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(gentle music)

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- Missing persons, kidnapping, murder.

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Knowing where to search

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for victims-of-crime and other evidence

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is crucial for not only solving the crime,

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but providing closure to
families and loved ones.

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You might be thinking isn't that exactly

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what forensic science is for?

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Isn't that what we see on shows like CSI?

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The team identify the suspect,

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establish a search area,
and close the case.

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But what if we don't know
where the crime scene is?

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What if the suspect is not
cooperating with police?

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It might not surprise you, if
I told you that earlier today,

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you might have picked up some
soil or maybe even some dust,

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from your driveway, car
park or a garden path.

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Although many of us will not
go off and commit a crime,

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these soil traces left on
our clothing, footwear,

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or even vehicle can reveal
a history of locations

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we have been and when we were there.

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Together with industry partners,

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our research investigates new methods

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for predicting the source
origin of soil material.

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Using Canberra as a model location,

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we have undertaken a
high-resolution geochemical survey,

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covering more than 650 square kilometres,

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and including more than 800 soil samples.

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We have produced geochemical
maps for more than 50 elements,

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like arsenic, lead, and copper.

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Using this, this then allows
us to test various models

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and algorithms to best
predict the probable source

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of soil evidence.

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So far, one model in particular,

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has been able to correctly exclude

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up to 95% of the surveyed area.

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This means that from an initial area

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of 650 square kilometres,

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our model has reduced it to just 30.

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This can provide powerful
forensic intelligence

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to investigators, helping
to better direct costly,

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and time-sensitive police resources

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to focus more quickly on
areas of high priority.

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While it is not practical to collect soil

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from all of Australia, using our approach,

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other states and territories can undertake

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their own targeted soil surveys

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in other key areas of police interest.

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Not only will this be a valuable resource

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for forensic science,

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but equally for other
environmental monitoring

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and human health applications.

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So, next time you see

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the dirty footprints on your clean carpet,

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just to remember,

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a little bit of dirt never hurt,

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unless you're a criminal.

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Thank you.

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(gentle music)