A Landscape Study of Handheld and Portable Raman Spectrometers

Date September 2014 Overview This report provides a “landscape” view of the issues and products associated with field portable Raman spectrometers for the identification of powders, liquids, gels, or tablets. The document is intended to furnish law enforcement, first responders, and…

NIJ R&D Portfolio Management and Technology Transition Support

Date July 2014 Overview This report was developed by the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE) to document the purpose of, and processes related to, the management of NIJ’s R&D portfolio to increase impact for forensic applications. The ultimate goal of…

An Evaluation and Utility Assessment of Magneto-Optical Sensor Technology

Date March 2014 Overview The discovery of more effective methods to detect and restore erased markings in firearms is of great interest to firearm examiners, in particular the invention of new non‐destructive methods. Magneto optical (MO) sensor technology may address this…

A Landscape Study of Mobile ID Fingerprint Devices

Date January 2014 Overview This report provides a “landscape” view of the issues and products associated with mobile devices for fingerprint identification, with a focus on forensic applications. The document is intended to furnish laboratory managers and investigators with a survey…

A Technical Evaluation of Crime Scene Imaging Technologies

Date December 2013 Overview Digital crime scene documentation has become an essential component in criminal investigations and the judicial process. In fact, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) imaging technologies allow law enforcement personnel to skillfully create high-resolution, 360 degree images or…

Understanding Basic Statistical Concepts: Fingerprints

Overview 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…

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

Overview 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…