In short...
...the event series not only offers participants from academia and practice a source of information on forensic science topics at the cutting edge , but also creates an interdisciplinary discussion and networking platform. The event series thrives on lectures, workshops and discussions with researchers, practitioners and students. In addition, we will end True Crime Tuesday with a cozy get-together, which will allow for in-depth discussions after the official part of the event.
When?
True Crime Tuesdays usually take place twice a semester and are advertised on the homepage of the ZiK, the Institute of Criminal Law and via the University of Graz calendar of events.
Which topics?
Past events have been dedicated to criminological and criminalistic issues, such as "Digital Forensics", "Court ballistics as a means of crime reconstruction in homicide cases", "Human Trafficking", "Cold Case Investigations" or "(Finger)Traces of Forensics".
Would you like to find out more and never miss an event?
If you are interested and would like to be personally informed about future events, you are welcome to subscribe to our event newsletter at zik(at)uni-graz.at.
The event series is supported by Alumni Uni Graz.
Past events
18.11.2025 17:00 SZ 15.21
The environment of nature and technology is primarily characterised by meteorological influences. Environmental influences often have a relevant impact on incidents of damage or serve to investigate criminal offences. However, the focus is not on the meteorological parameters per se, but on the effects that are caused by them. For example, slippery roads cannot be assessed on the basis of air temperature as a meteorological parameter, but only by the surface temperature of the road and the availability of water.
These can be not only obvious influences (slippery roads, storm damage, lightning damage, etc.), but also conditions that are often not directly attributed to meteorology (e.g. damage to plants due to wind-induced emissions of a pesticide, heat damage to small children and animals left in the car during the warm season).
The need for a meteorological expert opinion becomes obvious when the issue does not concern meteorological parameters at all, such as the question of what snow load has occurred, which is not a directly measured meteorological parameter. A meteorological expert opinion must therefore often reconstruct the relevant environmental situation at the damage site and at the time of damage from various data sources (e.g. measurement networks, photos, lightning detection data) and through the professional assimilation of this data.
The lecture dealt with the specific requirements of a meteorological report and the need to derive evaluation standards when assessing environmental influences.
Dr Günther Schauberger has been an associate professor at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna since 1997. He obtained his PhD in meteorology from the University of Vienna in 1981 and habilitated in biometeorology in 1992. He retired in 2022, but continues to teach courses in areas such as medical physics, applied statistics and biomathematics as well as environmental meteorology.
His research interests include biologically effective UV radiation, the indoor climate in livestock buildings, the effects of climate change on livestock and the dispersion of odorous substances and assessment of immissions.
Dr Schauberger has been a generally sworn and court-certified expert for meteorology at the Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters since 1987, and his accreditation has been extended to other areas such as air pollution control, the environmental impact of agriculture and agricultural machinery and equipment since 2022 . In addition, he has been certified as a consulting meteorologist by the German Meteorological Society (DMG) since 2021, with expertise in environmental and forensic meteorology.
03.06.2025 17:00 SZ 15.21
Our lives are increasingly complex and interconnected. Technology also continues to grow as an integral part of our understanding of the world around us. Our ability to understand what is happening, and what needs to happen in our lives, in our cities, and in our countries demands we have the proper information and know how to process it and understand it. In the justice system, what once may have been able to be addressed by one or a small number of inquisitive people focusing on a particular crime or issue, now takes large amounts of diverse data and information to understand and even more address.
This talk explored the data and types of information necessary to understand the world around us in both our personal and professional lives. It looked at different kinds of data and data sources, such as: the demographics of the people who live in a city, very detailed information about where crime and violence occur, data on the justice process for those who commit deviant/criminal acts, and the increasing importance of digital forensic analyses.
Jeff Walker is a Professor and the J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Endowed Chair of Communities and Crime at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. In this capacity, he works with and conducts research with researchers in physical forensics (chemistry such as gunshot residue and biology such as DNA analyses) and digital forensics (such as credit card fraud, gang violence, and terrorism). Prior to this position, Dr Walker served as a Special Agent in the US military specialising as a computer forensic examiner in major felony crime investigations. He is currently working on blending physical and digital forensics and the study of law and justice into a Crime Science programme at his university.
18.03.2025 17:00 SZ 15.21
This lecture delves into the world of forensic palynology. The connection between pollen and allergies is more or less painfully familiar to almost everyone, but the importance of pollen in forensic science is only known to a few. This specialised field within pollen research is called forensic palynology and has its origins in Austria. The lecture was a journey through the diverse applications of forensic palynology and followed the trail of murder, counterfeit honey, dust from New York and medicine from Pompeii.
About the lecturer:
Martina Weber studied biology and earth sciences as well as household and nutritional sciences at the University of Vienna. After completing her teacher training, she gained a doctorate in botany. 1996 Habilitation in "Botany (Ultrastructure Research)". Her research focusses on pollen and, since 2006, its use in solving crimes. 50 years after the first case, she and her very small team have re-established forensic palynology in Austria. Since 2009, she has been regularly commissioned by public prosecutors in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Initiator and co-developer of the world's most comprehensive pollen database PalDat(www.paldat.org). Numerous lectures and palynological training courses in Austria and abroad.
21.01.2025 18:00 SZ 15.21
This presentation provided an overview of the wide range of social work services, measures and programmes that NEUSTART has developed for and with the judiciary and security authorities and continues to develop.
About the speaker:
Susanne J. Pekler has been a manager at NEUSTART Styria for 20 years. She is a trained social worker (Social Academy Graz) and has a degree in "Public, Nonprofit, Healthcare Management" from the University of Klagenfurt. After working as a probation officer, Pekler worked for 10 years in victim protection, first as a counsellor and then as head of a psychosocial counselling centre and child protection centre in Kapfenberg (Rettet das Kind association). In addition to her work at NEUSTART, Susanne J. Pekler is also a board member of the Austrian umbrella organisation for networked victim protection and victim protection-oriented offender work (DVOTA).
With the kind support of alumni UNI graz and the Faculty of Law.
10.12.2024 18:00 SZ 15.21
The primary goal of fire investigation is to determine the technical causal sequence. In the lecture, the investigation of the cause of fire, its objectives, procedures and trace evidence were discussed using real case studies to provide insights into the world of fire and explosion investigation.
About the speaker:
Gerhard Leibetseder has been working as a sworn and court-certified expert for fire and explosion investigation on behalf of courts, public prosecutors and safety authorities as well as insurance companies since 1997. Between 1985 and 2000, he worked for the fire prevention office of the province of Upper Austria as a fire protection expert in official proceedings and moved to the IBS Linz (Institut für Brandschutztechnik und Sicherheitsforschung GmbH) in 2000. In addition to ongoing further training in the field of fire protection, Gerhard Leibetseder has experience as a lecturer at universities and as a speaker at national and international specialist conferences.
With the kind support of alumni UNI graz and the Faculty of Law.
28.05.2024 17:00 SZ 15.21
This talk focused on the nature of gun violence in America. First, the discussion outlined the constitutional "right to bear arms" contained within the second amendment to the US constitution. The talk examined the way that amendment has been interpreted by the courts to provide each individual citizen with the right to own firearms. The talk also examined individual state level policy in Alabama that further promotes gun ownership and inhibits law enforcement's ability to know how many guns are in circulation. We examined local laws in the city of Birmingham that attempt to curtail gun violence in schools and communities and discuss the push back from the state legislature against such regulations. The talk furthermore examined the impact of gun violence at the federal, state, and local level and the impact the violence has on families, schools, and communities. Finally, the talk discussed legislation proposed by the Biden administration that could impact gun violence and possible explanations for why the Congress has not passed this legislation.
Guest Speaker:
Stacy Moak is a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Alabama Birmingham, in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr Moak also holds secondary appointments in Criminal Justice and Social Work. She has been a faculty fellow in service-learning, study abroad, and University Signature Core Development. Dr Moak is a faculty associate with the Institute for Human Rights and works with the pre-law program. Dr Moak provides community engagement activities for her students and the community by providing reentry simulations twice a year, simulating the first 4 weeks of transitioning from incarceration to community. In addition, Dr Moak works closely with the Offender Alumni Association (OAA), a group of formerly incarcerated individuals who are working to improve the reentry process and reduce recidivism in their communities. For the past year, Dr Moak served as the research partner for the Jefferson County Hospital Linked Violence Intervention Program which is a program that offers services to gunshot victims in Jefferson County Alabama beginning at bed side and continuing into the community. Dr. Moak has researched and witnessed the devastating affect that gun violence has on communities, families, children, and organisational structures designed to treat injuries and protect lives. Dr. Moak teaches Constitutional Law, Law and Society, Urban Politics, and Mural Art as Expressive Speech in her current teaching role. She also teaches Health Crime and Community for the social work programme.
With the kind support of the alumni UNI graz.
16.04.2024 17:30 HS 15.02.
The aim of comparative handwriting analyses is to identify the author of a manuscript and/or to verify the authenticity of handwritten documents and any special conditions under which they were created. Forensic handwriting comparison thus differs from graphology, which attempts to establish a relationship between handwriting and a person's character. The lecture gave an insight into the tasks, principles and methods of handwriting comparison and presented the practice of handwriting experts.
About the speaker:
Christian Grafl studied law at the University of Vienna. He received his doctorate in 1983 and was authorised to teach criminology and criminalistics by the Faculty of Law at the University of Vienna in 1999. In 2011, he was appointed Professor of Criminology and Criminalistics at the University of Vienna. Christian Grafl has been a lecturer at the University of Graz since 2001 and has been a (part-time) professor of criminology and criminalistics at the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Criminology since 1 March 2024, where he works primarily within the ZiK. In 1991, Christian Grafl was registered as a generally sworn and court-certified expert for criminology, document examination and writing. He has been a member of the Gesellschaft für Forensische Schriftuntersuchung (GFS) e.V. since 1992 and was its president from 2003 to 2011.
With the kind support of alumni UNI graz.
16.01.2024 6 pm HS 15.02 and online
For some time now, forensic experts have been playing an increasingly important role in various TV series and crime thrillers. They use their expert judgement to determine the cause and time of death and investigate on their own initiative. In this lecture, after a general introduction to the fields of activity of forensic medicine, the audience was given an impression of how the work of forensic doctors actually takes place and how forensic medicine can contribute to legal certainty through interdisciplinary exchange.
About the speaker:
Dr Isabella Klasinc is a forensic pathologist and general practitioner at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Graz and is familiar with the investigation and assessment of physical and sexual violence as well as homicides through her everyday work. Since autumn 2022, Dr Klasinc has also been teaching "Introduction to Forensic Medicine" in the specialisation "Criminology and Forensics".
With the kind support of alumni UNI graz.
17.10.2023 6 pm HS 15.02 and online
Language is one of the most complex human abilities and yet one whose importance is often underestimated, especially in criminalistics. However, it can be particularly helpful in this field because language reveals more about a person than one would assume. The language in an anonymous letter, for example, can contain clues about the perpetrator, special linguistic features allow suspicious persons to be included or excluded as perpetrators, and if there is no suspicious person, a linguistic profile can be created in order to generate initial clues for further investigations. This lecture gave an insight into the methods and tasks of forensic linguistics.
About the speaker:
Karoline Marko studied English/American Studies with a focus on linguistics at the University of Graz and specialised in forensic linguistics at the beginning of her dissertation. She is currently a research assistant at the Institute of English Studies and is publishing for her habilitation in the field of author analysis, among others. She has been coordinating the Forensic Linguistics certificate since autumn 2020 and has been a Membership Officer of the Germanic Society for Forensic Linguistics (GSFL) since 2015.
With the kind support of alumni UNI graz.
30.05.2023 5 pm Mootcourt room and online
This talk focused on the nature of human trafficking in the United States including current trends and issues. Key legislation, rooted in the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which barred slavery and involuntary servitude in 1865, such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and its reauthorisations, and the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, will be discussed as part of a 'Whole-Government Approach'. Many decades into the fight against Human Trafficking, however, it has remained a difficult crime to identify, investigate, and successfully prosecute. Other issues highlighted in this talk are the difficulty collecting data on human trafficking, the ever-changing nature of this criminal practice and the lack of survivor engagement in anti-trafficking efforts.
Guest Speaker:
Daniela Peterka-Benton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Justice Studies at Montclair State University, New Jersey where she serves as the Programme Director of the department's International Justice Concentration. She also has an appointment as the Academic Director of Montclair State's Global Centre on Human Trafficking. In this capacity, she works on various research and educational initiatives for the centre in collaboration with criminal justice agencies and community organisations. Dr. Peterka-Benton teaches numerous courses including, Human Trafficking, Introduction to International Justice, Crime and Globalisation, and Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. Prior to her focusing on a full-time academic career, Daniela Peterka-Benton worked for the U.S. State Department's Office of Diplomatic Security at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria.
With the kind support of alumni UNI graz.
WELCOME by Gabriele SCHMÖLZER & Nina KAISER
Cold leads - insights into the practice of cold case investigations
Reinhard NOSOFSKY, Head of the "Cold Case Management" Unit at the Federal Criminal Police Office
When cold traces become hot....
Bloodstain pattern analysis as a means of crime reconstruction
Silke M.C. BRODBECK, expert for bloodstain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction
24.01.2023 5 pm Mootcourt room and online
Aline Girod-Frais studied forensics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland (BSc, MSc) and wrote her doctoral thesis (PhD) on the age determination of fingerprints. She then worked as a scientific crime scene investigator in the crime scene group of the Aargau Cantonal Police (CH) before starting her postdoctoral research project "The status of forensic science in Austria" (supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the FWF) at the University of Vienna in December 2015. Since 2019, Aline Girod-Frais has been working as a principal consultant in the Crime Scene Office of the Federal Criminal Police Office and also works as a lecturer (University of Vienna, University of Graz) and occasionally as a specialist consultant (Laboratory and Scientific Section, UNODC).
After an introduction to the world of forensics, which will provide an insight into the historical international development of this media-famous, yet misunderstood science, the audience was able to immerse themselves in the world of dactyloscopy. What are exact fingerprints and fingerprints? How are they created? How are they analysed and what information can they provide? All these questions and more were addressed in this lecture to provide participants with insights into forensic practice and research and thus enable them to better understand (the complexity of) the information that fingerprints, but also physical traces in general, can provide.
True Crime Tuesdays?
As part of the Hans Gross Centre for Interdisciplinary Criminal Sciences (ZiK) at the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Criminology, the "True Crime Tuesday" series of events was launched.
On True Crime Tuesday, representatives from a wide range of "forensic" disciplines will address (interdisciplinary) criminal science issues. The aim of this series of events is not only to offer participants from science and practice a source of information on forensic science topics at the cutting edge, but also to create an interdisciplinary discussion and networking platform.
The event series is supported by the JUS Club.
15.11.2022 5 pm Mootcourt room and online
Manuel Fliess is a forensic expert for weapons, ammunition and ballistics. In his work as a forensic expert, he has specialised in firearms offences, with a focus on the investigation of homicides.
The use of firearms in violent offences and the associated need to investigate them has led to the development of a special discipline of ballistics - so-called court ballistics. Its task is to use scientific methods and procedures to investigate events and to examine and assess materials that are connected with criminally relevant events and that are characterised by the use of firearms.
The aim of the lecture was to convey the role and skills of court ballistics in judicial criminal proceedings. In addition, the participants were shown forensic working methods and the characteristics of firearm-specific traces were explained.
Link to the event: https: //rewi.uni-graz.at/de/veranstaltungen/detail/article/true-crime-tuesday-ballistik-2/
True Crime Tuesdays?
As part of the Hans Gross Centre for Interdisciplinary Criminal Sciences (ZiK) at the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Criminology, the "True Crime Tuesday" event series was launched.
On True Crime Tuesday, representatives from a wide range of "forensic" disciplines will address (interdisciplinary) criminal science issues. The aim of this series of events is not only to offer participants from science and practice a source of information on forensic science topics at the cutting edge, but also to create an interdisciplinary discussion and networking platform.
The event series is supported by the JUS Club.
28.06.2022 5 pm Mootcourt room and online
Jeff Walker is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. In this capacity, he works with and conducts research with researchers in physical forensics (chemistry such as gunshot residue and biology such as DNA analyses) and digital forensics (such as credit card fraud, gang violence, and terrorism). Prior to this position, Dr Walker served as a Special Agent in the US military specialising as a computer forensic examiner in major felony crime investigations. He is currently working on blending physical and digital forensics and the study of law and justice into a Crime Science programme at his university.
This talk will look at some of the ways digital forensics techniques are helping solve crimes. In the21st Century, almost all crimes leave digital footprints. Even simple crimes such as burglary often have traces of criminal actions such as phone calls, emails, and texts between the criminals. Other crimes have much more digital information to them, like human trafficking where the people who are trafficked are "advertised" on the internet. Gangs often post pictures of gang members on social media where they are displaying guns, drugs, money, and other parts of crime. And some crimes are almost exclusively digital in focus, such as credit card fraud where credit card numbers are stolen through hacking or phishing and then sold on internet sites. This talk will show some examples of these crimes and show how digital forensics can be used to investigate and solve crimes. Real-world examples will be discussed, and the future of the study of digital forensics as a crime-solving area of study will be addressed.
True Crime Tuesdays?
As part of the Hans Gross Centre for Interdisciplinary Criminal Sciences (ZiK) at the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Criminology, the event series "True Crime Tuesday" was launched.
On True Crime Tuesday, representatives from a wide range of "forensic" disciplines will address (interdisciplinary) criminal science issues. The aim of this series of events is not only to offer participants from science and practice a source of information on forensic science topics at the cutting edge, but also to create an interdisciplinary discussion and networking platform.
The event series is supported by the JUS Club.
