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Probabilistic reporting and algorithms in forensic science: Stakeholder perspectives within the American criminal justice system.

ABSTRACT: In recent years, there have been efforts to promote probabilistic reporting and the use of computational algorithms across several forensic science disciplines. Reactions to these efforts have been mixed-some stakeholders argue they promote greater scientific rigor whereas others argue that the opacity of algorithmic tools makes it challenging to meaningfully scrutinize the evidence presented against a defendant resulting from these systems. Consequently, the forensic community has been left with no clear path to navigate these concerns as each proposed approach has countervailing benefits and risks. To explore these issues further and provide a foundation for a path forward, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with fifteen participants to elicit the perspectives of key criminal justice stakeholders, including laboratory managers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and other academic scholars, on issues related to interpretation and reporting practices and the use of computational algorithms in forensic science within the American legal system.

SUBMITTER: Swofford H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8850671 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Probabilistic reporting and algorithms in forensic science: Stakeholder perspectives within the American criminal justice system.

Swofford H H Champod C C

Forensic science international. Synergy 20220212

In recent years, there have been efforts to promote probabilistic reporting and the use of computational algorithms across several forensic science disciplines. Reactions to these efforts have been mixed-some stakeholders argue they promote greater scientific rigor whereas others argue that the opacity of algorithmic tools makes it challenging to meaningfully scrutinize the evidence presented against a defendant resulting from these systems. Consequently, the forensic community has been left wit ...[more]

PMID: 35198945

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Project description:ImportanceHealth disparities between African Americans and Whites have persisted in the United States. Researchers have recently hypothesized that the relatively poor health of African Americans may be caused, in part, by African American overrepresentation in the criminal justice system.ObjectivesTo test the hypothesis that criminal justice system involvement is associated with poor health and greater health risk when controlling for unobserved family factors through a discordant sibling design.MethodsSubjects were drawn from the Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA). Criminal conviction records were extracted from North Carolina's Department of Public Safety. Six measures of health and one measure of health risk were analyzed. The health of convicted respondents was compared to that of unrelated non-convicted respondents matched on childhood and demographic factors ("matched sample"). Convicted respondents were also compared to non-convicted siblings ("discordant sibling sample").ResultsThe matched sample included 134 CAATSA respondents. On average, convicted CAATSA respondents, compared to matched non-convicted respondents, were in worse health. Convicted respondents had worse mean self-reported health, worse lung function, more depressive symptoms, and smoked more. The discordant sibling sample included 74 respondents. Convicted siblings and non-convicted siblings had similar self-reported health, depressive symptoms, and smoking. In general, non-convicted siblings were in worse health than non-convicted respondents from the matched sample, implying that poor health runs in families.ConclusionsThis study provided preliminary evidence that some of the association between a criminal record and poor health is confounded by family factors. Though more research is needed to support these results, the study suggests that criminal involvement may not be associated with the surfeit of health problems observed among African Americans. The criminal justice system, nonetheless, could be used to decrease the health disparity.

Project description:Media guidelines on safe suicide-related reporting are within the suicide prevention armamentarium. However, implementation issues beleaguer real-world practice. This study evaluated the perspectives of the Malaysian media community, persons with lived experience of suicidal behavior (PLE), and mental health professionals (MHP) on suicide-related reporting in terms of the impact, strategies, challenges, and the implementation of guidelines on safe reporting. Three focus group discussions of purposively sampled Malaysian media practitioners (n = 8), PLE (n = 6), and MHP (n = 7) were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed. Inclusion criteria were: English fluency, no clinical depression or suicidal ideation (current), no recent previous suicide attempts or suicide bereavement. Three major themes emerged: (1) Unsafe Reporting; (2) Impact; and (3) Safe Reporting. Most described current reporting as unsafe by being potentially triggering to media users and may contribute to contagion effect. Positive impacts identified included raised awareness toward suicide and its prevention. Unsafe reporting was attributed to inadequate awareness, knowledge, and guidance, lack of empathy and accountability, job-related factors, popularity-seeking, lack of monitoring and governance, and information source(s) with unsafe content. Majority agreed on how suicide stories should be framed to produce a safe report. The media community diverged on how detailed a suicide story should be. Safe reporting challenges included difficulties in balancing beneficial versus harmful details, social media ubiquity and its citizen reporters. Participants suggested these safe reporting strategies: stakeholder engagement, educational approaches, improving governance and surveillance, and guidelines revision. Most acknowledged the relevance of guidelines but were unaware of the existence of local guidelines. Implementation challenges included the dilemma in balancing media industry needs vis-à-vis safe reporting requirements, stakeholder engagement difficulties and social media regulation. There is poor awareness regarding safe suicide-related reporting across all groups. PLE and MHP were negatively impacted by current unsafe messaging which aggravated trauma and grief reactions. Postvention support gaps for mental health professionals were highlighted. Safe reporting promotion strategies should include stakeholder engagement to increase awareness on minimizing Werther and maximizing Papageno effects. Strategic re-examination and dissemination of local media guidelines to address new media issues, and effective surveillance mechanisms, are crucial in sustainable improvement of safe reporting practices.

Dataset Information

Probabilistic reporting and algorithms in forensic science: Stakeholder perspectives within the American criminal justice system.

Publications

Probabilistic reporting and algorithms in forensic science: Stakeholder perspectives within the American criminal justice system.

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