Forensic Technology Center of Excellence

This webinar will explore the interaction of blood with the multiple structures that occur within a simple textile and how these structures affect small bloodstains.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 12, 2018.

This webinar will discuss the challenges facing forensic science today and provide advice for entry-level practitioners on skills needed to succeed as a forensic scientist.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 21, 2018.

A suite of paper microfluidic devices for detecting explosives, drugs and serology has now been developed. These devices are not much larger than a postage stamp and can detect multiple target analytes.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on October 3, 2018.

Insect evidence can provide valuable information during death investigations. Forensic entomologists estimate the ages of the immature insects like blow flies, which can provide useful information regarding timelines in death investigations.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on October 24, 2018.

Trafficking in persons is a multi-faceted global epidemic which has seen a significant increase in public awareness. However, there is a substantial need to expand capacities and technologies involving representatives from all stakeholders.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 1, 2018.

Regional fentanyl trends in Phoenix and Pittsburgh discussed along with safety concerns with unknown white powders. Handheld field testing technology was also discussed including RAMAN and IMS.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 6, 2018.

Participants will learn about the Vicarious Trauma Organizational Readiness Guide (VT-ORG), an evidence-informed assessment of an organization’s current capacity to address vicarious trauma.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 13, 2018.

Medicolegal death investigators serve a fundamental role for public safety and ensuring justice by conducting death scene investigations and providing investigation services for suspected homicides and violent deaths, sudden and unexpected deaths, and deaths due to suspicious circumstances, as well as deaths related to drugs, drug overdoses, terrorism, and mass fatality incidents.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence in July 2018.

Census and Surveillance Efforts: Insight into the U.S. Medicolegal Death Investigation System Presenters: Dr. Jeri Ropero-Miller & Dr. Hope Smiley-McDonald In 2015, nearly 2.5 million people died in the United States. Of these, about one million were referred to the nation’s medical examiner and coroner offices (MECs), which accepted about half of these cases. MEC caseloads are at all-time high because many of these deaths require a complex, in-depth investigation.

Update on Legalized Marijuana from the Mile High City Presenter: Dr. James Caruso In 2012, the state of Colorado passed amendment 62, which allowed the possession, recreational use, production, distribution, and personal cultivation of marijuana. Since then, other states have also legalized marijuana for medical and recreational uses. This session covers the history, “discovery,” criminalization, and legalization of marijuana in Colorado and other states.

Ethics & Report Writing Presenter: Mr. Paul Parker There are currently many resources that explore ethics within law enforcement, but there is a lack of resources on ethics within the field of medicolegal death investigation (MDI). MDI personnel are placed in a position of public trust, and it is necessary that there is a focus on the ethics, character, and behavior of MDI personnel. This session discusses professional ethics, ethical and unethical behaviors, and fostering and maintaining professional integrity.

Death Scene Investigations: Roles & Responsibilities Presenter: Ms. Barbara Butcher This presentation discusses the difference between the cause and manner of death, steps of a scene investigation, and the role of a medicolegal death investigator. Additionally, this session describes what happens after death, artifacts caused after death, and methods for identifying a decedent. Finally, Ms. Butcher provides examples of scenarios that a death investigator may encounter.

A deeper understanding of the trauma experienced by people of color and its impact on their experience in the criminal justice system provides the ability to improve sexual assault investigations and victim services for survivors of color.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 29, 2018.

This webinar will discuss the technical and operational aspects of implementing forensic investigative DNA testing. DNA based prediction of physical appearance can provide investigators with useful leads when a DNA profile generates no hits.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 16, 2018.

This webinar aims to improve the knowledge on kinship testing involving siblings, and provides a cost-benefit analysis of practices involving the use of additional reference siblings and substitution of half siblings for full siblings in kinship tests.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 7, 2018.

DNA analysis allows for testing relationships (kinship) between two individuals in situations that vary from legal immigration to claimed parentage testing. This webinar focuses on the applicability of DNA testing for family reunification.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 14, 2018.
 

This webinar will provide an overview of what kinship analysis programs are currently in use and will provide an in-depth analysis of how population-based allele frequency databases impact sibship determination.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 21, 2018.

New DNA analysis kits used in kinship testing may contain loci that are potentially linked. This project will examine if three pairs of exhibit linkage and explore possible solutions for using these loci more appropriately in kinship testing.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 28, 2018.

This recording one of a group of presentations on The Synthetic Drug Crisis – Identifying NPS in Forensic Casework, which is session I in Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.

This recording one of a group of presentations on The Synthetic Drug Crisis – Identifying NPS in Forensic Casework, which is session I in Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.

This recording one of a group of presentations on The Synthetic Drug Crisis – Identifying NPS in Forensic Casework, which is session I in Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.

This recording one of a group of presentations on The Synthetic Drug Crisis – Identifying NPS in Forensic Casework, which is session I in Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.

This recording one of a group of presentations on The Synthetic Drug Crisis – Identifying NPS in Forensic Casework, which is session I in Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.
 

This recording one of a group of presentations on Analysis of NPS – Practical Considerations and Analytical Approaches, which is session II in the Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.

This recording one of a group of presentations on Analysis of NPS – Practical Considerations and Analytical Approaches, which is session II in the Best Practices Guidance for Advancing Research Initiatives and Combatting the Synthetic Drug Epidemic Online Workshop Series.

The workshop was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2018.