Putting the Microscope on Crime Labs: The Effects of Evidence Complexity and Laboratory Type on Jurors\u27 Perceptions of Forensic Evidence

An experiment was conducted to test the effects of evidence complexity and laboratory type on jurors\u27 perceptions of forensic evidence. The study specifically focused on three types of labs: public labs, private labs, and corporate labs. Public labs are managed by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency, where evidence is usually analyzed internally at an agency. Private labs are those that have been formed as private businesses to provide services to federal, state, and local crime labs with overflow work. Corporate labs are managed by major retail corporations, and primarily service the needs of their store businesses, but also assist federal, state, and local agencies with overflow work and specialized cases. A national sample of mock jurors was presented with latent fingerprint evidence analyzed at 1 of the 3 types of crime labs. Evidence was presented in either a high-complexity (i.e., unfamiliar scientific language) or low-complexity (i.e., lay terms) format. Both lab type and evidence complexity were found to have significant effects on perceptions of evidence and verdict decisions. The findings are considered in the context of persuasion theories, and have implications in terms of developing best practice guidelines for forensic evidence presentation in court

Power of Perspective: The Effects of Public Perceptions of Police and Fear of Crime on Attitudes Towards Aerial Drone Use

Historically, unmanned aerial systems (UAS; i.e., drones) have largely been used by the military and federal government. As UAS have become more affordable and easier to operate in recent years, state and local law enforcement agencies have become interested in adopting this technology to facilitate a wide range of police activities (e.g., search and rescue, surveillance, tactical operations, etc.). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun to regulate the use of unmanned aerial systems, which will likely lead to the increased use of drone technology by law enforcement agencies across the country in upcoming years. However, previous research suggests that public perception of UAS use by the police is mixed, and in some cases there is considerable resistance to police departments adopting this technology. In the present research, we explore several personality factors related to public attitudes towards police UAS use. More specifically, we conducted a national survey examining the relationship between public perceptions of police legitimacy and effectiveness, as well as fear of crime and victimization, and police use of drone technology. The potential implications for public policy and law enforcement practices, particularly in terms of the introduction of UAS into local communities, are discussed