Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026
An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Decision support for using mobile Rapid DNA analysis at the crime scene
A A Mapes1, R D Stoel2, C J de Poot1
1Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), PO Box 1025, Amsterdam BA 1000, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Mobile Rapid DNA technology is close to being incorporated into crime scene investigations, with the potential to identify a perpetrator within hours. However, the use of these techniques entails the risk of losing the sample and potential evidence, because the device not only consumes the inserted sample, it is also is less sensitive than traditional technologies used in forensic laboratories. Scene of Crime Officers (SoCOs) therefore will face a 'time/success rate trade-off' issue when making a decision to apply this technology. In this study we designed and experimentally tested a Decision Support System (DSS) for the use of Rapid DNA technologies based on Rational Decision Theory (RDT). In a vignette study, where SoCOs had to decide on the use of a Rapid DNA analysis device, participating SoCOs were assigned to either the control group (making decisions under standard conditions), the Success Rate (SR) group (making decisions with additional information on DNA success rates of traces), or the DSS group (making decisions supported by introduction to RDT, including information on DNA success rates of traces). This study provides positive evidence that a systematic approach for decision-making on using Rapid DNA analysis assists SoCOs in the decision to use the rapid device. The results demonstrated that participants using a DSS made different and more transparent decisions on the use of Rapid DNA analysis when different case characteristics were explicitly considered. In the DSS group the decision to apply Rapid DNA analysis was influenced by the factors "time pressure" and "trace characteristics" like DNA success rates. In the SR group, the decisions depended solely on the trace characteristics and in the control group the decisions did not show any systematic differences on crime type or trace characteristic. Guiding complex decisions on the use of Rapid DNA analyses with a DSS could be an important step towards the use of these devices at the crime scene.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Self-Help Support Groups
Accessibility and Cost-Effectiveness
One of the primary strengths of self-help...
01:20Decision Making
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
01:09Decision Making: P-value Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is proposed. The claim is based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to the claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses: a null hypothesis would be a neutral statement while the alternative hypothesis can...
01:30Support Reactions
The purpose of the supports is to prevent the translational motion of the system by applying an equal and opposite force and to prevent the system's rotation by applying...
01:27Support Reactions in Three Dimensions
Ball and Socket Joint is one of the supports allowing free rotation about any axis. This freedom of rotation is...
01:14Decision Making: Traditional Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...