 Centre for Australian Forensic
Soil Science (CAFSS)
Purpose
and Objectives | Important
research and services role | Activities | Partners | Funding | Linkages | Workshops
& Training | Publications | Education and Media | Contact
Us
Education - Soil science solving crimes
Media release
The growing focus on security
related issues and counter terrorism is
one of the most significant challenges
facing soil forensics in the future. "There is a paradigm
shift from not only providing soil forensic
information for 'evidence' but also for
'intelligence'" says CSIRO Land
and Water's Dr
Rob Fitzpatrick a soil
forensics expert and Director of the
Centre for Australian Forensic Soil Science
(CAFSS). Dr Fitzpatrick was speaking at the International
Workshop on Criminal and Environmental
Soil Forensics in Perth recently.
In his address, Dr Fitzpatrick also emphasised
the need to close the gap between 'forensic
geology' and '‘forensic soil science'. "Although
in principle geology and soil science are
closely related, there are significant
gaps in the basic knowledge and lack of
communication between these two disciplines.
In particular, the limited amount of shared
language and the lack of standard procedures
and terms for describing and sampling soils."
Dr Fitzpatrick outlined key areas
for the future of soil forensics:
- Continuing 'high end case investigations'
that require soil as evidence in
criminal and environmental forensics
- Publishing results where soil properties
have been used successfully to
both discriminate between and match soils
for critical evidence, for example:
(i) solving a double murder case
(ii)
identifying the locality of stolen ferns
from a conservation park
(iii) sexual
assault and kidnapping cases
(iv)
identifying where an industrial dust
on parked vehicles came from
(v)
identifying the origin of stolen dinosaur
eggs.
- Development of new and improved sampling
and description methods
- Refining current methodologies and
techniques for reliable identification
- Development of isotope and DNA profiling/fingerprinting
techniques, which are scientifically
and legally robust
- A focus on education and training.
The aim of the workshop was to provide
a review of established techniques of soil
characterisation and comparison. It also
provided the opportunity to promote in-depth
discussion and cross-fertilisation of new
ideas in leading-edge areas of research
at the emerging interface between soil
science and forensic science.
The workshop was attended by local and
international experts in the technologies
and approaches for characterising soils
in the field and in the lab.
Guests from the United States, Scotland,
England, New Zealand, Canada, China and
across Australia presented a variety of
engaging overviews and case studies related
to areas such as soil profiling, molecular
diagnostics, environmental chemistry, grave
excavation and taphonomy (the study of
the fate of remains of organisms after
they die).
The workshop followed the 18th
International Symposium on the Forensic
Sciences.
The final program and book of abstracts
can be found on the workshop
website.
 Photo: The
shovel is the focus of a DRAFT interactive
exhibit developed by Dr Rob Fitzpatrick
for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
in Washington DC and ISRIC – World
Soil Information
(Netherlands). The exhibit displays how
soil properties were used on the shovel
to both discriminate between and match
soils at the crime scene for critical evidence
in solving a double murder case.
The Museum has commissioned Dr Fitzpatrick
to develop and supply a number of interactive
exhibits in which visitors can interpret
forensic soil evidence to solve a crime.
|
