Crime Script Sequencing: An optimal forensic combination for cold case analysis.

Criminal cases go cold when investigative leads or forensic testing does not lead to a successful arrest. In these cases, investigators are often keen to use novel methods to derive fresh ideas or insights. Recently, academics from a range of fields, including Psychology, Criminology, and Forensic Sciences have developed a range of new methods and tests to assist with police investigations. The current paper outlines a novel approach to assisting with police cold case investigations: Crime Script Sequencing. The new method combines two leading temporal methods, Crime Script Analysis and Behaviour Sequence Analysis. A real-world cold case, the bombing of Canadian Pacific Airlines Fight 21, is presented and analysed using Crime Script Sequencing to offer readers a guide of how to use the method for other investigations. Impacts, insights, and potential future developments of the method are outlined.

Behavior Sequence Analysis of Victims' Accounts of Intimate Partner Violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) relates not only to physical forms of abuse, but also psychological, emotional, economic, and financial controlling behaviors. IPV is a dynamic, complex phenomenon that occurs over a relatively long period of time. While several measures of IPV exist, a method that can track the progression and escalation of such behaviors in relationships could offer more understanding and highlight key intervention points for individuals in such relationships. Behavior Sequence Analysis is used in the current research to map the chain and progression of behaviors in multiple real-world cases of IPV. Results indicate clear sequential clusters of behaviors such as physical and psychological abuse, and coercive controlling behaviors such as gaslighting, restricting movement, and removing freedoms. Overall, this research stands as a foundation framework to build a greater understanding of the processes and pathways of IPV, and offers workers in the field a novel method to assist with interviewing and intervening in such cases.

A Behavior Sequence Analysis of Perceptions of Alcohol-Related Violence Surrounding Drinking Establishments.

Alcohol-related violence surrounding the nighttime economy puts increased pressure and workload on security and police forces. Research surrounding alcohol-related violence consistently identifies risk factors, such as the organizational practices and physical characteristics of drinking establishments, as influential in the generation of violent behavior. The current research uses sequence analysis to investigate dynamic patterns of events perceived to lead to a violent incident. The research was collected using questionnaires across university students with customer experience of the modern nighttime economy. The findings show perceptions of maladaptive patterns of events that may lead to violent incidents in different environments (a brightly lit bar and a nightclub). Analysis demonstrated that participants thought those involved in a violent incident would have consumed large amounts of alcohol throughout the night, fueled by predrinking and irresponsible serving practices of staff. Frustration inducing events were also common stages in the sequences leading to a violent outcome. Finally, staff intervention in violent situations was also considered to be an important predictor of violence, with forceful removal of individuals from premises often considered to be the final event preceding a violent incident. The present sequences analysis supports the suggestion that the organizational practices and physical characteristics of a drinking establishment influence the risk of violent activity and helps identify where initiatives aiming to reduce levels of violence could be effectively targeted.

Young athletes' awareness and monitoring of anti-doping in daily life: Does motivation matter?

This study was a preliminarily investigation into the prevention of unintentional doping on the basis of self-determination theory (SDT). Specifically, we examined the relationship between athletes' motives for doping avoidance and their behavior when offered an unfamiliar food product. Participants were young Australian athletes (n = 410) that were offered a free lollipop prior to completing a questionnaire. It was noted whether participants refused to take or eat the lollipop and whether they read the ingredients of the lollipop. The questionnaire assessed autonomous and controlled forms of motivation, amotivation, doping intentions, and adherence regarding doping avoidance behaviors. The results showed that young athletes who adopted controlled reasons to avoid doping in sport (e.g., not getting caught) tended to report higher adherence to behaviors related to avoiding and monitoring banned substances, whereas those who adopted autonomous reasons (e.g., anti-doping being consistent with life goals) appeared to be more willing to read the ingredients of the provided food. The significant interaction effect between autonomous and controlled motivation indicated that autonomous motivation was more predictive to doping intention for athletes with low controlled motivation. It is concluded that SDT may help understand the motivational processes of the prevention of unintentional doping in sport.