This two-day online workshop discusses reducing erroneous exclusions in latent fingerprints. The exclusion decision is a fairly recent change in latent print comparisons, and the discipline is still struggling with how to handle exclusions. Erroneous exclusions are being discovered with surprising frequency in latent print units around the country. Many labs have begun to verify their exclusion decisions, and this has resulted in errors finally being noticed. Recent research into the decisions of latent print examiners shows that erroneous exclusions are common and inevitable.
This workshop will review the policy changes that Arizona DPS has implemented in their latent print unit to reduce erroneous exclusions. Examples of erroneous exclusions from casework will be presented along with information on circumstances that might make an erroneous exclusion more likely. Comparison exercises will demonstrate a practical approach to exclusion decisions.