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Knowledge of and Attitudes to the forensicuse of bio-information among law-students

in Jamaica.

Clayton Brown: Presenter and Student Researcher

Professor Norma McFarlane Anderson PhD: Supervisor

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Background

Research question

Objectives

Methodology

Participants, materials, procedure, Analysis

Schedule References

Outline of the PresentationIntroduction

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Forensic Science is the science assisting in theinvestigation and adjudication of criminal and civilcases. (Houck)

Application of science to answer questions of legalsystem.

Bio-information- evidential material derived from the

analysis of physical characteristics of an individual. Example fingerprint, DNA, blood type. (Nuffield)

Background

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DNA fingerprinting is demonstrating significantsuccess as a crime fighting tool.

Sir Alec Jefferies tests have evolved into modern DNAprofiling.

Revolutionizing the concept of Justice worldwide.

Guilt or innocence are assisted by the evidence.

HistoryBackground

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The innocence project

289 post conviction DNA exonerations

Local importance R v Pringle

A profile is the product of the analysis of samples

DNA Databases/ DNA databanks stores profiles

Background

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NDNAD- National DNA Database holdsapproximately 6% of population of England.

CODIS- Combined DNA Index System.

The profile is either added or checked against storedprofiles (Naughton)

Background

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Is there a need for a DNA databank for Jamaica?

Amendment of the fingerprint Act (PM and Senator Williams)

High Levels of Crime and Violence

Deplorable rate of conviction (47% clear up rate)

Background

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Awareness to the forensic use of bio-informationamong members of society must be assessed in theface of the

Disadvantages claimed:

Compromise in collection

Compromise in storage (for use in the justice system)

Potential for fraudulent misuse by law enforcement

Background

Issues at Hand

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We wouldnt want this

now, would we?

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This is what we want!!!

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Justice Issues

Post conviction DNA v Finality (Retention Rights)

Privacy Issues (Invasive nature of DNA) Familial Searches

Non requested experimentation- cloning, modernscientific developments.

Revealing a genetic link between individuals whohad never intended for such to be done.

Ethical IssuesBack ground

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NO REASON TO FEAR IF YOU ARE INNOCENT

Suspicion (cannot be excluded), planting of evidence,

Illegal acquisition of the evidence/bio-information

Still admissible in court-implications

Chain of custody

Misinterpretation of Probabilities

Prosecutions/Defense Fallacies

Ethical issues continued

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Database made to track recidivism

Full Rehabilitation Fiction or Non fiction

Reliance on DNA evidence alone compromising theJustice system.

Ethical concerns

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What is the level of Knowledge of the forensic use ofbio-information among law students in Jamaica?

The level of knowledge of the forensic use of bio-information among law students is below average.

The future Judiciary and Bar need to know the power

of biological evidence as well as bioethics.

Research Question/ Hypothesis

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First study of its kind done in this Jurisdiction

A preliminary study

No published investigations have yet been seen or done.

A comparative study to

Public Perceptions and Expectations of the Use of DNA:

Results of A preliminary study. (Curtis 2009)

University of Aukland, New Zealand.

Statement of Problem and Justification (shall beread)

RationaleImportance

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This study aims at determining the current level of

knowledge of the forensic use of bio-information

among law students and to develop a better

understanding of the attitudes to the ethical issues

surrounding said use.

Overall ObjectiveObjectives

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To provide information on the knowledge of and

attitudes to the use of bio-information among law

students that can be useful in the review and/oramendment of the Fingerprint Act of Jamaica.

Objective 2Objectives

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By September 28, 2012

Objective 1

To determine the main sources of knowledge on bio-information which are accessed by law students.

Indicator:

A distribution of the main sources of knowledgeaccessed by law students.

Specific Objectives and IndicatorsObjectives

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By October 2, 2012

Objective 2

To assess law students knowledge of the forensic useof bio-information.

Indicator:

Distribution of levels of knowledge determined andinterpreted.

Specific Objectives and IndicatorsObjectives

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Cross-sectional/prevalence study

Research toolself administered questionnaire

Uniquely identified. FSCI16201UW000.

Study population/participants will be law students fromUWI, UTECH and UCC

Determined by using

Sample size N0=t2(p*q)/d2

Adjusted size n=N0/1+N0/N

Size including practical contingency= 400 students + 20 for pilot

students

Sample Selection and Materials

Methodology

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Sample will be stratified by institution

Simple random Sampling (assigning numbers forstudents and choosing from a hat until target is

reached)

Questionnaire presently consists of 4 open ended, 2Visual analogue questions and a number of closedended and Lickert-scaled questions.

Selection and MaterialsMethodology

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Research was subject to ethical consideration

Data will be collected

Post-coding of open ended and closed endedquestions (Curtis)

Entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS) and Microsoft Excel for analysis and display

Basic Probability tests- Z scores, T- tests, correlation etc.

Procedure and Analysis (Williams)Methodology

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Work Break Down StructureSchedule

S h d l

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Ghant ChartSchedule

S h d l

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Approval granted from the Ethics Board and the participatingfaculties of law by May 15, 2012.

The collection of all data completed by September 18, 2012.

The completion of the study report by October 25, 2012.

MilestonesSchedule

A di

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Questionnaire

Letters

Appendix

R f

http://c/Users/Clayton/Desktop/Ellen%20White/Project%20Proposal%20and%20letters%20to%20Campuses/Clayton%20Brown's%20Questionnaire%20long%20paper%20back%20and%20front.docxhttp://c/Users/Clayton/Desktop/Ellen%20White/Project%20Proposal%20and%20letters%20to%20Campuses/Letters.dochttp://c/Users/Clayton/Desktop/Ellen%20White/Project%20Proposal%20and%20letters%20to%20Campuses/Letters.dochttp://c/Users/Clayton/Desktop/Ellen%20White/Project%20Proposal%20and%20letters%20to%20Campuses/Clayton%20Brown's%20Questionnaire%20long%20paper%20back%20and%20front.docx

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Curtis, Cate PhD. "Public Perceptions and Expectations of the

Forensic Use of DNA: Results of a Preliminary Study." Bulletin of

Science, Technology and Society 29.4 (2009): 313-24.

Kamilan, Idzuafi Hadi., Ashiqin Zinatul, Amin Latifah. "Teaching of

Bioethics and Biotechnology Law in Malaysian Law Schools."

Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences 15 (2011): 1518-20.

Nuffield Council on bioethics. The Forensic Use of Bio-Information: Ethical Issues London: The Nuffield Foundation, 2007.

References

R f ti d

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---. The Forensic Use of Bio-Information: Ethical Issues: A Guide to the

Report. London: The Nuffield Foundation, 2007.

Petherick, Wayne A., Turvey, Brent E., Ferguson, Claire E. . Forensic

Criminology. London: Elsevier Academic press, 2010.

Wall, Wilson. Genetics and DNA Technology: Legal Aspects.London: Cavendish Publishing Limited, 2002.

Williams, A. "How to Write and Analyze a Questionnaire." Journal of

Orthodontics 30 (2003): 245-52.

White, Peter. Crime Scene to Court: The Essentials of Forensic

Science. Norfolk: Biddles Limited, 2004.

References continued