News & Events

Professor Tim Watson (WMG) and colleagues, Dr Gillian Tilly (Forensic Science Regulator), Neil Cohen (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory), Gareth Davies (United Kingdom Accreditation Service, and Prof Roy Isbell (University of South Wales), have published a paper that examines the quality standards for digital forensics in England and Wales.

You can view the paper hereLink opens in a new window.

Here is a general summary:

The Forensic Science Regulator has the role of setting quality standards for forensic science in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales. The current requirement is for organisations carrying out digital forensics to gain accreditation to the international standard ISO/IEC 17025 and the Forensic Science Regulator's Codes of Practice and Conduct. The aim of this requirement is to embed a systematic approach to quality, including understanding methods, validating software and systems, understanding risks, ensuring that all involved in the crime scene to court process have the skills and competence they need and the appropriate equipment and environment for the work, and providing ongoing assurance of quality through audit and proficiency tests. However, the challenge of implementing the standards in digital forensics should not be underestimated, particularly in an environment where there is insufficient capacity to meet a growing demand for services in an area of increasing complexity and fragmented delivery. It is therefore timely to review available data to determine the extent to which accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 is addressing quality issues in digital forensics and consider what changes and resources could be made available to assist with implementation of quality systems.

PhD student, Danni Norman (Psychology), and her co-supervisors, Dr Kim Wade, Prof Derrick Watson (Psychology) and Prof Mark Williams (WMG), have published a new paper that explores how virtual reality might be used in police investigations to enhance the efficacy of the Concealed Information Test.

You can download a freely available version of the paper via Warwick's research repository.

Here is a general summary:

We explore how virtual reality could be used in police investigations to take a suspect back in time and demon- strate that they recognize a crime scene despite claiming not to. In this study, participants committed a mock crime before being incentivized to conceal recognition of crime related details (e.g., the stolen item or crime scene). The crime scenes and objects were laser scanned, converted to photo-realistic models, and presented to suspects either in virtual reality (VR) or as 2D images on a computer screen. While concealing recognition of crime information, participants’ heart rate and skin conductance were measured using a Concealed Information Test (CIT) to assess recognition. Detection of concealed recognition increased by over 25% when participants viewed crime items in VR compared to 2D images. Our findings suggest that revisiting crime scenes or objects in VR may enhance stimulus recognition and salience resulting in increased CIT diagnosticity.

On the 15th and 16th May 2019, COPR hosted the National Custody Forum at the Warwick Business School. This event was attended by police officers and researchers from across the UK.

COPR Director Jackie HodgsonLink opens in a new window has a new chapter on Empirical Approaches to Criminal Procedure in The Oxford Handbook of Criminal ProcessLink opens in a new window.

The recently published chapter was written in collaboration with Yu MouLink opens in a new window at the University of London, and focuses on criminal justice in its sociopolitical culture, routine criminal justice practices and the relationship between law and policy.

You can find out more and access the chapter hereLink opens in a new window.

Kim WadeLink opens in a new window has recently been appointed the role of Co-Director of COPR. She will take over from Neil StewartLink opens in a new window, who will continue to be an active COPR member and researcher at Warwick Business SchoolLink opens in a new window.

Kim (pictured left) will join Co-Director Jackie HodgsonLink opens in a new window (below right), who continues to work hard to keep COPR moving forward.

Kim's research focuses on memory distortions,and the implications of memory research for legal professionals, including work on eyewitness testimony, the best methods for constructing and adminsitering lineups, and the use of fabricated evidence. As well as being an active researcher, she also works as the Associate Editor at the Legal and Criminological PsychologyLink opens in a new window journal, and as the Executive Director of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and CognitionLink opens in a new window. No doubt she will also do a fantastic job as Co-Director of COPR!

You can find out more about Kim's work on her home pageLink opens in a new window, and also on her websiteLink opens in a new window.

COPR researchers Professors Jackie HodgsonLink opens in a new window and Vanessa MunroLink opens in a new window in Warwick Law SchoolLink opens in a new window are investigating the experiences of female detainees in police custody. Working with academic colleagues (Dr Layla SkinnsLink opens in a new window, Sheffield and Dr Roxanna DehaghaniLink opens in a new window, Cardiff) and Katie Kempen (Chief Executive, Independent Custody Visiting AssociationLink opens in a new window), they have carried out a pilot study to investigate the needs and experiences of female detainees and the different ways in which these are met. This has involved speaking to detainees directly, as well as those managing Independent Custody Visiting schemes in five different areas of England and Wales.

The findings of this preliminary investigation will be presented in the spring in order to gain feedback and suggestions from a range of practitioners and policymakers, including the police themselves, with a view to conducting a larger scale study in collaboration with several police forces.

In January 2019, the Centre for Operational Police Research (COPR) released their final report on Public Confidence and Crime Reduction: The Impact of Forensic Property Marking.

The full text can be accessed here:

Public Confidence and Crime Reduction: the Impact of Forensic Property Marking (Final Report)

This project was completed in co-operation with West Mercia Police and assessed a field trial involving over 20,000 households in the Telford area. It evaluated the impact of interventions such as Smartwater to establish whether they are likely to improve public confidence and reduce offending.

The interim report launched in September 2017 discussed the preliminary findings on public confidence in policing. This included the responses from surveys completed by 1,666 Telford residents as well as interviews with police offers, Police Community Support Officers and public offenders. Since then, the COPR team have analysed crime figures from 14 sites treated with commercial property marking. The results are presented in the final report and suggest that such interventions could be beneficial in helping police to reduce crime.

The overall findings are also displayed in the infographic shown below, which is also available to download here:

Infographic from Final Report.

On 25 September 2017, the Centre of Operational Police Research (COPR) launched their interim report on Public Confidence and Crime Reduction: The Impact of Forensic Property Marking. Full text of the interim report may be accessed here:

Public Confidence and Crime Reduction: The Impact of Forensic Property Marking

The project was an independent assessment of a field trial with West Mercia Police involving over 20,000 households across five sites in or near Telford. It evaluated the impact of Smartwater technology and other preventive interventions on public confidence in policing and crime reduction to help establish whether forensic property marking is likely to reduce crime, improve public confidence, and increase victim satisfaction. It included surveying 1666 residents, interviews with senior police officers, Police Community Support Officers and prolific offenders.

Members of COPR were joined by representatives from West Mercia and Warwickshire Police, the Met Police, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, the College of Policing, SmartWater, members of the Society for Evidence Based Policing, as well as colleagues from Sociology, Psychology and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM). Presentations on the report’s preliminary findings were given by Professor Jackie Hodgson, Professor Neil Stewart, Dr Kim Wade and Natalie Kyneswood. Speakers also included Superintendent Tom Harding, who outlined the nature of the property marking interventions and the importance of working with COPR to provide evidence based policing and Dr Frank Pike from the College of Policing who discussed ways of using research to assess and inform the impact of interventions on policing.

View the Slides from the Launch Event

The COPR team also produced an infographic highlighting some of their preliminary findings:

The above infographic is available to download here:

Infographic from Interim Report

The final report, including an analysis of crime data, is forthcoming in 2017.

Further enquiries to n dot s dot kyneswood at warwick dot ac dot uk

Further enquiries to n.s.kyneswood@warwick.ac.uk

Kim Wade will present her research on false memory at ALSO Festival, as well as Latitude Festival this summer.

“I will discuss how and why our memories become distorted and the most recent developments in false memory science. You may be surprised to learn how malleable your memory is, but don’t worry, you’ll also discover why memory distortions, often, are a very good thing.”