Course manual 2020/2021

Course content

The following topics/subjects will be addressed:

Search Technique including equipment and methods most commonly used.
Large Scale Investigations – the Police approach
Forensic Microtraces including working with hypotheses
Non-Human DNA
Toxicology
Forensic Botany – both lecture and practical
Forensic Entomology
Digital Forensics
Crime Scene visualization techniques will be introduced
Mock Crime Scene – students will process a simulated crime scene, write a crime scene report and give a brief presentation of their findings
Forensic Archaeology and Mass Graves
Human Remains

Study materials

Literature

Study material will be assigned by the respective lecturers. Where pre-reading/preparation is required, students will be informed via Canvas. Recommended reading will be placed on Canvas. Assignment reading will be placed on Canvas.

Objectives

1. evaluate the type of protocols (at least three types) that one would expect to utilise at a complex crime scene, particularly the various protocols and guidelines applied in international investigations.
2. Undertake the investigation of a simulated crime scene, including arranging the division of labour within the investigation team and reflect on group performance and individual contribution at the subsequent presentation.
3. Generate alternative hypotheses and prioritise items of evidence for research based on selected criteria in a situation where limited information is provided.
4. Interpret and communicate the results of the examination of the simulated crime scene.
5. Explain the principles of crime scene investigations and the hierarchy of responsibilities within complex crimes.
6. Judge the methods used during a crime scene examination based on the appropriateness of the methods and explain the scientific basis of those methods.
7. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, limitations and pitfall of forensic techniques including computer science techniques.
8. Describe the principles of at least three of the most frequently used techniques and their applications in forensic investigations.

Teaching methods

Lecture
Computer lab session/practical training
Self-study

The course has both a theoretical and practical composition. The module will incorporate two practical assignments: essay and a mock crime scene where students will be split into groups and be required to give a briefing on their findings and prioritise evidence, recovered from the crime scene, for further investigation in a laboratory. The logic applied and the justification for the selection of the items must be given. There will also be a written (three hour) examination.

For the mock crime scene, the students will be divided into groups and given specific assignments to complete.
For the mock crime scene – the teams will be expected to provide the complete list of the evidence that they collect, adhere to basic chain of custody principles, provide a short presentation on their examination of the crime scene to the class, and prioritise five items of evidence for research. The students are expected to be able to explain the selection process, and reasoning behind the selection of the evidence.

Learning activities

Activity	Hours
Computerpracticum	18
Excursie	8
Hoorcollege	46
Practicum	4
Tentamen	3
Werkcollege	14
Self study	75
Total	168	(6 EC x 28 uur)

Attendance

This programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (OER part B).

Additional requirements for this course:

Attendance at the Mock Crime Scene is compulsory. Please email Y.hartman@uva.nl in case you can not attend the Mock Crime Scene due to covid-19 symptoms or quarantaine.

Assessment

Item and weight	Details
Final grade
50% Tentamen	Must be ≥ 5.5, Mandatory
25% Mock Crime Scene - Presentation	Must be ≥ 5.5, Mandatory
25% Essay	Must be ≥ 5.5, Mandatory

The components will be weighted as follows:

Essay (25%)
Mock Crime Scene (25%)
Written Examination (50%)

All components will be graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with a maximum of one decimal after the point. These grades are used to calculate the final grade. In order to pass the course, all components and the final grade have to be sufficient, i.e. at least a five and a half. When a student has not fulfilled this requirement, the examiner will register the mark ‘did not fulfill all requirements’ (NAV) whether or not the averaged grade is sufficient.

The final grade will be announced at the latest February 22nd. Between this date and March 23rd a post-exam discussion or inspection moment will be planned. This will be announced on Canvas and/or via email.

		Exit qualifications
Learning outcome	Components (see above)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	1	x							x	x
2	2				x		x				x
3	2							x
4	2						x			x
5	2, 3	x
6	1, 2, 3		x					x	x
7	2, 3							x
8	2, 3		x

Table of specification: the relation between the learning outcomes of the course, the assessment components of the course and the exit qualifications of the Master’s Forensic Science (see the course catalogue for the exit qualifications ).

Assignments

Component 1, Essay

Students (individually) will be required to submit an essay on a topic assigned by the co-ordinator. The essay is marked on a number of criteria, see Canvas for further details.

Component 2, Mock Crime Scene

Students will be required to work in groups and undertake an examination (virtual) of a mock crime scene. Students are expected to present their findings in the form of a brief presentation. Each group is expected to prioritise five items of evidence, recovered (virtually) from the mock crime scene exercise, for further analysis and outline why these items have been selected and what is the argument/justification for their selection. The presentation will be for 20 minutes with five minutes Q&A. The presentation is marked on a number of criteria, see Canvas for further details.

Component 3, The final examination

The exam of this course will be a written examination based on the content covered during the lessons. The final exam will be assessed on an individual basis. The exam is designed to assess the theoretical and practical aspects related to the learning outcomes.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Weeknummer	Onderwerpen	Studiestof
1
2
3
4

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

The Mock Crime Scene will take place at the Police Academy.

Last year's course evaluation

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.

Complex Crime Scenes (6EC)

N=38

Strengths

Mock crime scene was fun and interesting.
Guest lectures appreciated. Broad array of subjects.
Practicals very well appreciated, especially the Botany practical.

Notes for improvement

The instruction for the essay was unclear (e.g. in feedback session the research questions were approved by the lecturers. However, when the final essays were assessed, it was said that the research questions and criteria did not match the assignment, without any further explanation)
Feedback of the essay. There was a feedback session during the course on what to do with the essay, but answers were not given or unclear.
Balance of the workload.

Response lecturer:

It’s a very good remark to have one teacher responsible for the essay, to do the explanation, the feedback sessions and the grading, this could have prevented much confusion. Also the purpose of the different sessions and what students should do in between, should be made more clear. First week for reading the documents and formulating a first version of Research Questions and criteria; first session aimed at discussing when RQ and criteria are academically valuable and of high quality (which was the content of the feedback moment); then students should use the second week for writing a first version of the essay (the time was available, but students did not do this); then handing in questions for the second session where these questions will be discussed. This should give the students enough input to write their essays.

Next year the overall structure of the course should also be better explained. The fact that the Mock Crime Scene is in the first week and the presentation in the final week is deliberate. First, because students have experienced the mock crime scene at the start of the course, they can better relate to the content and to the personal experiences on crime scenes of the guest lecturers. Second, many of the guest lecturers explain about different types of complex crime scenes and the reasoning behind decisions and evaluating the evidence. This knowledge can be applied by the students to their own mock crime scene and the reasoning they use to make their own decisions, which they present at the end of the course.

Contact information

Coordinator

I. O'Sullivan MSc

Owner	Master Forensic Science
Coordinator	I. O'Sullivan MSc
Part of	Master Forensic Science, year 1