Evidence analysis and processing

Fiber evidence has long been an important part of criminal cases, for it can associate a suspect with a crime scene. This project details new analytical procedures that allow fiber comparisons that are more detailed than standard forensic practices.

Researchers investigate the potential of using isotopes in specific amino acids in human hair as a forensic tool to provide information about an individual's age, sex, race, body mass, genetic disorders, health, and region of origin.

Researchers create a metric to determine the difficulty of matching latent and known fingerprints, then link that difficulty to error rates.

Identifying a new drug that is very similar in structure to other drugs is important for investigators. Researchers in this project determined that these drugs may be better separated using ultra high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography.

Synthetic cathinones, a class of mood-altering stimulants popular among recreational drug users, can be unstable when stored in blood or urine samples, and may be problematic when used as evidence in court.

There is no standard method of detailed documentation of the latent print examination process, but researchers have developed software that improves the standardization and quantifiability, implemented as part of the FBI’s Universal Latent Workstation.