I am doing an Msc in Data Science. Right now I am looking for a crime-related topic where I could apply my data-science knowledge. I would prefer to extract the relative data from social media. Any suggestions?
The criminal justice system using CODIS YSTR sampling to determine if genetic material from a crime scene matches a suspect whose DNA is on file from previous criminal convictions. But with valid DNA on hand from crime scenes, extremely serial murder crimes are rarely on file, so these crimes expend huge resources when they already have DNA in hand. I conduct research for mathematical models for genetic genealogy (using genetics to determine relatedness for genealogical purposes).
In many parts of the more prolific parts the haplotree, we can now regularly determine the surname based on just one $150 test. For only $500, you can extract Next Generation Sequencing which gets any tester down to the last three generations (male line only) but the reference databases are getting quite large. Although, genetic genealogy community is concerned about privacy issues, this data is in mostly in public databases.
Recently, in Spain, a very high profile rape and murder was solved by genetic genealogy tests. This investigation had dozens of law enforcement officers assigned but simple $150 tests quickly narrowed down the suspects and located the offender.
I am working on software tools that automate this kind of analysis for YDNA (which in the future will be able to determine all ancestors on anybody's pedigree chart (including parents and brothers). It is amazing that law enforcement has no clue of this powerful technology. These databases are approaching the size of criminal DNA databases but less than one percent of cases use this approach. There are serious privacy issues and the EU just passed laws to limit these kinds of tests for privacy related issues.
But this would make a tremendous Master's thesis and the timing is right as the genetic genealogical community is making unbelievable progress in this area these days due to falling prices for these tests and more sophisticated tests for the same cost. Sample sizes in the Netherlands is not very high and the recent EU laws passed in the last few weeks may preclude this in the Netherlands - but you could use US databases to prove the technology and 1000s of Dutch people have already tested plus continue to get easily get their DNA analyzed in the US since collection kits are very small and requires no special handling.
i suggest you to take a look at "suspect detection in social network" topic
Good Luck.
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