Digital twin can reveal alcohol consumption in crime cases
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Henrik Podéus Derelöv, PhD student at LiU.
view moreCredit: Marcus Pettersson
Using a so-called digital twin, it is possible to predict with greater precision than at present how much alcohol a person has consumed and at what time. The study was conducted by researchers at Linköping University and the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, pave the way for more reliable investigations into crimes where alcohol is believed to have been involved.
In criminal investigations, it can be crucial to know when a person last consumed alcohol in order to determine responsibility with certainty. However, according to Robert Kronstrand, chief toxicologist at the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine and adjunct professor at Linköping University, current techniques, where alcohol levels are measured in exhaled breath and blood samples, are too imprecise:
“One thing we do is assess when a person last drank alcohol, for example in a drink-driving case. The person has crashed, been unobserved for a period before the police arrive, and when tested is positive for alcohol. The person then says that all intake occurred after the journey, and that the blood test therefore doesn’t reflect the situation while they were driving,” he says.
This argument is known as post-incident drinking, or hip flask defence, and can be difficult to disprove using current techniques. Another situation where alcohol consumption is an important piece of the puzzle in investigations is in various types of violent crime or accidents.
“Then we want to be able to extrapolate backwards from an analytical result that may have been obtained three, five or ten hours after the event, and estimate the alcohol level at the time of the offence and perhaps also when the person stopped drinking,” says Robert Kronstrand.
To achieve this, the research group at Linköping University, together with the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, has developed a computational model for a so-called digital twin. Digital twin technology can, in simplified terms, be described as a virtual model of a person where individual differences such as sex, age, height, weight and medical conditions are taken into account when calculating alcohol levels in the body.
In the LiU researchers’ model, data from a person’s exhaled breath, blood and urine samples are analysed. These data consist of various metabolites from alcohol metabolism, found in blood and urine. All this information is then used together with the digital twin to generate individualised results on drinking patterns.
According to the researchers, the digital twin could also take into account gastric emptying rates and alcohol absorption, which depend on food intake or the type of alcoholic beverage consumed.
“We want to explore alcohol intake and how it breaks down in the body. This involves measurements of both alcohol directly in blood and urine, and secondary metabolites that arise during the breakdown of alcohol,” says Henrik Podéus Derelöv, doctoral student at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Linköping University (LiU).
The aim is to develop a user-friendly tool for forensic investigations where sample data are entered, and the model provides probable answers as to when a person last drank and how much. According to Henrik Podéus Derelöv, the results are intended as a support in assessments and do not replace the overall forensic medicine evaluation.
“The model will always involve inherent uncertainty, but that also applies to current methods, and the ambition is to create a more flexible tool.”
Journal
Scientific Reports
Article Title
A digital twin framework for forensic reconstruction of alcohol intake via fast and slow metabolite kinetics
Mainz University and the German Police University launch joint research project on qualified language mediation for efficient forensic communication surveillance
German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space is funding the project with around EUR 880,000 through its Validation of the Technological and Social Innovation Potential of Scientific Research (VIP+) program
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An intercept interpreter / translator (IIT) at work
view moreCredit: photo/©: Katja Preusse / German Police University
In cases involving serious criminal offenses, the police are permitted to conduct acoustic surveillance of telephones, private premises, or vehicles to record conversations of suspected offenders or to analyze chat communications. When criminal groups communicate in languages other than German, language mediators or so-called intercept interpreters-translators (IITs) are tasked with rendering the content into German. Their role extends beyond mere linguistic transfer to include the communication of additional information relevant to the investigation. The results of their work also serve as evidence in court proceedings. To ensure effective crime prevention and prosecution, the police, the prosecuting attorneys, and courts depend on precise intercept interpreting and translation.
This is the very topic of the new research project on "Qualified language mediation for efficient forensic communication surveillance", QSEK for short. The interdisciplinary research consortium – involving academics from translation studies, law, and criminology – aims to raise awareness of the specific challenges and importance of intercept interpreting and translation among law enforcement, the judiciary, and the language services sector. It seeks to develop general standards for the legally sound use of language-mediated evidence and to provide targeted training for both language professionals and police personnel.
For the police and the judiciary, the professionalization of IITs is expected to yield significant cost savings as high-quality translation enhances investigative efficiency and reduces the risk of misinterpretation. At the same time, standardized procedures facilitate the work of prosecuting authorities, enable the assessment of AI-based applications, and strengthen the legal reliability of evidence derived from intercept interpreting and translation.
For IITs themselves, the introduction of a standardized qualification profile creates opportunities to acquire both specialized translation and forensic competencies, as well as to prepare themselves for the professional use of AI technologies. Ultimately, these innovations contribute to fair and transparent criminal proceedings and uphold the right of defendants to be heard, thereby reinforcing public trust in law enforcement and judicial processes.
The practical implementation of the project results is of central importance. In the framework of the Validation of the Technological and Social Innovation Potential of Scientific Research (VIP+) program, this transfer will be supported by the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf as innovation mentor. In addition, the project is supported by an advisory board comprising the German Federal Public Prosecutor at the Federal Court of Justice and representatives from the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office, the German Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators (BDÜ), the German Institute for Human Rights, and criminal defense attorney Dr. Alexander Paradissis (WisteV). This broad backing underscores that QSEK addresses an urgent and widely recognized need.
The project supervisors, namely Professor Cornelia Griebel of the Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Chief of the Criminal Division Joachim Faßbender, and Professor Lars Berster of the German Police University (DHPol), welcome this strong support from key stakeholders. They are confident that QSEK will provide a comprehensive solution to current challenges in intercept interpreting and translation. By integrating academic research, practice-oriented training, and support for technological innovation, the project is intended to make a sustainable contribution to high-quality and efficient language mediation in this field.
The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) is providing financial support of EUR 878,799 to the QSEK project through its VIP+ validation funding program.
Related links:
- https://www.validierungsfoerderung.de/validierungsprojekte/qsek – Validation project "Qualified language mediation for efficient forensic communication surveillance" (QSEK) [in German]
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