THE WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA. Report by Elias Messaike

Transcription

1 THE WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA Report by Elias Messaike Churchill Fellow 2007 To study current advances in ear identification and their application in Australia Belgium, Netherlands, U.K., France I understand that the Churchill Trust may publish this Report, either in hard copy or on the internet or both, and consent to such publication. I indemnify the Churchill Trust against any loss, costs or damages it may suffer arising out of any claim or proceedings made against the Trust in respect of or arising out of the publication of any Report submitted to the Trust and which the Trust places on a website for access over the Internet. I also warrant that my Final Report is original and does not infringe the copyright of any person, or contain anything which is, or the incorporation of which into the Final Report is, actionable for defamation, a breach of any privacy law or obligation, breach of confidence, contempt of court, passing-off or contravention of any other private right or of any law. Signed: Dated:

2 INDEX Page 1. Introduction 3 2. Executive Summary 4 3. Fellowship Programme 6 4. Main Body 7 5. Conclusions Recommendations Additional Notes 15

3 1. INTRODUCTION The Winston Churchill Fellowship gave me the opportunity to travel to Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France to investigate the current advances in ear identification methods. It was necessary to conduct this Fellowship as ear identification is relatively an unfamiliar field to those who work in establishing human identity in Australia. My aims during my Fellowship travel were to: familiarise myself with the different methods in ear identification; conduct my own validation tests; learn about the applications of these methods in real life criminal/civil scenarios and their outcomes; discover the value of these methods for human identification; discover any limitations with these methods and whether they could be rectified; gather information and knowledge on ear identification to inform the Australian community This report provides a summary of the ear identification methods examined and whether they are of beneficial use in Australia. My sincere thanks go to the Australian Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the NSW Committee who had faith in me and the value of my project from the very beginning. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity and support to travel, learn and meet many admirable people. Thank you to my Mum (for making sure that all Churchill matters were under control), Dad, Katrine (for being so helpful and reliable), Matthew (for delivering my Fellowship speech in my absence), Fay, Albert, Tho and Jackie. Also special thanks to Dr Tamara Sztynda and Commander Joan De Winne who helped me apply and organise my Fellowship itinerary. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

4 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Elias Messaike BForBiol(Hons) Address: 59/8 Redfern Street REDFERN NSW 2016 Australia Phone: Mobile: Project Description The aim of the Fellowship was to investigate the current advances in ear identification methods used outside of Australia. I visited several forensic and police institutes which explored the different areas of ear identification. These included ear biometrics, earprint analysis, ear morphology and database development. The Fellowship experience was further enhanced by the opportunity to visit the Identification Branch of Interpol in Lyon, France. Fellowship Highlights Meeting Commander Joan De Winne, leading expert in ear biometrics (Brussels, Belgium) Meeting the Belgian Disaster Victim Identification team (Brussels, Belgium) Attending the Belgian Disaster Victim Identification 2010 Colloquium and 20 th anniversary dinner (Brussels, Belgium) Meeting Dr Lynn Meijerman, leading expert in earprint identification and Professor George Matt, one of the leading forensic anthropologist in the world (Leiden, the Netherlands) Visiting The Netherlands Forensic Institute, one of the most recognised and valued forensic institute in the world (The Hague, the Netherlands) Visiting the National Policing and Improvement Agency and learning about the National Injuries Database (St Neots, U.K.) Visiting the International Criminal Police Organization/Interpol, headquarters to the worlds largest police organization (Lyon, France) Findings and Conclusions The current advances in ear identification methods show that alternate and reliable techniques for positive human identification are available and can be used Ear biometrics, earprint analysis and ear morphology hold certain advantages over well known and trusted human identifiers such as DNA and fingerprints The implementation of earprint analysis can be used for criminal/civil causes, including armed robberies and stalking cases Ear identification methods can be used as an adjunct with other identification methods (e.g. DNA and fingerprint analysis) or when other human identifiers are unavailable or unrecoverable Ear identification has shown its ability to convict criminals and identify victims of disasters Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

5 Dissemination and Implementation Information about ear identification will be disseminated through public presentations to the police, forensic organisations, universities and those involved in the area of human identification Through the knowledge and experience gained from this Fellowship and with international expert collaboration the different methods in ear identification could be implemented into the working procedures of the police, for example, in crime scene analysis and by forensic experts involved in identifying humans. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

6 3. FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME 2 nd November - 1 st December 2007 Brussels, Belgium Belgian Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) o Commander Joan De Winne - Head of Belgian DVI o Inspector Ronny Olemans - Police Inspector/Forensic Diver Ghent University - Department of Telecommunications and Information Processing o Mr Antoon Bronselaer - PhD Student o Dr Guy De Tré - Professor 1 st - 8 th December 2007 The Hague, The Netherlands The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) o Ms Doris Eerhart-Waslander - Forensic Advisor o Dr Ivo Alberink - Forensic Scientist Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) o Dr Lynn Meijerman - Forensic Scientist o Professor George JR Maat - Forensic Anthropologist 8 th - 23 rd November 2007 St Neots, The United Kingdom National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) o Mr Stefan Lee - National Injuries Database Advisor o Ms Sonya Baylis - National Injuries Database Manager 23 rd December rd January 2008 Lyon, France O.P.I.C. - Interpol, Secrétariat General o Mr Olaf Warbs - Specialized Officer (Identification Branch/DVI) o Dr Susan Hitchin - DNA Scientific Administrator o Mr Karl Lesjak - Assistant Director Crisis and Major Events Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

7 4. MAIN BODY Summary of Fellowship The Fellowship travel was undertaken between the 3 rd November 2007 and the 3 rd January The aim of the Fellowship was to investigate the current advances in ear identification methods used outside of Australia. I visited several forensic and police institutes and met forensic scientists, mathematicians and police officers who were involved in the field of ear identification. The areas of ear identification which were explored during this Fellowship included ear biometrics, earprint analysis and ear morphology. The use of computer programmed databases for these techniques were also observed. I also became knowledgeable of other new methods to assist in the recovery of human remains and in human identification (refer to end of report). The Fellowship experience was further enhanced by the opportunity to visit the Identification Branch of Interpol in Lyon, France and to partake in the celebrations of the Belgian DVI 20 th anniversary. What is Ear Identification? Definition: using the human ear, based on its morphology, to positively identify an individual using comparative analysis. Figure 1 (below) shows the main morphological features of the human ear which are used in ear biometrics and earprint analysis to positively identify an individual. Figure 1. Morphological features of the ear will help in identifying an individual Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

8 Using the Human Ear as a Positive Identifier To have the ear serve as a human identifier (similar to DNA and fingerprints) is based on the findings from a variety of scientific literature. Studies in ear morphology and anthropometry have shown that the ear is physically unique to an individual. This means that there are differences between both ears of a single individual and between all individuals (Refer to Figure 2). To this date there is no published data that show two ears have been found to be exactly the same in terms of morphology, size or measurement. Therefore, the human ear can no longer be considered a simple anatomical structure whose sole function is to detect sound. Being one of the most unique and characteristic features of the body, the ear has the proven power to convict criminals and positively identify people. The ear also holds other desirable properties including being a permanent structure which is found in the majority of humans. It can not be significantly altered or transformed and can be easily located and retrieved (e.g. by taking a photograph of the ear). There are a variety of occurrences where different methods of ear analysis for the purpose of human identification can occur (some scenarios are included throughout this section). The areas of ear identification investigated in this Fellowship include earprints, ear morphology and ear biometrics. Figure 2. Photographs of the right ear of six (6) different individuals. Have a close look and notice the differences. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

9 Ear Biometric Human Identification Ear biometric analysis for forensic purposes is currently aimed at identifying victims of massed disasters as it is a quick, cheap and accurate technique. The analysis involves by making biometrical/anthropometrical comparison of post-mortem (PM) photographs of a victim s left and right ear with available ante-mortem (AM) photographs and or video/ images of this person collected through family and friends. In Belgium, a software program known as the Ear identification System (EIS) has been created in a joint collaboration with the Belgian DVI and Ghent University*. Ear images can be analysed on the computer and biometric points are placed around the internal and external structures of the ear (Refer to Figure 3). Any known bibliographical information is also recorded (age, sex, race) as well as piercing, scars, peculiarities and other morphological characteristics (freckles, hair, lobe attachment) that are observed on the ear. All this information is recorded into the database. AM data can be compared to PM data and vice versa. All biometric points from the ear image are transformed for geometrical standardisation (to account for the different sized ear images). The EIS can then generate a match accordingly to similarities, although only the biometric data holds weight during this process. Morphological similarities can then add further influence to the outcome for positive identification. Figure 3. Ear Biometric Points A challenge faced in ear biometrics analysis is firstly, acquiring AM photos to perform a comparison and secondly, having high quality, sharp images of the AM ear. For the latter however, a flexible approach is currently being investigated by Ghent University. From my own experience of using the EIS and performing my validation test, I found this to be a fairly user-friendly system which requires an eye for detail and knowledge of ear morphology when adding biometric points on the ear. My blind tests involved working with a range of photographs (high and low quality) and the percentage of acquiring positive identification was quite high. Due to time constraints, I was unable to test whether the EIS could identify a person by comparing two photographs of their ear taken years apart. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

10 The aim of the EIS is to be incorporated into Interpol s working guidelines as an additional method to identify humans, particularly for disaster victim identification (DVI). The likelihood of implementing a successful EIS and ear biometric database in Australia is not difficult as the current software is available. Operators will need to be taught on how to use the system and further validation tests and improvements could be performed through Australian universities. Two scenarios are described where the use of ear biometric identification may be of beneficial use. Although ear biometrics is currently targeted in identifying humans in mass disasters, it is believed that it will be a means to identify criminals in the future. Case Scenario 1 A massed disaster has occurred. Thousands of people are killed however no bodies can be returned to grieving families until the bodies have been correctly identified. Families of the deceased are stressed and eager to receive the bodies of their loved ones; DNA and fingerprint analysis is occurring however it there are not enough resources to carry these examinations out at an accelerated speed. Families are coming forth with photographs of their loved ones - many of which the ear is present. Biometric analysis of the ear (along with morphological examination) could be used to identify these victims. Case Scenario 2 An armed robbery has occurred in a bank. The robber was wearing hand gloves, a hat and a plastic mask and surveillance cameras have recorded the whole event. Neither fingerprints nor DNA evidence has been found at the scene. The video footage shows the masked robber and the robbery taking place. Although the robbers face is hidden by a mask, his/her left and right ear are clearly visible. Therefore the case does not have to be dismissed. A suspect can have their ears photographed and compared within a database to determine whether the biometric measurements from the robber s ear and the suspect s ear are the same. *Note: The specific methodology of the EIS cannot be discussed in detail as it is of Intellectual Property for the Belgian DVI and Ghent University. Further information can be directed to Mr Elias Messaike. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

11 Earprint Human Identification Earprints have been used in forensic investigation since the mid 1960s. Currently, it is estimated that in the Netherlands alone, earmark evidence could be used in approximately 50,000 cases of burglary per year. An earprint is a two-dimensional reproduction of parts of the ear. Anatomical features frequently found in a print are the helix, anthelix, tragus and antitragus and the transfer of unique features onto a surface are used to determine identification. For example, an ear fold, wrinkle spot or mole. Earprints are lifted from crime scenes similar to the way fingerprints would be retrieved and comparative analysis is performed using the crime scene mark and a control print (from a suspect). In 2001, the European Union funded the Forensic Ear Identification research project ( FearID ) aimed at the individualization of earprints. Those involved in this project included police academies, anthropological faculties, image processing labs, statisticians and commercial companies from Italy, the Netherlands and U.K. Research headed by Dr Meijerman from Leiden University looked at the following aspects of earprint analysis, which were among the goals of the FearID project: Inter- and intra- individual variation in applied force when listening at a surface, and resulting variation in earprints Exploring the effect of occurrence of sound on force applied by the ear when listening at a surface Exploring the effect of duration of listening on earprints Preliminary comparison of earprints that were made before and after cleaning the ear Intra-individual variation in earprints Cross-sectional anthropometric study of the external ear to evaluate the extent of anatomical features appearing in earprints that may vary over time Individualization of earprints and variation in prints of monozygotic twins A software program to automatically read, analyse and compare prints was also commenced however due to lack of funding was ceased. Regardless convictions have been made due to the expert evidence of Dr Meijerman in earprint analysis and identification. A scenario is described where the use of earprint analysis may be of beneficial use. Case Scenario A break and enter has occurred in Mr Smiths house and the perpetrator has stolen a valuable painting. Fingerprint technicians have found no fingerprints that can identify the perpetrator and field officers have found no DNA or fibre evidence. An ear print however has been detected on a window that was directly in front of the painting. Therefore the case does not have to be dismissed. The print can be lifted, photographed, analysed and compared against the earprints of several suspects. Based on the unique formation of Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

12 the print and the ear features transferred, a suspect may be positively identified. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

13 5. CONCLUSIONS The current advances in ear identification methods show that alternate and reliable methods for positive human identification are available and can be used Further tests in validating these methods are still required Ear biometrics, earprint analysis and ear morphology hold certain advantages over well known and trusted human identifiers such as DNA and fingerprints The implementation of earprint analysis can be used for criminal/civil causes, including armed robberies and stalking cases Ear identification methods can be used as an adjunct with other identification methods (e.g. DNA and fingerprint analysis) or when other human identifiers are unavailable or unrecoverable Ear identification has shown its ability to convict criminals and identify victims of disasters Computer programmed databases are the most resourceful way to record samples and perform comparative analyses Implementation of ear identification will benefit the whole Australian community including victims (deceased and living), families of victims, the police, the prosecutors and human identification experts. Presentations and Reports Findings of the Fellowship will be written up in a report and/or presented (orally or in a poster) to: The Australian Federal Police (AFP) The New South Wales (NSW) Police The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions The NSW Australian New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) The 19 th International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences The University of Technology Sydney - Forensic Biology Course o Lecture scheduled on the 25 th March It is also hoped that an article will be written up and submitted to several Australian and international science and forensic science journals, e.g. Journal of Forensic Science. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

14 6. RECOMMENDATIONS To implement the use of forensic ear identification in Australia it is necessary to: raise the awareness of those involved in establishing human identification about the possibilities ear identification methods have to offer; provide support, advice and knowledge gained from this Fellowship to those involved in establishing human identification and those who wish to work specifically in ear identification; keep up to date with the further advances in ear identification methods. I will be giving a presentation about ear identification to students in the Forensic Biology course at the University of Technology Sydney. I am hopeful that this will interest students to continue research in the areas of ear biometrics, ear morphology and earprint analysis. By further validating and improving the existing methods in ear identification, Australia may be recognised as a significant contributor in the establishment of ear identification worldwide. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow

15 7. ADDITIONAL NOTES During my Fellowship travel I was fortunate to become familiar of other valuable research projects and initiatives that I believe will be of benefit in the field of human identification (including the recovery of human remains). The titles of these projects are as follow: - Detection of Buried Cadavers by Volatile Metabolites - Detection of Human Remains by Vulture species - Comparative Analysis of Post Mortem Remains from Human and Animal Origin: Perspectives of a Future Study - Study of the odours emitted by decaying pig s carcasses (Sus domesticus L.) and post-mortem colonisation by necrophagous insects - The Injuries Database - a reference guide of recorded human injuries - Age Prediction from Bone Replacement - Femur, rib and tooth sample collection for DNA analysis in Disaster victim identification (DVI) - a method to minimise contamination risk - Improving the visibility of tooth cementum annulation by adjustment of the cutting angle of microscopic sections - to aid in age at death assessment Further information on these projects and the relevant contact details can be made available through Elias Messaike. Elias Messaike - Churchill Fellow