In-Brief: Applying Internal Validation Guidelines for Expanded STR Loci Kits

Report Date January 2017 Report Summary The familiar ‘13 Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) core loci’ expanded to ‘20 CODIS core loci’ as mandated by the FBI on January 1, 2017. Because of this FBI mandate, participating CODIS laboratories will need…

A Guidance Document on the Forensic Application of Massively Parallel Sequencing

Report Date December 2016 Purpose This report describes the fundamentals of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) for the application to forensic analysis. Also included within this report is a comprehensive summary of the webinar series which discussed the strength of the technology…

State Forensic Science Commissions

Report Date November 2016 Purpose State commissions focus on communication and collaboration among laboratories and stakeholders, allocation of resources, laboratory improvements, promulgation of accreditation and certification standards, investigations into misconduct or professional negligence in crime laboratories, and other implementation and oversight…

2014 NIJ Crime Laboratory Directors Meeting

Report Date October 2014 Participants Representatives from the National Institute of Justice and crime laboratory directors from across the nation, including those who are DNA or Coverdell grantee recipients. Report Summary On September 11–12, 2014, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)…

ASCLD Data Collection on Forensic Science Providers

Report Date September 2014 Purpose Gather information that would allow policy makers to know with greater accuracy how much crime scene evidence is being examined and/or tested at unaccredited facilities. Report Summary In 2010, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors…

A Technical Evaluation of Crime Scene Imaging Technologies

Report Date December 2013 Purpose This report discusses the specific results of the evaluation and considerations that an agency should make when deliberating the adoption of a panoramic imaging technology. Report Summary Digital crime scene documentation has become an essential component…

Using Forensics & Biometrics on Human Trafficking

Modern day global realities are that millions of people are immigrants, refugees, enslaved in some form of human trafficking, or otherwise susceptible to conflict or acts of terror. There is no simplistic solution to address these issues, as matters of…

Understanding Basic Statistical Concepts: Fingerprints

Fingerprint conclusions are expert judgments. These specific types of judgments may be more appropriately termed as inferences, or subjective probabilities, where frequency rates have not been able to be calculated. For over a hundred years researchers have attempted to mathematically…

The Emperor’s New Clothes: A Guide to Latent Print Testimony

In the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes, a vain emperor commissions a new set of robes that he is told will be invisible to anyone who does not deserve his position, or is extraordinarily stupid or foolish. Of course,…

Genome ID Forum 2014 – The Critical Role of SNPs in the Future of Forensics

Originally presented at the 2014 Genome ID Forum, this presentation appraises the potential value of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) as applied to forensic analysis, including ancestry inference, phenotypic inference and individual identification. The discussion focuses strongly on the relevance of…