Articles Published by NIJ

Making imaging technologies available to forensic pathologists as common practice — although not without challenges — will help improve medicolegal death investigations in the United States.

The ability of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instruments to detect practically the entire periodic table of elements very quickly and without the complexity of other systems makes them an economic choice for forensic analysis.

Researchers  expanded the National Center for Forensic Science Smokeless Powders Database from 100 to more than 800 entries.

Criminals track dust particles to and from virtually every crime scene, but particles on a suspect’s shoes are seldom used as evidence linking the accused to the crime. In this NIJ-supported project, researchers assert that investigators can use small par

Researchers who developed a 3-D imaging system for analyzing cartridge casings say their latest work is “a critical next step” that gives cartridge analysis more credibility by including datasets, best practices, and performance checks.

As NamUs nears its 10th anniversary, we reflect on the program’s history, successes, and continued commitment to helping families.

Researchers claim they have developed a prototype system that could enable “low-cost, portable, objective analysis of tool marks.”

After analyzing how ignitable liquids break down because of weathering and biological degradation in the aftermath of a fire, researchers have provided new data to fire investigators and crime labs.

By touching a cell phone, car keys, or even a pen, you are leaving behind a chemical signature that can reveal much about how you live your daily life.

In response to the National Academy of Sciences’ call for scientific data to support forensic evidence, researchers revised forensic anthropology procedures to include an “error metric” for the measurement of human skeletal remains.

Identifying a car, truck, or other vehicle that has been involved in a hit-and-run accident often depends on examining paint fragments left at the scene by the vehicle.

The standard method for collecting and storing blood samples from newborns might be useful for forensic toxicology.

Researchers look into the utility of postmortem X-ray computed tomography in supplanting or supplementing medicolegal autopsies.

Researchers look at transition metal cluster compounds for the fluorescent identification and trace detection of substances of abuse.