Operational requirements are presented for the Forensic Science Technology Working Group (TWG), which is a committee of approximately 50 experienced forensic science practitioners from local, state, and federal agencies and laboratories.
Through the Forensic Science TWG, the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) reaches out to forensic science practitioners to identify, discuss, and prioritize operational needs and requirements. This assists NIJ in planning new and managing ongoing research and development activities. It also ensures that NIJ's future research and development investments meet practitioners' needs; therefore, TWG meetings are the first phase in NIJ's research and development process. The nine disciplines represented by the Forensic Science TWG are 1) crime scene examination, 2) forensic anthropology and odontology, 3) forensic biology/DNA, 4) forensic pathology, 5) impression and pattern evidence, 6) medicolegal death investigation, 7) seized drugs, 8) toxicology, and 9) trace evidence. A table shows the Forensic Science TWG's operational requirements for each of these forensic disciplines in the areas of scientific research, technology development, policy or protocol development, dissemination or training, assessment and education, and databases or reference collections.