Test for classifying force used in bottle stabbings developed

of force involved. Currently there is very little work considering how much force is involved in a stabbing incident involving a broken glass bottle. This is alarming from the point of view of victims of such incidents as such information could influence the outcome of a court case. Our study provides the first set of penetration force data for broken glass bottles and illustrates how the consideration of proffering an opinion on force used is different to that of knives.”

The release notes that the study has found that the smashing of bottles to give a stabbing instrument produces a unique “stabbing surface” for each bottle, which means it is not possible to predict a definitive value for the amount of force involved to cause a penetrating injury in a broken bottle attack.

Nolan added: “Although some bottles have similar penetration forces to knives, due to the presenting broken glass geometry, most require a much larger amount of force which suggest that the majority of stabbing incidents involving bottles would require greater force than those involving knives.

“I’m very excited about this piece of work as it has great implications within the field of forensics and to society as a whole. This study provides information for forensic practitioners which could ultimately lead to a change in the way that stabbing incidents with broken glass bottles are dealt with in court.”

Professor Sarah Hainsworth, Professor in Materials Engineering at the University of Leicester, said: “Gary’s research has allowed us to get a better quantitative understanding of the level of force required for puncturing skin with glass. It has also allowed us to better understand how the geometry of the individual fracture surface plays a significant role in affecting that force. As far as we know, this is the first time that tests have been able to quantify the forces in this way.

“We are now working with the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining to take the insights from the research into standards for safer pint glasses and are looking at how we can work with the glass industry to develop new approaches to design of glasses that fracture to create less damaging surfaces.”

Nolan’s studentship is provided by the East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, which is at the University of Leicester, lead by Professor Guy Rutty

— Read more in Gary Nolan et al., “A study considering the force required for broken glass bottles to penetrate a skin simulant,” International Journal of Legal Medicine (19 February 2011) (DOI: 10.1007/s00414-011-0556-7)