Missing persons
Overview of Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropologists examine skeletal human remains to assess age at death, sex, stature, and ancestry; identify injuries; and estimate the time since death to provide investigators with information that can assist in identifying a decedent.
Forensic odontologists examine the development, anatomy, and any restorative dental corrections of the teeth, such as fillings or extractions, to make a comparative identification of a person.
Bones and teeth are...
Guiding Interpretation: Leveraging High-Density SNP Data from Major U.S. Populations for Forensic Genetic Analyses
Technological Solutions for Rural Medical Examiner Facilities
OsteoID: A New Forensic Tool to Help Identify the Species of Skeletal Remains
NIJ-supported researchers developed a free web tool to help forensic investigators and others interested in bone identification.
NIJ Awards $16M to Support Forensic Science Research
On September 26, 2023, NIJ announced $16 million in new funding to support 33 projects under the FY23 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes solicitation. Through this program, NIJ continues to advance the speed, accuracy, and reliability of forensic analysis, which ultimately bolsters the administration of justice.
Funding Highlights for Fiscal Year 2023
Since 2009, NIJ has invested nearly $300 million...
Webinar: NIJ Research Assistantship Program Informational Webinar
This recorded webinar, originally held September 28, 2023, provides information on NIJ’s Research Assistantship Program, which offers highly qualified doctoral students the opportunity to bring their expertise to NIJ to work across offices and program areas to obtain a practical and applied research experience. The program is a research focused professional development opportunity for doctoral students from all academic disciplines. NIJ...
Evaluating the reliability and accuracy of multiple geophysical methods in the search for clandestine graves
Quantifying the accuracy of low quality DNA sample analysis from genotyping to genealogical searching and integration as a bioinformatic pipeline
Cold Cases and Serial Killers (Part 1)
In April 2018, the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo was arrested. NIJ support helped lead to his arrest, and in the aftermath of the arrest, NIJ Social Science Analyst Eric Martin was among those tasked with finding other cases NIJ helped law enforcement solve. Eric joins the show to talk about some of those cases, and answer some broader questions about serial killers: What is a serial killer? Are they on the rise? How do we know how many serial killers are currently active?
Massively Parallel Mitogenome Sequencing: Building a Strong Foundation for the Interpretation of MPS MtDNA
NIJ Awards Over $11 Million to Support Forensic Science Research and Development in 2022
On September 30, 2022, NIJ announced $11.6 million in funding to support 23 projects under the “NIJ FY22 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes” solicitation. Through its research and development grant funding, NIJ continues to advance the speed, accuracy, and reliability of forensic analysis, which ultimately bolsters the...
Quantifying the accuracy of low-quality DNA sample analysis from genotyping to genealogical searching and integration as a bioinformatic pipeline
DENTAGE: A multi-component subadult dental age estimation method
Improve craniometric ancestry estimation with deep learning methods
Identifying the Scope and Context of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) in New Mexico and Improving MMIP Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting
Tribal Crime, Justice, and Safety (Part 2)
Stacy Lee Reynolds and Christine (Tina) Crossland continue their discussion of tribal crime, justice, and safety, including how Native American persons experience crime victimization at higher rates than non-Native people and the jurisdictional complexities in responding to tribal crime, justice, and safety. Read the transcript.
Listen to the first half of Stacy and Tina’s discussion.
Tribal Crime, Justice, and Safety (Part 1)
Research indicates that Native American persons experience crime victimization at higher rates than non-Native people. Furthermore, the unique position of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes as both sovereign nations and domestic dependents of the U.S. creates jurisdictional complexities in responding to crime, justice, and safety. Senior social and behavioral scientist Christine (Tina) Crossland discusses NIJ’s research on these topics, especially on the prevention of violence towards American Indians and Alaska Natives. Communications Assistant Stacy Lee Reynolds hosts.