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Project IDENTIFICATION: Developing Accurate Identification Criteria for Hispanic Individuals

Award Information

Awardee
Texas State University
Award #
2008-DN-BX-K464
Funding Category
Continuation
Location

San Marcos, TX

Awardee County
Hays
Congressional District
35
Status
Closed
Funding First Awarded
2009
Total funding (to date)
$151,325
Original Solicitation
NIJ FY 09 Office of Science and Technology Continuations

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $77,583)

A fundamental goal in forensic anthropology is to provide a biological profile for an unknown individual or individuals found in a forensic context. The majority of reference collections used to build identification criteria for the biological profile (age, sex, ancestry, and stature) come from the Terry and Todd anatomical collections, comprised mainly of 19th and 20th century American Black and White individuals. This proposed research will assist in reducing the analysis time dedicated to unidentified individuals of Hispanic origin, so that cases might be processed in a more timely and accurate manner, thereby reducing case backlog. ca/ncf

The objective of this research is to provide new criteria, within the field of forensic anthropology, for the estimation of sex and ancestry for Hispanic individuals in the U.S., particularly focusing on individuals entering the U.S. via the U.S./Mexico border. The U.S./Mexico border, particularly in Arizona, is chosen because of the large number of forensic anthropological cases generated each year from illegal immigration, and the high rate of positive identifications. The purpose of this continuation request is to seek funding for Year 2 of Project Identification to expand the database containing metric data on positively identified Hispanic individuals in order to develop criteria for accurate estimation of sex and ancestry.
ca/ncf

Date Created: September 29, 2009