Contents
ANDREAS SCHMELING AND SUE BLACK
HEATHER LAW, LORRAINE MENSAH, SUE BAILEY AND JULIA NELKI
PHILIP BEH AND JASON PAYNE-JAMES
GEORGE FERNIE AND JASON PAYNE-JAMES
JULIA NELKI, PETE GRADY, SUE BAILEY AND HEATHER LAW
SUE BLACK AND GEORGE MAAT
NOËL CAMERON AND LAURA L. JONES
ANDREAS SCHMELING, SVEN SCHMIDT, RONALD SCHULZ, ANDREAS OLZE, WALTER REISINGER AND VOLKER VIETH
ANIL AGGRAWAL, PUNEET SETIA, AVNEESH GUPTA, AND ANTHONY BUSUTTIL
JANE TAYLOR AND MATTHEW BLENKIN
S. LUCINA HACKMAN, ALANAH BUCK AND S. BLACK
ANIL AGGRAWAL, PUNEET SETIA, AVNEESH GUPTA AND ANTHONY BUSUTTIL
DAVID LUCY
SUE BLACK, JASON PAYNE-JAMES AND ANIL AGGRAWAL
This edition first published 2010, © 2010 by COPYRIGHT HOLDER
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black, Sue M.
Age estimation in the living: the practitioners guide/Sue Black, Anil Aggrawal and Jason Payne-James.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-51967-7 (cloth)
1. Physical anthropology. 2. Anthropometry. 3. Human growth. 4. Human body–Composition–Age factors. 5. Forensic anthropology. 6. Dental anthropology. I. Aggrawal, Anil. II. Payne-James, Jason. III. Title.
GN51.B555 2011
599.9–dc22
2010024536
ISBN: 978-0-470-51967-7
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in 10/12 Sabon by Aptara Inc., New Delhi, India.
Professor Anil Aggrawal wishes to dedicate this text to – my son Tarun, nephew Nitin and niece Khushboo for believing in me.
Foreword
Most people in the developed world, if asked, would be able to say how old they are. This would be hearsay information, of course, as none of us can speak to this from our own knowledge. We have to depend on others to tell us when we were born. But family tradition, supported by information carefully recorded in the appropriate public register, enables us to fill this gap and, when this is needed, to satisfy the relevant authorities.
But there are a surprisingly large number of situations where people are either unable to tell the authorities when they were born or wish to persuade them that they are older or younger than they in fact are. For much of ordinary day-to-day living this does not matter. But time and time again the complex legal systems in which we live require this information to be given and require that the information provided is accurate. Age is a significant factor as to the way people are treated by the criminal law, by the social services and by asylum and immigration law, to take just some examples. Many asylum seekers arrive in this country without documentary evidence of their age and identity. An increasing number of them are claiming to be under the age of 18. No doubt this is because they have been advised to seek the special treatment, including the provision of accommodation by a local authority, that our legal system gives to persons under that age. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to provide accommodation for any child in need within their area. The statute says that a child for this purpose means a person under the age of 18.
As this book shows however, there is a significant difference between the assumption about information as to a person’s age on which legislation of this kind is based and what can actually be achieved in practice where there are no records or where the recorded information cannot be relied upon. In a recent case the UK Supreme Court held that, in enacting provisions of this kind, Parliament intended that the question of a person’s age was for determination ultimately by a court. This was because age, for the purpose of these provisions, is a question of objective fact. The statute proceeds on the basis that it will be possible to determine precisely when a person moves from one age group to another. That can readily be done, of course, in cases where the information can be supplied by the production of a birth certificate. Providing the answer with that degree of precision where, because reliable information of that kind is lacking, professional opinion has to be relied upon instead is much more difficult.
The value of this book lies as much in the advice that it gives as to what ought not to be done in that situation as in the guidance that it gives as to what can. It warns that formal age evaluation must never be put in the hands of the inexperienced practitioner. The expertise of a forensic specialist is essential and, as various methods may have to be used in what is often a multi-disciplinary exercise, it may be necessary for specialists with the relevant expertise to consult with one another before an answer is reached. It aims to be authoritative and comprehensive. By raising awareness as to the limitations of the main approaches to age estimation, it encourages an approach which is careful and well-grounded in a proper understanding of the relevant disciplines. It may not be possible to achieve the precision that can be found by examining a person’s birth certificate. But in the right hands, and with an informed understanding the methods that can be used to achieve this, age estimation can get very close to it.
The editors and their contributors are to be congratulated on producing such a fascinating and well-researched textbook. It deserves to be in every practitioner’s library.
By
The Rt Hon Lord Hope of Craighead KT
R(A) v Croydon London Borough Council [2009] UKSC 8, [2009] 1 WLR 2557.
Preface
Most healthcare practitioners are inexperienced in even the most approximate estimation of the age of living individuals – and may rely on little more than simple guesswork. Whilst this approach may be appropriate in situations where accuracy may have little relevance, there are situations where a ‘rough estimate of age’ may have far-reaching implications on the manner and nature of the response of the state or judicial system to that individual. In particular, minor differences in age may represent the difference between classification as an adult or a child and can result in major implications for the rights of the individual, such as in relation to accommodation and care and also in the tariffs for criminal offences.
Individuals may have lost, or never had, documentary evidence of their age, or may be genuinely unaware of their chronological age, or they may wish to conceal their true age for a variety of reasons. It therefore becomes incumbent upon the court or other bodies to obtain a formal estimation of their age.
In recent years, with increasing movement of individuals between countries – perhaps as a result of refugee movement, migration or even human trafficking the need to determine the age of a living individual has gained increasing medico-legal importance and cases requiring mediation or investigation occur with increasing frequency. Different jurisdictions approach the concept of estimation of age in varying ways. In addition to inter-jurisdictional differences there may also be substantial intra-jurisdictional differences, many of which may be tested by legal process. For those professionals called upon to provide an estimation of age in the living individual it is right that those requesting such estimations should be provided with as far as possible, valid, reproducible and interpretable estimates.
The available analytical expertise includes odontology, radiology, anthropology, psychology and clinical assessment which require input from a number of specialist practitioners and it is important that all those involved are aware not only of the appropriate techniques and their inherent strengths and weaknesses, but also the ethical and legal frameworks in which they must operate. Age-estimation requires a multi-professional skill set and all those involved should understand and respect how these frameworks may sometimes appear to conflict.
This book is intended to identify and explain the main approaches to age estimation in the living – and to define when a parameter may be of value and to raise awareness of its limitations. There is no simple test for age estimation, and the best available options for each assessment should be used. Each of the key approaches to age estimation is allotted a single chapter written by those with particular skills and expertise in that field. It is in the interests of all parties and in the interests of justice that practitioners aim to estimate age reliably and realistically whilst ensuring that the best interests and rights of both the individual and the needs of the court are served. It is hoped that this book brings together a corpus of knowledge that will assist both those seeking age estimations and those called upon to provide age estimations in the living individual. We are particularly grateful to Fiona Woods and Nicky McGirr from Wiley for their support, patience and enthusiasm for this project. We hope it achieves its aims in ensuring that this complex issue is approached in an independent, scientific and evidence-based manner.
Sue Black Jason Payne-James Anil Aggrawal |
Dundee London New Delhi |
July 2010 |
Glossary of Abbreviations
AGFAD
Arbeitsgemeinshaf fur Forensische Altersdiagnostik (Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics)
BASW
British Association of Social Workers
BMI
Body Mass Index
CDC
Centers for Disease Control
CRL
Crown–Rump Length
CT
Computerized Tomography
EDC
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
FSH
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
GH
Growth Hormone
GMC
General Medical Council
GnRH
Gonadotrophic Releasing Hormone
HPG
Hypothalamic Pituitary Gonadal axis
ID
Identification
IDP
Internally Displaced Persons
LBW
Low Birth Weight
LMP
Last Menstrual Period
MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PP
Precocious Puberty
PR
Parental Responsibility
PROS
Pediatric Research in Office Settings
RCPCH
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SES
Socio-Economic Status
SGA
Small for Gestational Age
UASC
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children
UKBA
UK Border Agency
UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNODC
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
WHO
World Health Organization