Forensic Technology Center of Excellence

Sam Quinones is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist and author of three books of narrative nonfiction. His latest book is Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic (Bloomsbury, 2015), which will be discussed in this webinar.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence in January 2017.

This webinar will identify partnerships and innovative efforts in the whole of government approach to identify and interdict fentanyl analogues, as well as to heighten awareness and strengthen legal mechanisms for dealing with the illicit fentanyl crisis.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 13, 2017.

This presentation discusses experimental tests of a model for drug uptake by human bone and explores how the results may be applied to detect nerve agent exposure from human remains recovered from mass graves during human rights investigations.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 9, 2017.

Principles, methods and applications of DNA-based prediction of human appearance traits for forensic and anthropological use with specific insights into eye, hair, and skin colour prediction from DNA.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 1, 2017.

This webinar will review the history of SNPs as forensic markers and discuss the design and development of large SNP multiplexes for use on massively parallel sequencing platforms for forensic and missing person identification.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 7, 2017.

This webinar will review the history of SNPs as forensic markers and discuss the design and development of large SNP multiplexes for use on massively parallel sequencing platforms for forensic and missing person identification.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 7, 2017.

In this webinar you will discover how multiplex assays targeting CpG sites can be used to predict the age of an individual and determine the body fluid of origin of a sample.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 6, 2017.

Firearms identification is undergoing a major change in capability with the adoption of optical topography, which provides a 3D view of the surface of a bullet or cartridge case to capture the full range of subclass and individual characteristics.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 10, 2018.
 

In this webinar, we will introduce a newly developed software tool called “Fragmento”. Viewers will be able to learn how to use Fragmento to sort and assemble skeletal fragmentary remains and reconstruct the full bone and biological profile.

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

The rapid spread of designer drugs has introduced significant identification challenges to the forensic science community. This webinar discusses how Mass Spectrometry and the “Hybrid Search” can be used to get a head start on identifying novel opioids.

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

Attendees will be introduced to the new features of the new software release, how to maximize results, and how to best interpret results for forensic casework application.

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

This online session will be a platform for early-career forensic chemists to present their research to the FTCoE audience.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 19, 2018.

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.