Victoria Police

This book analyses artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on sustainability, ethics, security, and society. It provides actionable strategies for eco‑friendly AI, navigating legal frameworks and implementing ethical practices. It examines security challenges from AI misuse, outlining necessary cybersecurity enhancements. Real‑world case studies bridge theory and practice. Guidance is provided for aligning AI adoption with societal and environmental goals, promoting responsible AI development for a sustainable future. This comprehensive study of AI begins by looking at AI’s role in environmental sustainability, providing actionable strategies for eco‑friendly AI development and deployment. This includes understanding the complex relationship between AI and the environment to minimise its footprint and promote AI solutions that contribute to environmental goals. The authors extend into an insightful discussion on navigating the intricate legal frameworks and implementing ethical AI practices. This guidance reduces the risk of legal challenges and reputational damage, leading to increased trust and responsible AI development and use. Bridging the gap between theory and practice is another important feature in this book. With real‑world case studies, the reader gains a practical understanding of how AI is being used in different contexts. This enhances the accelerated adoption and increased innovation of AI solutions in different fields. This book provides a clear roadmap for responsible and sustainable AI integration, aligning AI initiatives with broader societal and environmental objectives. The primary audience for this book includes business leaders, professionals, policymakers, technologists, and AI practitioners.

Previous studies have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) from human sources can be recovered from natural bodies of water, and the generation of DNA profiles from such environmental samples may assist in forensic investigations. However, fundamental knowledge gaps exist around the factors influencing the probability of detecting human eDNA and the design of optimal sampling protocols. One of these is understanding the particle sizes eDNA signals are most strongly associated with and the most appropriate filter size needed for efficiently capturing eDNA particles. This study assessed the amount of mitochondrial eDNA associated with different particle sizes from human blood and skin cells recovered from freshwater samples. Samples (300 mL) were taken from experimental 10 L tanks of freshwater spiked with 50 µL of human blood or skin cells deposited by vigorously rubbing hands together for two minutes in freshwater. Subsamples were collected by passing 250 mL of experimental water sample through six different filter pore sizes (from 0.1 to 8 µm). This process was repeated at four time intervals after spiking over 72 hours to assess if the particle size of the amount of eDNA recovered changes as the eDNA degrades. Using a human-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay targeting the HV1 mitochondrial gene region, the total amount of mitochondrial eDNA associated with different particle size fractions was determined. In the case of human blood, at 0 h, the 0.45 µm filter pore size captured the greatest amount of mitochondrial eDNA, capturing 42 % of the eDNA detected. The pattern then changed after 48 h, with the 5 µm filter pore size capturing the greatest amount of eDNA (67 %), and 81 % of eDNA at 72 h. Notably, a ten-fold dilution proved to be a valuable strategy for enhancing eDNA recovery from the 8 µm filter at all time points, primarily due to the PCR inhibition observed in hemoglobin. For human skin cells, the greatest amounts of eDNA were recovered from the 8 µm filter pore size and were consistent through time (capturing 37 %, 56 %, and 88 % of eDNA at 0 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours respectively). There is a clear variation in the amount of eDNA recovered between different cell types, and in some forensic scenarios, there is likely to be a mix of cell types present. These results suggest it would be best to use a 5 µm filter pore size to capture human blood and an 8 µm filter pore size to capture human skin cells to maximize DNA recovery from freshwater samples. Depending on the cell type contributing to the eDNA, a combination of different filter pore sizes may be employed to optimize the recovery of human DNA from water samples. This study provides the groundwork for optimizing a strategy for the efficient recovery of human eDNA from aquatic environments, paving the way for its broader application in forensic and environmental sciences.

ABSTRACT Pets, such as cats and dogs, are present in the majority of households and may, in certain circumstances, be a relevant element in criminal investigations. Dogs, in particular, may interact with an intruder resulting in an exchange of trace evidence between the two. To better understand these interactions, fifty videos of dog contacts with an intruder were analysed, noting the location and the type of an interaction. It was found that dogs were more likely to instigate the interaction, jumping on the intruder, and were most commonly contacted on the head and back.

ABSTRACT DNA recovery from fired cartridge cases (FCCs) remains challenging due to the limited DNA amounts available for collection, hence efforts to retain the available DNA are essential. Here we use DiamondTM nucleic acid dye staining to show that DNA may be lost from an FCC to the inside of its packaging after collection at a crime scene. A novel cartridge collection device mitigated this DNA loss under the conditions tested and could be beneficial for casework.

Awareness of the factors surrounding the transfer of DNA from a person, item, or surface to another person, item, or surface is highly relevant during investigations of alleged criminal activity. Animals in domestic environments could be a victim, offender, or innocent party associated with a crime. There is, however, very limited knowledge of human DNA transfer, persistence, prevalence, and recovery (DNA TPPR) associated with domestic animals. This pilot study aimed to improve our understanding of DNA TPPR associated with domestic dogs by collecting and analysing samples from various external areas of dogs of various breeds, interactions with humans, and living arrangements, and conducting a series of tests to investigate the possibility of dogs being vectors for the indirect transfer of human DNA. Reference DNA profiles from the dog owners and others living in the same residence were acquired to assist interpretation of the findings. The findings show that human DNA is prevalent on dogs, and in the majority of samples, two-person mixtures are present. Dogs were also found to be vectors for the transfer of human DNA, with DNA transferred from the dog to a gloved hand during patting and a sheet while walking.

This article explores views about older people and aging underpinning practices andperceptions of development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in long-termcare homes (LTC). Drawing on semi-structured interviews with seven AI developers, sevenLTC staff, and four LTC advocates, we analyzed how AI technologies for later life areimagined, designed, deployed, and resisted. Using the concepts of “promissory discourse”and “aging anxieties”, we investigated manifestations of ageism in accounts of AIapplications in LTC. Despite positive intentions, both AI developers and LTCstaff/advocates engaged in simplistic scripts about aging, care, and the technologicalcapacity of older people. We further uncovered what we termed sociotechnicalageism—a form that is not merely digital but rests on interactingpre-conceptions about the inability or lack of interest of older people to use emergingtechnologies coupled with social assumptions about aging, LTC, and technologicalinnovation.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a highly sensitive and cost-effective tool that is increasingly being applied to studies of biodiversity and species detection. This non-invasive method relies on the collection of environmental samples that contain genetic material being shed into surrounding environment by the target organism/s. While forensic science has a long history of using molecular tools for collecting DNA from the environment, the detection of human DNA from environmental water samples has been limited. This study investigated the detection and degradation rates of human eDNA in water samples under controlled laboratory conditions. Using a human-specific qPCR assay targeting the ND1 region of human mitochondrial DNA, eDNA degradation over time in water spiked with human blood was assessed. Recovery of nuclear DNA was investigated by determining if routine DNA short tandem repeat (STR) profiles of the blood source could be generated. Results demonstrated that human eDNA remains detectable for up to 11 days under laboratory conditions in environmental water and up to 35 days in distilled water. Partial STR profiles could be recovered from environmental water only up to 24 h, while, in distilled water, partial profiles continued to be recovered up to 840 h. These findings demonstrate that sampling human eDNA from aquatic samples can provide reliable human DNA detection within relatively short time windows, assisting law enforcement agencies by providing information about the potential time an individual may have been present in an area or assisting in the detection and location of a body or remains in aquatic environments.