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In The News

2014-10-30 | 402 Members Named to Forensic Science Standards Organization
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced the final appointments to the Organization for Scientific Area Committees (OSAC), established to coordinate development of standards and guidelines for the forensic science community. The organization is bringing a uniform structure to what was previously an ad hoc system with the goal of improving the quality and consistency of forensic science in the United States.

2014-10-01 | Nanoparticles for fingermark detection: an insight into the reaction mechanism
This publication presents one of the first uses of silicon oxide nanoparticles to detect fingermarks. The study is not confined to showing successful detection of fingermarks, but is focused on understanding the mechanisms involved in the fingermark detection process. To gain such an understanding, various chemical groups are grafted onto the nanoparticle surface, and parameters such as the pH of the solutions or zeta potential are varied to study their influence on the detection. An electrostatic interaction has been the generally accepted hypothesis of interaction between nanoparticles and fingermarks, but the results of this research challenge that hypothesis, showing that the interaction is chemically driven. Carboxyl groups grafted onto the nanoparticle surfaces react with amine groups of the fingermark secretion. This formation of amide linkage between carboxyl and amine groups has further been favoured by catalyzing the reaction with a compound of diimide type. The research strategy adopted here ought to be applicable to all detection techniques using nanoparticles. For most of them the nature of the interaction remains poorly understood.

2014-09-30 | WVSP crime lab: Rape kit backlog a solvable problem
Evidence from about 250 sexual assault cases dating back to 2011 sits in storage at the West Virginia State Police crime lab in South Charleston, waiting to be tested.The number includes untested rape kits from hospitals, as well as other pieces of evidence that need to be examined, such as pieces of clothing and bed sheets.

2014-09-30 | Cuyahoga County touts expanded forensic capabilities at regional crime lab
The lab, housed at the Medical Examiner's office, has enhanced fingerprinting and ballistics capabilities and more space to store evidence collected from crime scenes in Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs. The lab also handles toxicology and trace evidence testing.

2014-09-24 | FBI Plans Rapid DNA Dragnets
The FBI is preparing to accelerate the collection of DNA profiles for the government's massive new biometric identification database. Developers of portable DNA analysis machines have been invited to a Nov. 13 presentation to learn about the bureau's vision for incorporating their technology into the FBI's new database. So-called rapid DNA systems can draw up a profile in about 90 minutes. The Next Generation Identification system, or NGI, the successor to the FBI's criminal fingerprint database, is designed to quickly ID crooks through facial recognition, iris matching, tattoo cross-checks and vocal recordings, among other unique traits.

2014-09-24 | Douglas County Board OKs shared crime lab deal
The Sheriff’s Office would hire two new chemists, with the city paying the annual $135,000 cost of the new hires. OPD would handle ballistics test for both agencies. A sheriff’s deputy would be assigned to OPD’s electronics unit. And crime-scene technicians from one agency could respond to calls from the other agency. When the agreement was announced this month, it was heralded as a breakthrough after years of turf wars and infighting that stymied previous consolidation efforts.

2014-09-15 | Mississippi Death Row Case Faults Bite-Mark Forensics
Three days after Ms. Kemp was buried, the medical examiner had her exhumed so that Dr. West could look for bite marks using a fluorescent light method he had developed. He said he found three bites and — without showing any photographs or other evidence — testified at trial that Mr. Howard was the biter “to a reasonable medical certainty.”

2014-09-14 | Full steam ahead for FBI’s biometric NGI system
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division has announced full operational capability of its Next Generation Identification (NGI) System. The FBI’s NGI System was developed to expand the Bureau’s biometric identification capabilities, ultimately replacing its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) in addition to adding new services and capabilities.

2014-09-10 | LAPD fingerprint backlog more than doubled in the last two years
The backlog has worsened despite an LAPD campaign to process fingerprints more effectively, including having officers rather than analysts collect fingerprints at some crime scenes. In 2012, the backlog was about 2,200 cases. Today, there are 5,455. LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese told the civilian-led Police Commission the delay was so severe that some fingerprints were now useless because the three-year deadline for prosecuting offenders had passed.

2014-09-10 | First State-Wide Deployment of DNA Software System at Arizona DPS
“The Arizona rapid DNA system can provide officers with investigative leads faster than ever before. In cases with appropriate samples, officers can perform the rapid DNA analysis and search the database in hopes of obtaining a preliminary identification of a suspect, rather than waiting weeks or months for laboratory results,” says Figarelli.