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Age estimation of unaccompanied minors: Part I. General considerations

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Abstract

In recent years many countries have experienced a sharp increase in the demand for forensic age estimates of unaccompanied minors. In many countries the age thresholds of relevance to criminal prosecution lie between 16 and 22 years.

In line with recommendations issued by the Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics, for determining the age of live subjects a forensic age estimate should combine the results of a physical examination, an X-ray of the hand and a dental examination which records dentition status and evaluates an orthopantomogram. To assess the age of persons who are assumed to be at least 18 years old, an additional radiographic or CT examination of the collar bones is recommended.

Forensic age estimates should take account of the ethnic origin and socio-economic status of the person under examination.

Introduction

As a result of the global increase in cross-border migration in recent years, in many countries there is a growing number of foreigners who cannot provide documentary evidence for their date of birth. Because of this development, forensic age estimation of unaccompanied minors has increasingly become an integral part of forensic practice. The persons to whom forensic examination is to be applied are foreigners without valid identity documents who are suspected of making false statements about their age. In many countries the age thresholds of relevance to criminal prosecution lie between 16 and 22 years.

In line with the recommendations of the Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics, age estimates should consist of a physical examination which also records anthropometric data, signs of sexual maturation and potential age-relevant developmental disorders, an X-ray of the left hand and a dental examination which records dentition status and evaluates an orthopantomogram. To assess the age of persons who are assumed to be at least 18 years old, an additional radiographic or CT examination of the clavicles is recommended [1]. With a view to increasing the accuracy of age estimates and improving the identification of age-relevant developmental disorders, a combination of all methods mentioned above should be used, and each examination should be carried out by an expert with forensic experience. All contributions to the overall age estimate should provide information on the methods or stage classifications as well as the reference studies used for diagnosing age, in addition to the age-relevant findings of each examination. They should also provide the statistical parameters of variation for each feature under examination, along with the diagnosis of the most probable age. The expert in charge of coordinating all contributions should compile the results in a final age diagnosis.

If there is no legal justification for a radiographic examination, the range of possible methods is limited to a physical and a dental examination [2].

Age estimates carried out properly help enhance legal certainty by ensuring equal treatment of persons with or without valid identity documents. On the one hand, they help prevent perpetrators from wrongfully benefiting from false claims to be younger than they really are. On the other hand, they supply exonerating evidence for persons who are erroneously suspected of making false statements about their age [3].

Section snippets

Physical examination

The physical examination includes anthropometric measures such as body height, weight and constitutional type, as well as visible signs of sexual maturity. In boys these are penile and testicular development, pubic hair, axillary hair, beard growth and laryngeal prominence; in girls these are breast development, pubic hair, axillary hair and shape of the hip.

Tanner's [4] staging for adolescence is commonly used to determine the status of genital development, breast development and pubic hair

Radiographic examination of the hand

Radiographic examination of the hand is the second pillar of forensic age diagnostics for the purpose of criminal prosecution.

A basic prerequisite for radiographic age estimation is the above-mentioned physical examination in order to establish whether the proband has a disease that may affect skeletal development, as noted above.

Criteria for evaluating hand radiographs include the form and size of bone elements and the degree of epiphyseal ossification. To this effect, either a given X-ray

Radiographic or CT examination of the clavicles

To estimate the age of persons who are assumed to be older than 18 years, it is particularly important to evaluate the progress of ossification of the cartilage at the sternal end of the clavicle, because all other developmental systems under examination have completed their growth by this time.

A number of studies are available examining the ossification of the medial epiphysis of the clavicle using either conventional X-rays or CT scans [24], [25], [26], [27]. While traditional classification

Dental examination

Forensic dental age estimation is described in part II of this paper [29].

Overall age estimate

The results of the physical examination, the radiographic examination of the hand, the dental examination, and the radiographic examination of the clavicles, as the case may be, should be compiled by the expert in charge of coordinating all contributions in a final age diagnosis. The overall age estimate should include a discussion of the age-relevant variations resulting from application of the reference studies in an individual case, such as different genetic/geographic origin, different

The influence of ethnicity on the developmental systems examined

Since the subjects of forensic examination mostly belong to populations for which no reference studies are available that could be used for forensic purposes, the question arises whether there are significant developmental differences between various ethnic groups which would prohibit the application of relevant age standards to members of ethnic groups other than the reference population. In this respect the term ‘ethnicity’ shall be used only to identify the affinity of various populations in

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