Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Awareness of forensic anthropology in Switzerland : a survey among forensic practitioners, police, and prosecutors

Published inInternational journal of legal medicine, vol. 138, no. 3, p. 1067-1077
Publication date2024-05
First online date2023-11-15
Abstract

Forensic anthropology (FA) as a specialized discipline has been practised in multi-lingual Switzerland for over a decade. A variety of expertise regarding osteological assessments as well as facial image comparison (FIC) is provided by different centres. Nevertheless, information is lacking about the awareness of FA and its benefits for forensic investigations among forensic stakeholders. Therefore, a survey was sent to Swiss anthropologists (AN) and related professions (police officers, prosecutors, and forensic pathologists) to assess three main aspects: (1) the experience of working (biological/forensic) anthropologists within FA; (2) how FA is perceived by other professions within the legal system; and (3) identify gaps (if any) in understanding of FA with the aim to suggest avenues for improvement if necessary. The results show that awareness of FA varies by occupation and cantonal regions. In areas where close collaborations between forensic anthropologists (FAs) and other stakeholders have been formally established, be it with focus on osteological analyses or FIC, the awareness of FA competencies was superior to areas where this was not the case. An overwhelming majority of forensic actors expressed interest in continuing education related to the role of FA. These findings indicate that facilitation of communication and collaboration leads to improvement in the awareness of the competencies of FAs and their contribution to forensic investigations.

Keywords
  • Facial image comparison
  • Forensic anthropology
  • Forensic collaboration
  • Human remains
  • Legal medicine
  • Questionnaire
Citation (ISO format)
SIEBKE, Inga et al. Awareness of forensic anthropology in Switzerland : a survey among forensic practitioners, police, and prosecutors. In: International journal of legal medicine, 2024, vol. 138, n° 3, p. 1067–1077. doi: 10.1007/s00414-023-03116-9
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accessLevelPublic
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Additional URL for this publicationhttps://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00414-023-03116-9
Journal ISSN0937-9827
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