This summary highlights policing-related resources that have been added to the NPL collection in the last week.
Inc. Forensic transfer of saliva; Thermal penetration into human remains; Deep fake threats; DNA recovery from IED’s; CSE harms to investigators.
Centre for Justice Innovation, et al. 2026. Improving collaboration between police forces and women’s centre: and evidence and practice briefing
Office of the Police Chief Scientific Advisor. 2026. Policing Tomorrow, Issue 3. OPCSA.
Finnis, J. et al. 2026. A preliminary assessment of factors influencing the indirect transfer of saliva and their impact on forensic examination outcomes. Science & justice: journal of the Forensic Science Society.
The following work, provides an initial assessment of whether examination findings, specifically visibility of staining under white light, fluorescence beneath Crime-lite® ML2, stain size and Phadebas® activity, could assist in evaluating scenarios relating to how saliva may have been transferred.
Harding, M.J. et al. 2026. Investigation of thermal penetration from the fire scene into the deceased fire victim. Science & justice: journal of the Forensic Science Society.
This study investigated thermal penetration into human remains with the aim of extending the results to the assessment of the fatal fire victim.
MacDermott, A. 2026. Ctrl+Alt+Deceit: Policing the deepfake dilemma. Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation, Supplement.
This paper presents findings from a practitioner-focused survey designed to assess the real-world impact of synthetic media on forensic workflows. The study explores the prevalence of deepfake-related cases, regional trends in AI-generated media, and the operational readiness of digital forensic units (DFUs) to respond to these emerging threats.
Riga, E. et al. 2026. Preliminary assessment of AI as a triage tool for forensic toxicology case interpretation. Forensic Science International.
We wanted to investigate the performance of LLMs compared to experts at interpreting drug concentrations in body fluids as a triage tool.
Salih, G. et al. 2026. Evaluation of DNA recovery from improvised explosive device components after detonations. Forensic science international. Genetics.
This study examines the recovery and the success of downstream analysis of DNA from various biological sources, including cell-bound blood and touch DNA and extracted cell-free DNA.
Wortley, R. et al. 2026. Psychological outcomes for investigators of online child sexual exploitation: Comparisons with other law enforcement investigators. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) investigators are required to view thousands of sexually graphic images involving children as part of their daily work, raising concerns about possible harmful occupational health effects. We administered a battery of 24 psychological scales to 141 current CSE investigators and 106 investigators engaged in other areas of policing.
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