cardinal Traits of Scientific Culture
Scientific Fraud: Terms and Definitions
The Babbage Typology
Scientific Fraud: From High Profile to Mundane
The Frequency of Scientific Fraud
Fraud Diamond Theory and Scientific Misconduct
Summary
Chapter 6. Contrasting Scientific Integrity with Law Enforcement Culture
Dispensing with “Bad Apple” Theory
Relevant Criminological Theory: Routine Activities Theory, Differential Association Theory, and Role Strain
Overt Pressure to Conform
Contrasting Scientific Values and Law Enforcement Culture
Summary
Chapter 7. Forensic Fraud: Prior Research
Background: Public Employee Restrictions and Fear of Retaliation
Ideographic Research: Loosely Referenced Case Studies
Monographs: Case Studies with a Theme
Nomothetic Research: Group Studies
Summary
Chapter 8. Forensic Fraud, 2000–2010: Data and Frequency
Sources of Data
Parameters for the Current Data Set
Excluded Cases
Variables and Frequency Results
Summary
Chapter 9. Multivariate Analysis of Forensic Fraud, 2000–2010
Statistical Methods
Correlation Matrices
Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis and Discussion
Immediate Recommendations for Related Research
Limitations
Chapter 10. Conclusions and Recommendations
Significant and Relevant Findings: A Summary
Pre-NAS Report Reform in the Literature
The NAS Report: Lack of Science and Error over Fraud
Forensic Reform Suggested by the Current Research
Future Research
Summary
Chapter 11. Crime Labs in Crisis, 2011–2012: Update and Discussion
Lab Crisis #1: Austin Police Department Crime Laboratory (APDCL), Texas
Lab Crisis #2: Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection (DESPP), Division of Scientific Services Laboratory
Lab Crisis #3: Detroit Police Department Forensic Services Laboratory, Michigan
Lab Crisis #4: El Paso Police Department Crime Laboratory (EPDCL), Texas
Lab Crisis #5: Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime Laboratory, Houston, Texas
Lab Crisis #6: Idaho State Police Forensic Services Laboratory, Pocatello
Lab Crisis #7: Indiana State Department of Toxicology
Lab Crisis #8: Portland Metropolitan Police Crime Laboratory, Oregon
Lab Crisis #9: St. Paul Police Department Crime Laboratory, Minnesota
Lab Crisis #10: Stark County Crime Laboratory, Ohio
Lab Crisis #11: U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL), Ft. Gillem, Georgia
Lab Crisis #12: Department of Public Health Drug Lab, Jamaica Plain, MA
Summary
References
Index
Review quotes
Review quotes
"The enabling conditions and motivations behind forensic fraud are presented, with the argument that systematic incompatibilities between law enforcement culture and scientific culture are largely to blame, along with institutional negligence, rather than unavoidable ‘bad apple’ outliers."—Reference & Research Book News, October 2013
Product details
Product details
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: May 17, 2013
- Language: English
About the author
About the author
BT
Brent E. Turvey
Brent E. Turvey spent his first years in college on a pre-med track only to change his course of study once his true interests took hold. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Portland State University in Psychology, with an emphasis on Forensic Psychology, and an additional Bachelor of Science degree in History. He went on to receive his Masters of Science in Forensic Science after studying at the University of New Haven, in West Haven, Connecticut.
Since graduating in 1996, Brent has consulted with many agencies, attorneys, and police departments in the United States, Australia, China, Canada, Barbados and Korea on a range of rapes, homicides, and serial/ multiple rape/ death cases, as a forensic scientist and criminal profiler. He has also been court qualified as an expert in the areas of criminal profiling, forensic science, victimology, and crime reconstruction. In August of 2002, he was invited by the Chinese People's Police Security University (CPPSU) in Beijing to lecture before groups of detectives at the Beijing, Wuhan, Hanzou, and Shanghai police bureaus. In 2005, he was invited back to China again, to lecture at the CPPSU, and to the police in Beijing and Xian - after the translation of the 2nd edition of his text into Chinese for the University. In 2007, he was invited to lecture at the 1st Behavioral Sciences Conference at the Home Team (Police) Academy in Singapore, where he also provided training to their Behavioral Science Unit. In 2012 Brent completed his PhD in Criminology from Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia.
He is the author of Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Editions (1999, 2002, 2008, 2011); co- author of the Rape Investigation Handbook, 1st and 2nd Editions (2004, 2011), Crime Reconstruction 1st and 2nd Editions (2006, 2011), Forensic Victimology (2008) and Forensic Fraud (2013) - all with Elsevier Science. He is currently a full partner, Forensic Scientist, Criminal Profiler, and Instructor with Forensic Solutions, LLC, and an Adjunct Professor of Justice Studies at Oklahoma City University. He can be contacted via email at: [email protected].