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

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Ressource 1Download: 37964038.pdf (1107.81 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_4BD235BC5A8A
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Awareness of forensic anthropology in Switzerland: a survey among forensic practitioners, police, and prosecutors.
Journal
International journal of legal medicine
Author(s)
Siebke I., Abegg C., Fracasso T., Moghaddam N., Obertová Z.
ISSN
1437-1596 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0937-9827
Publication state
Published
Issued date
05/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
138
Number
3
Pages
1067-1077
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
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
Humans, Forensic Anthropology/methods, Switzerland, Police, Face, Surveys and Questionnaires, Facial image comparison, Forensic anthropology, Forensic collaboration, Human remains, Legal medicine, Questionnaire
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
16/11/2023 13:53
Last modification date
12/04/2024 7:45
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