ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 January 1998
Page Count: 6

A First Assessment of the Reliability of an Improved Scent Identification Line-up
Schoon, GAA
University of Leiden,

(Received 29 October 1996; accepted 27 June 1997)

Abstract

To properly evaluate different forensic techniques, it is important to know how reliable these different techniques are. The reliability of scent identification line-ups is unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe, and employ, a reliability testing method for scent identifications using trained police dogs and a novel scent identification procedure. Two kinds of experiments were prepared: suspect = perpetrator experiments, and suspect ≳ perpetrator experiments. Six dog/handler teams participated in 10 experiments, five of each kind. The reliability of an identification, or the diagnostic ratio, is the percentage correct identification in suspect = perpetrator experiments divided by the percentage false identification of the suspect in suspect ≳ perpetrator experiments. Factors that influence the reliability of scent identifications are discussed, and the results of the scent identifications are compared with recent reliability estimates of other forensic techniques.

Keywords:
forensic science, scent, identification, line-up, canine reliability

Paper ID: JFS16092J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS16092J
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