Multimedia Listing

In this fourth session of the Foundational Statistics for Forensic Toxicology series, we address common challenges, misconceptions, and questions encountered in day-to-day forensic toxicology laboratory settings related to statistics. Participants will gain insights into the practical application of statistical concepts and terminology in quality control and control charting, including trends and outliers. Furthermore, participants will learn about data interpretation, distinguishing between results that occur due to statistical significance and those the occur due to random variation.

This webinar discusses the essential aspects of best practice using liquid chromatography diode array detector (LC-DAD) with optional electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) for compliance testing of hemp and hemp-derived products.

This third session of the Foundational Statistics for Forensic Toxicology series explores hypothesis testing, a fundamental concept in statistical analysis, and its applications in forensic toxicology. Participants will gain an understanding of the different types of statistical tests, their respective applications, and how they can be utilized to uncover meaningful insights from toxicological data. 

A bullet can strike a police officer in a blink, so their body armor must be proven to work. Feeling more under fire than ever, the law enforcement community is raising the standards for ballistic-resistant police body armor to stop more rifle bullets, like those often used by active shooters, in an effort led by OJP’s National Institute of Justice.

This second session in the  Foundational Statistics for Forensic Toxicology series explores various distributions commonly encountered in forensic toxicology (normal, rectangular, etc.). Participants will learn about the characteristics of these distributions and how they manifest in toxicological data. Also, this session covers statistical measures that can describe and compare distributions, including variance, standard deviation, and relative standard deviation.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on communities across the nation and significantly affected various aspects of individuals’ lives. One of the negative impacts was an increase in gender-based violence accompanied by shifting barriers to accessing services and support. Victims and victim service providers faced various challenges dealing with the increase in need for services, navigating barriers to help-seeking, and addressing logistical issues.

This session provides an overview of the fundamental principles of statistics as encountered and applied in forensic toxicology. Various elements of statistics are often utilized or relied upon by scientists to describe produced results and to demonstrate if forensic instruments or processes are “working” or “in-control”. Here we establish the basic terminology for the principles of statistical analysis. Participants will begin to be better equipped to interpret and analyze forensic toxicology data accurately and effectively. 

Following a multi-month course of data collection using simulated human gravesites, Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) researcher Jordan Mullikin will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of GPR for the detection of unmarked graves. Additionally, this webinar will explore Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology for the same purpose and investigate the potential integration of both technologies for optimal detection of clandestine graves within the law enforcement and forensic communities.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) conducts the Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories (CPFFCL) to provide insight into federal, state, county, and municipal crime labs that are funded solely by the government or whose parent organization is a government agency. The most recent CPFFCL provides national-level data on the workload and operations of crime labs during 2020. Of the 326 eligible crime labs and multilab systems in the 2020 CPFFCL, 293 (90%) provided responses to at least some of the survey questions.

George Mason University and the National Association of Attorneys General presents the National Center on Forensics Continued Training Plan to provide additional training sessions for more advanced information on the topics covered in the conference. In this training session, Dr. Mark Wilson will discuss how DNA is used to generate data for use in FGG.

This event was hosted by the National Center on Forensics under an award from the National Institute of Justice.
 

This presentation explores a series of research studies aimed at assessing the accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of forensic pattern evidence examination decisions across various disciplines, including latent prints, firearms, shoeprints, and handwriting.  Key topics covered include a comprehensive overview of the design factors in these four large-scale research studies, as well as a response to common critical observations regarding the experimental design and the interpretation of results.

Well-trained forensics specialists are integral to ensuring justice across the United States. However, in the country's rural states and locations, this training can be hard to come by. 

The National Center on Forensics (NCF) is a partnership between George Mason University, the National Association of Attorneys General, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the Montana Forensic Science Division funded by the National Institute of Justice. This grant program aims to bring forensics training to the nation's underserved rural areas. 

The NIJ Forensic Science Research and Development Symposium is an open meeting where attendees can learn about NIJ-funded research across a variety of forensic science areas. 

This webinar provides a means and rationale to prepare and execute the various steps of this process, including planning, gap analysis, educating key staff members, executing and delivering work products. The webinar introduces the process of standards implementation stepwise for key senior administrators whose laboratory system has not yet formally initiated a program.

Numerous crime laboratories have witnessed a surge in gun-related evidence submissions, leading to an increased demand for DNA testing and entry into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) for firearms-related investigations. Simultaneously, the forensic value of firearms analysis has substantially grown, owing to advancements in DNA technology and the expansion of the NIBIN database. Consequently, several forensic labs have established dedicated units specifically focused on comprehensive firearms analysis.