Applying virtual ID

When skeletal remains require urgent identification, the ability to use the virtual services of experts at the end of an email can be extremely effective. Lucina Hackman and Sue Black explain more about bones@dundee.

Forensic anthropology is perhaps best defined as the analysis of the human, or what remains of the human, for medico-legal purposes. In the past it has primarily been associated with skeletal remains, but its core involvement in disaster victim identification (Black et al., 2010), age evaluation in the living (Hackman et al., 2010) and image comparisons of suspects versus offender (Fresco, April 22, 2009), has ensured that its profile has altered quite dramatically in recent years.

Within the UK, forensic anthropologists can be freelance, they may be embedded within a forensic service provider or, more likely, they are located within university departments. By far the most common request asked of any forensic anthropologist is to determine whether remains are human and how old they might be, or if animal, which species they represent (Cattaneo, 2007, Ganswindt et al., 2003). It is most likely that remains presented will not be human, or if they are, then frequently they are of archaeological origin. Very few inquiries are human and of forensic relevance, but the possibility that they might be poses a problem for investigative forces.

Analysis of non-human bone is potentially expensive both with regards to direct costs in relation to expert fees but also in the ancillary costs associated with maintaining security at a scene until a decision can be reached.

In 2008, in response to comments about this problem from police officers being trained on the UK national Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) programmes, the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHId) at the University of Dundee, instigated a mutually beneficial partnership that:

a)allowed officers to obtain a rapid identification of the human or non-human origin of skeletal material; and

b)provided anthropologists with regular tests of their bone identification capabilities through access to different animal species.

The intended purpose of the service was to provide a free, quick and reliable response to the most frequently asked question – ‘is it human?’ – and to provide the anthropologists with continued professional development opportunities. The service is referred to as VACS (Virtual Anthropology Consultancy Service) and this brief communication investigates how this facility has evolved over the two years in which it has been available to UK investigative forces. Over 90 per cent of all cases referred to VACS relate to animal and not human bone. The five on-call anthropologists work on a rotational basis and provide quality control through spot check assessments, challenging where uncertainties occur and providing back-up support and advice for difficult cases. This has become referred to by many forces as the ‘bones email’ service and it operates in the following manner:

•A photograph is taken of the bone/bones with a scale and appropriate lighting either at the scene or at the police station if they have already been lifted, or brought in by a member of the public. The photograph must be in focus. Figure 1 (below) shows a good quality image where the lighting and the scale are appropriate.  

•The officer then attaches a JPEG image of the item to an email which contains their contact information. This is then sent to bones@dundee.ac.uk. It is helpful if a phone call is made to the administration office informing them that a case is due to arrive.

Figure 1: Ideal image of a bone – in this case the left femur from a sheep – with good lighting, background and scale.

•The on-call anthropologist picks up the case and responds almost always within the hour. Over 95 per cent of cases are addressed within ten minutes of the email being received. Cases are also picked up in the evenings and at weekends as staff have electronic