The current status of forensic soil examination in the Russian Federation

Abstract

An overview of the current state of forensic soil examination in the Russian Federation is given, and the organisations involved reviewed. The main requirements for forensic soil examination are discussed, and methods of examination for trace amounts of urban soil presented. Four examples where the successful identification of soil in case work are described, where the presence of anthropogenic trace-evidence allowed both scenes of crime to be identified and evidence to be linked to suspects. It is shown that integrated multi-disciplinary studies are preferable to obtain more evidence-based conclusions in soil forensic investigations, where the association of diverse information strengthens evidence.