Pattern evidence

Forensic science research and development plays a key role in the advancement of the practice of forensic science, as noted by the 2009 National Academies of Science report “Strengthening Forensic Sciences in the United States: A Path Forward.”

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on February 26, 2019.

This webinar will discuss the challenges and opportunities regarding the implementation of the NIBIN program. The NIBIN program has the potential to find links in cases involving firearms that can quickly assist in an investigation.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 24, 2019.

The webinar will introduce those laboratory managers with fire debris analysis sections to the nuances of fire debris analysis. This is the third webinar in the ASCLD Train the Director Webinar Series.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on February 7, 2019.
 

Residential structure fires are predominantly fueled by synthetic contents and commonly become ventilation-limited.  Therefore accounting for the impact of ventilation on fire is important. Examining flow paths within the structure can aide in fire pattern analysis.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 10, 2020. 

This presentation described, presented the results of, and discussed a recent black box study to establish an error rate estimate for palm comparisons. These results provided the first step in establishing the foundational validity of palmar comparisons, as defined by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 12, 2020. 

In this study, firearms examiners were asked to use traditional microscopic methods to identify unknown bullets to the appropriate barrels. Additionally, 3D scans of these bullets were used in a matching algorithm to find similarity scores between bullets. Error rates were determined and the potential for subclass carry-over among the barrels was evaluated. 

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 16, 2021.

This webinar will expand examiners' awareness of additional areas of interest for identification purposes. Two previously undocumented toolmarks were observed in Glock pistols and could potentially be used for other make/model pistols. These new toolmarks will expand an examiner’s ability to compare fired and unfired ammunition components to each other or to a suspect firearm.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 12, 2021.

This study assesses the production of subclass characteristics during the manufacturing of breech faces. Observations on how well subclass characteristics persist on manufactured breech faces with and without any finishing methods as well as the effect of the primer on the quality/quantity of the breech face impressions will be discussed.    

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on December 9, 2021.

This webinar will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the post-SWGTREAD considerations for articulating findings (interpretations, limitations, opinions, and results) as well as a platform to exchange thoughts, consider suggested conclusion structures, and observe examples related to articulating footwear evidence conclusions.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on September 30, 2021. 

LatentSleuth is a novel software tool set designed for (and with direct feedback from) latent print examiners. The toolset includes a small-scale automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) matcher that leverages a novel matching algorithm that calculates a warp between a latent print image and a given reference print image. This webinar will demonstrate a comprehensive quantification of a latent images entire structure and how that quantification is exploited in a commercially available workstation for latent print examination. 

This webinar will evaluate the submitted responses for bloodstain pattern analysis proficiency tests over the past several years with the purpose of gaining insight into trends within the science.  The focus will be on erroneous conclusions and how an evaluation of the most problematic patterns can assist in moving the discipline forward.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on April 15, 2021.