Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories - Panel at the 2010 NIJ Conference

• NCJ Number: 234775
• Author(s): William A. Ford; Aaron Gorrell; Michael O'Berry; Kevin Kosiorek; Jim Markey
• Date Published: June 2010
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description; Presentation (Multimedia); Conference Material

Annotation

This audio and its transcript cover presentations of a panel on the Forensic Information Data Exchange (FIDEX) as part of the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) 2010 Conference.

Abstract

William A. Ford - director of the Information and Sensor Technologies Division of the Office of Science and Technology at NIJ - reviews the features of FIDEX, which derived from the recognition that criminal justice systems generally lack a means of sharing information among the forensic community, law enforcement, courts, and corrections, which prevents the efficient processing and updating of the stages of case processing. Aaron Correll - President and CEO of Waterhole Software, Inc. - discusses his company's involvement in developing an innovative means of reducing case backlogs in crime labs. The decision was made to develop standards for court software providers tht would enable information to be fed into the crime lab from law enforcement personnel regarding the processing of evidence. The project culminated in the launching of some pilot projects, one with the Boston Police Department and the other with the Phoenix Police Department. Michael O'Berry - operations manager of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System of the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) describes steps taken by the NFSTC in order to push the project forward. Kevin Kosiorek - criminalist in the Serology Section of the Crime Laboratory Unit of the Boston Police Department - describes his favorable reaction upon hearing about the features of FIDEX and the potential it holds for improving laboratory efficiency. Jin Markey - sergeant in the Phoenix Police Department - describes his agency's experience with the pilot FIDEX system, with a focus on how it facilitated positive case outcomes.