Particulate Evidence Persistence in Water Environments

The persistence of evidence in different environments is important in ascertaining when two people or items have come in contact; this provides intelligence information and aids in the reconstruction of crime scenes. Persistence information of certain evidence types, such as fibres, is commonly used in serious crimes as DNA is generally unable to provide answers to ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ a crime took place.

The persistence of particulate evidence in water environments has been little studied. Due to this, many scenes of crime officers do not search for this type of evidence if believed to have been exposed for more than 7 days, although initial pilot studies conducted at Staffordshire University indicate that fibres evidence can persist on fabric for over 12 weeks.

This PhD will investigate the factors that affect the persistence of fibres, pollen and glass when submerged in different water environments, including but not limited to; donor material, recipient items, exposure time and flow rate. In addition to this, the degradation of certain evidence types in these environments can provide valuable information regarding exposure time which benefits both criminal investigations and environmental science. Currently, the rate at which synthetic fibres degrade in water is not known.

This PhD will also investigate the degradation of fibres when exposed to both fresh and salt water environments to aid the interpretation of microplastics in water environments and forensic fibres analysis. The duality of this PhD means that will have impact in both forensic science and the science of plastic pollution.

The School of Law Policing and Forensics
The School of Law Policing and Forensics at Staffordshire University are inviting applications for Partial Scholarship PhD projects within our school. This scheme gives you the opportunity to enrol on to a PhD project without having to pay any tuition fees. In exchange for this, you would be expected to provide a maximum of 250 hours of teaching support to the Academic Staff. Please note, that no bursary or any other funding will be provided.

If you have any further questions regarding the scheme, please contact Dr Graham Williams at [Email Address Removed]

Applications
To apply, in the first instance contact the relevant supervisor with your interested project who will discuss the project with you and advise you on how to apply for the PhD. You will need to contact the supervisor directly before applying for the PhD project.