96 research outputs found
Performing the Union: the Prüm Decision and the European dream
No full textIn 2005, seven European countries signed the so-called Prüm Treaty to increase transnational collaboration in combating international crime, terrorism and illegal immigration. Three years later, the Treaty was adopted into EU law. EU member countries are obliged to have systems in place to allow authorities of other member states access to nationally held data on DNA, fingerprints, and vehicles by August 2011. In this paper, we discuss the conditions of possibility for the Prüm network to emerge, and argue that rather than a linear story of technological and political convergence and harmonisation, the (hi)story of Prüm is heterogeneous and patchy. This is reflected also in the early stages of implementing the Prüm Decision which proves to be more difficult than it was hoped by the drivers of the Prüm process. In this sense, the Prüm network sits uncomfortably with success stories of forensic science (many of which served the goal of justifying the expansion of technological and surveillance systems). Instead of telling a story of heroic science, the story of Prüm articulates the European dream: One in which goods, services, and people live and travel freely and securely
Bracketing off population does not advance ethical reflection on EVCs: A reply to Kayser and Schneider
No full textIn a recent contribution to this journal, Kayser and Schneider reviewed the relevance of external visible characteristics (EVCs) for criminal investigation [1]. Their aim was to broaden the debate about the scientific, legal, and ethical dimensions of the use of EVCs for criminal investigation, which will help to achieve a firm legal basis for the application of EVCs eventually. While we applaud Kayser's and Schneider's overall very thoughtful and nuanced discussion of this topic, we were surprised to read that they suggest that a discussion of ‘the challenges of using problematic definitions of populations […] has to be kept separate from using EVCs’ (p. 158). In contrast to these authors, we contend that questions about defining populations – both at the level of scientific research, and the application of EVCs in criminal investigation – lie at the core of most social, ethical, and legal issues raised by the translation of EVCs into forensic and police practice
Inquisitorial forensic DNA profiling in the Netherlands and the expansion of the forensic genetic body
No full textForensic DNA databases in England and the Netherlands: governance, structure and performance compared
No full textHow do liberal democracies govern forensic DNA databasing? That is the question being asked in this contribution by focussing on the rules for inclusion of DNA databases in England & Wales and the Netherlands. The two different modes of governance shall be evaluated by taking into account models and ideas in each society regarding the two imperatives of 'crime control' and 'due process'. Another question tentatively examined in this contribution is how these modes of governance impact the performance of national DNA databases. The analysis provided in this article argues that, when compared with the English and Welsh mode of governance, the Dutch mode of governance is more beneficial for the protection of individual rights and the effective use of resources
Trumping communitarianism: crime control and forensic DNA typing and databasing in Singapore
No full textLiberalism and communitarianism have figured prominently in discussions of how to govern forensic DNA practices (forensic DNA typing and databasing). Despite the prominence of these two political philosophies and their underlying values, no studies have looked at the governance of forensic DNA practices in a nondemocratic country governed by a communitarian logic. To fill this lacuna in the literature, this article considers Singapore as an authoritarian state governed by a communitarian philosophy. The article highlights basic innovations and technologies of forensic DNA practices and articulates a liberal democratic version of “biolegality” as described by Michael Lynch and Ruth McNally. It goes on to consider briefly various (political) philosophies (liberalism and communitarianism) and law enforcement models (due process and crime control models). The main part of the article records the trajectory, and hence biolegal progress, of forensic DNA practices in Singapore and compares it with trajectories in England and the United States. The article concludes that Singapore's forensic DNA practices are organized according to the crime control model and therefore safety and the war against crime and terrorism trump individual rights and legal principles such as privacy, bodily integrity, proportionality, presumption of innocence. and onus of proof
Hidden in full sight: kinship, science and the law in the aftermath of the Srebrenica genocide
No full textTerms such as “relationship testing,” “familial searching” and “kinship analysis” figure prominently in professional practices of disaster victim identification (DVI). However, despite the dependence of those identification technologies on DNA samples from people who might be related to the dead and despite also the prominence of the notion of “relatedness” as a device for identifying the dead, the concepts of “relatedness” and “kinship” remain elusive both in practice and in analyses of the social and ethical aspects of DVI by DNA; they are hidden in full sight. In this article, we wish to bring kinship more to the fore. We achieve this through a case study of a setting where bio-legal framings dominate, that is, in the trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of Radovan Karadžić for the Srebrenica genocide in 1995. DNA samples from the families of those massacred in Srebrenica were vital for the identification of individual victims but are now also utilized as “evidence” by both the prosecution and the defense. By viewing practices of science (“evidence” and “identification”) and legal practices (“justice,” “prosecution” and “defence”) through the lens of kinship studies, we will present some alternative and complementary framings for the social accomplishment of ‘relatedness’
The Prüm Regime: Situated Dis/Empowerment in Transnational DNA Profile Exchange
No full textThis paper takes critique of surveillance studies scholars of the shortcomings of the panoptic model for analysing contemporary systems of surveillance as a starting point. We argue that core conceptual tools, in conjunction with an under-conceptualization of agency, privilege a focus on the oppressive elements of surveillance. This often yields unsatisfying insights to why surveillance works, for whom, and at whose costs. We discuss the so-called Prüm regime, pertaining to transnational data exchange for forensic and police use in the EU, to illustrate how—by articulating instances of what we call ‘situated dis/empowerment’—agency can be better conceptualized, sharpening our gaze for the large extent to which the empowering and disempowering effects of surveillance depend on each other
Relaciones de parentesco en las fosas comunes / Kinship Relationships around Mass Graves. Panel 6 del congreso "Cuerpos incómodos: Violencia masiva, fosas comunes y necropolítica"
No full textVídeo del Panel 6 del "Congreso Internacional. Cuerpos incómodos: Violencia masiva, fosas comunes y necropolítica”. Celebrado en Donostia en el marco de los cursos de verano de la Universidad del País Vasco los días 18-21 de julio de 2008 .El panel 6 incluye las siguientes conferencias: Stephanie Golob (moderadora); Maria Laura Martín-Chiappe (CSIC/UAM): Empoderamiento político desde el reclamo familiar / Political Empowerment in Family Claims. Alfonso Villalta (UNED): Enemigos y ayuda en el umbral de la muerte / Enmity and Help on the Eve of Death. Zahira Aragüete (U Genève): Recomponer la identidad familiar en el archivo antagónico de la represión en Extremadura / Remaking Familiar Identity through the Contested Archival Trace in Extremadura. Victor Toom (Goethe University): Forensic identification of 9/11 victims in New York: Labs, Families and Politics / Identificaciones forenses de las víctimas del 9/11 en Nueva York. Laboratorios, familias y políticas.Peer reviewe
Planning the electrical installation project of Toom-Kuninga apartment building
No full textLõputöö tegemise jaoks leitud praktikakohas SimTech OÜ valmis äripindadega korterelamu tööprojekt. Tööprojekti koostmise aluseks oli põhiprojekt. Projekti põhiülesanne, milleks oli valgustus- ja jõupaigaldusplaanide ning jaotuskeskuste skeemide tegemine, sai autori poolt teostatud. Plaanide ja skeemide valmistamiseks kasutati projekteerimistarkvara CADS Electric. Lõputöö autor sai töökogemusi projekteerimistarkvara uute funktsioonide kasutamises. Paigaldajatega suhtlemisel selgus, et üldiselt ollakse tööprojektide kvaliteediga rahul . Paar aastat tagasi teostati töid ka ilma tööprojektideta. Tagasisides esines vaid üksikuid märkusi plaanide kohta. Lõputöö teema oli „Toom-Kuninga korterelamu elektripaigalduse tööprojekti kavandamine “. Antud töö tulemusena: • koostati paigaldajatele lihtsalt loetav ja arusaadav tööprojekt; • uuriti paigaldajatelt probleemseid kohti tööprojekti joonistel. • pakuti lahendusi paigaldajate märkustele Töö eesmärgid said täidetud. Tellija kiitis tehtud tööprojekti heaks ning SimTech OÜ jäi praktikandiga rahule. Paigaldajate tagasisidet arvesse võttes pakuti välja lahendusi, kuidas muuta tööprojekte neile arusaadavamaks. Kuna autor plaanib tööle asuda projekteerijana, saab lõputöö tulemusi tulevikus rakendada.For thesis SimTech OÜ was found to do internship, where installation project of apartment building with commercial premises was made. The basis for the installation project was the main project. The main task of the project, which was to make lighting and power installation drawings and distribution center schemes, was done by the author. CADS Electric design software was used to produce plans and schemes. The author of the thesis gained work experience in using new features of design software. When communicating with installers, it turned out that the quality of work projects is generally satisfied. A few years ago, work was also done without installation projects. There were only a few comments on the drawings in the feedback. The theme of the thesis was “Planning the electrical installation project for Toom-Kuninga apartment building”. As a result of this work: • an easy-to-read and understandable work project for installers; • The problematic places in the drawings of the work project were examined from the installers. • Solutions for Installer Comments were offered The goals of the work were fulfilled. The client praised the installation project and SimTech OÜ was satisfied with the trainee. With the help of installers' feedback, solutions were proposed to make installation projects more understandable to them. As the author plans to work as a designer, the results of the thesis can be applied in the future
Producing suspects: the politics of the national DNA database of England and Wales [Review of: R. Williams, P. Johnson (2008) Genetic policing: the use of DNA in chemical investigations]
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