CINQUIFOR has the research and project management experience that it has been awarded:

European projects

Other projects

CINQUIFOR has led other national projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the University of Alcalá and the University Institute for Research in Police Sciences (IUICP) of the University of Alcalá. See all CINQUIFOR projects ›

Evaluation and educational intervention to

prevent drug use and sexual violence in youth

leisure contexts.

Research Projects on Addictions 2018 of the National Plan on Drugs - Ministry

of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare (MSCBS)

Reference | 2018I032 Date of execution | 01/01/2019 - 31/12/2021

Summary Alcohol is the main drug present in situations of sexual violence in nightlife contexts. On the other hand, drug-facilitated sexual crimes are covered by the media, with big headlines about burundanga (scopolamine) as a weapon of chemical submission when it is covertly added to the victim; however, to date, they do not link chemical submission with voluntary alcohol consumption. In addition, the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses) hardly records any positive tests for this drug and very few cases reach the Spanish Courts of Justice. This project will investigate the relationship between alcohol/drug use and youth sexual violence using the university context as a diagnostic tool and seed for participatory actions of young people in environmental prevention, among peers, in the field of drugs and gender violence. A diagnosis will be made of the reality of the phenomenon of sexual violence in nightlife environments among young people as a consequence of consumption and with a gender perspective, the black figure of this type of sexual crimes facilitated by drugs will be assessed, and the effectiveness of peer prevention actions will be investigated, with the students of the first years of the University of Alcalá being the agents of change.

Development of a spectrometer to measure the

ultraweak photonic emission of people in

stimulated states (UPES).

Projects ‘Explora Ciencia’ 2017 - Ministry of Science, Innovation and

Universities (MICINN)

Reference | CTQ2017-91358-EXP Date of execution | 01/11/2018 - 30/10/2020

Summary Human biophoton emission or ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) is visually undetectable because it is 3-6 orders of magnitude smaller than the visual threshold of the human eye. So far, the few instrumental setups, based on CCD cameras, have been able to record this ultra-weak signal after long analysis times. This makes it necessary to explore new instrumental set-ups that are ultra-sensitive and fast, with analysis times of less than 30 minutes, to measure the UPE in stimulated personal states. This proposal will focus on the development of a highly sensitive benchtop UPE spectrometer to study the spectral changes in biophotonic emission of individuals in relaxed and angry personal states. This initial idea is intended to be the proof of concept that will lead, in the longer term, to the measurement of personal states associated with affective disorders (such as depression that can lead to suicide) and repeat offences (that can lead to murder), which are states of enormous forensic interest. We hope that this innovative idea will make it possible to correlate UPE spectral variations with the personal states studied, proposing them as a new physiological parameter that opens new and promising frontiers for the study of forensic cases and affective disorders.

Identification of risk factors for drug-facilitated

sexual abuse (DFSA) based on forensic-police

data

Grants for the Funding of Research Projects Related to the IUICP Priority Lines

2019

Reference | IUICP-2019/06 Date of execution | 05/12/2019 - 05/12/2021

Summary Chemical submission involves the covert administration of psychoactive substances to others to override their will and subject them to various criminal purposes, or taking advantage of the vulnerability caused by the victims' voluntary use of such substances to inflict the same harms. Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) due to voluntary or involuntary drug use has received special attention in recent decades. The CINQUIFOR group is working and collaborating with the Criminalistics Service of the Civil Guard (SCGC), the General Commissariat of Scientific Police (CGPC) and the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF) to obtain a better analysis and identify the risk factors (behavioural, sociological and environmental) involved in cases of DFSA and, with this, to work on ways of risk prevention with the younger population. This is achieved by using new analytical tools with greater sensitivity and selectivity, and efficient data collection from police reports and expert forensic toxicology reports. The aim is to analyse the social problems of DFSA, interpret the results and transfer the conclusions to the institutional level and disseminate them to the international scientific community through the publication of the results obtained.

Forensic Animal Sciences: Expanding Horizons

Research projects related to the priority lines of the IUICP. Year 2023

Reference | IUICP-2023/07 Date of execution | 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2024

Summary In any crime involving animals, it is crucial during the investigation to gather as much background information as possible to provide a logical explanation for the possible events at the scene of the crime. As an example, cases of abuse and cruelty committed against companion animals can sometimes be related to interpersonal and domestic violence. Animals may also be involved in cases where national security (e.g. bioterrorism, illegal animal trafficking, corruption, human trafficking, illegal arms and drug trafficking, etc.); public health (e.g. zoonotic diseases); food supply (food animals and by-products); fire; sustainable use of national and international resources; international trade; threatened and endangered species, with the consequent deleterious effect on genetic biodiversity and food chains are at stake. It may also include cases of professional intrusiveness or lack of professional ethics, among others. Nor should we forget that the mistreatment of pets and farm animals in particular (e.g. dogs, cats, birds, ruminants, etc.) can fragment the emotional and social state of people, due to the fact that they make up the group of animals that live in close relationship with humans, generating strong bonds and empathy. These situations together with the recent Law 7/2023, of 28 March, on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals (BOE-A-2023-7936, https://www.boe.es/eli/es/l/2023/03/28/7) oblige us to broaden the current horizons of Forensic Sciences and train in Animal Forensic Sciences in order to act in a more holistic and interdisciplinary way together with health centres, psychologists, psychiatrists, governmental and non-governmental organisations, among others. In this context, and whatever the type of forensic investigation where animals are involved, it is very opportune to carry out an investigation in a planned, knowledgeable, systematic, protocol-driven and interdisciplinary way, in order to obtain scientifically reliable evidence that is admissible at a judicial level. Events II International Virtual Meeting on Animal Forensic Sciences (IVM-AFS)

Real-tIme on-site forenSic tracE qualificatioN

(RISEN)

Research projects co-funded by the European Union's research and

innovation programme ‘Horizon 2020’.

Reference | H2020-SU-FCT02-2019-883116 Date of execution | 01/07/2020 – 30/06/2024

Summary European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. European Commission Grant Agreement No 883116. Improving the identification of biological fluids at the scene of a crime is an elementary step in police investigation and in the legal prosecution of suspected criminal offences. Biological fluids such as blood can be confused, depending on the type of surface they permeate or the time they are collected, with everyday interferents such as chocolate or ketchup. This work is part of an EU-funded project in the HD 2020 programme where scientists, technologists and European law enforcement personnel are working together to make people safer in order to protect and defend themselves. More information on Proyectos Europeos

Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence Tools for

the Exploitation of the BAFITEX GC Database and

its Use in Forensic Intelligence

Research Projects on Addictions 2018 of the National Plan on Drugs - Ministry

of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare (MSCBS)

Reference | IUICP-2023/06 Date of execution | 01/02/2024 - 01/02/2025

Summary Determining the nature and origin of fibres can be crucial in solving criminal cases. So far, information is collected in forensic laboratories on many of their characteristics and spectroscopy results. There are libraries to compare with. On the other hand, AI makes it possible to relate variables and treat the results beyond a basic descriptive one, which would make it possible to obtain valuable information from a forensic point of view, such as knowing the prevalence of fibres, establishing interrelationships that associate apparently unconnected criminal cases with each other, among other things. Incorporating AI into the routine work of a forensic science laboratory will allow for a more objective and complete interpretation of facts, especially when dealing with databases with a lot of information. When there is a very large database, such as the one available to the criminalistics service of the Guardia Civil, the Guardia Civil Textile Fibre Database (BAFITEX GC), it is necessary to develop tools that allow information to be obtained from all these data that are beyond human interpretation. The main objective of this study is to use machine learning and AI tools to estimate the probability of occurrence of the most important fibre types in a forensic context.

Non-tArgeted foRensic multidisCiplinary platfOrm

for inveStigation of drug-related fatalitieS

(NARCOSIS)

Research projects co-funded by the European Union's research and

innovation programme ‘Horizon 2020’.

Reference | HORIZON-CL3-2023-FCT-01 Date of execution | 01/11/2024 – 31/10/2027

Summary European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. European Commission Grant Agreement No 101168195. Rapid changes and the increasing number of currently unknown new psychoactive substances (NPS) make early warning activities even more challenging than before. Tools with updated libraries allow for rapid identification of drugs of abuse, but with limitations. The EU-funded NARCOSIS project aims to develop a reliable and collaborative approach to support the EU Early Warning System for rapid detection of NPS and rapid response to investigators. The project will create a diagnostic platform that can be adapted and updated as needed. It will be instrumental for on-site and laboratory screening, establishing a shared reference spectra database for faster identification of illicit drugs using AI-based heuristic tools trained on chemical characteristics rather than illicit drug names and categories. More information on Proyectos Europeos