Quantitative Matching of Forensic Evidence Fragments using 3D Fracture Surface Topography

Thursday, May 15, 2025 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Eastern Duration: 1 hour Overview Fractured fragments with jagged and irregular surfaces, discovered at crime scenes, are identified as “being a match” using comparative microscopy and physical pattern analysis. The…

The Forensic Examination and Comparison of Plastic Garbage Bags

This webinar originally occurred on August 20, 2024 Duration: 1 hour Overview Plastic bags are present in many criminal cases. They are frequently used by perpetrators of crimes for the disposal of evidence, bodies, or body parts. Even when useful…

ASCLD Train the Director Webinar Series

2024 Webinars2023 Webinars2022 Webinars2021 Webinars2020 Webinars2019 Webinars 2024 WebinarsThe FTCOE and ASCLD are pleased to bring you the 2024 collaborative installment in the Train the Director webinar series. This year our subject matter experts will be covering decision analysis studies…

2022 Update: 3D Imaging Technologies and Virtual Comparison Microscopy for Firearms Examination, A Landscape Study

Date August 2022 Overview The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE), led by RTI International, provides resources that promote the use of technologies in the forensic community. This report is an update to a 2016…

Just the Analysis of Impressions and Patterns

Original Release Date: May 27, 2022 In episode four of our Strengthening the Forensic Workforce season, Just Science sat down with Assistant Professor Jessica Zarate and 5th year student Kristen Szabelski at Madonna University in Michigan, as well as Dr.…

The Effect of Time on Rusted Firearm Identification

← Back to Firearm and Toolmarks Webinar Series This webinar originally occurred on January 6, 2022 Duration: 1 hour Overview Since the development of early firearms in the mid-1200s, the best material for making critical parts for weapons has been…

Two-Pronged Study of Bullets Fired by Consecutively Rifled Barrels

← Back to Firearm and Toolmarks Webinar Series This webinar originally occurred on December 16, 2021 Duration: 1 hour Overview The 2016 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Report brought forensics, and specifically firearms identification, into the…

Glock Pistol Toolmarks: A Literature Review and Introduction of Undocumented Toolmarks

← Back to Firearm and Toolmarks Webinar Series This webinar originally occurred on December 14, 2021 Duration: 1 hour Overview Glock pistols are well known for their generally distinctive class characteristics and the numerous toolmarks that they create on fired…

Exploration of Breech Face Subclass Characteristics 

← Back to Firearm and Toolmarks Webinar Series This webinar originally occurred on December 9, 2021 Duration: 1 hour Overview Subclass characteristics are caused by damage, defects, and/or wear on a cutting tool that transfers to a small group of consecutively…

Firearm and Toolmarks Webinar Series

Overview With the implementation of new technologies like 3D virtual microscopy, updates to the language used in testimony and reporting, and new research including black box studies, it is a pivotal time for the forensic pattern disciplines, especially firearm and…