Articles Published by NIJ

In this study, NIJ-funded researchers examined how Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners can use a practitioner-oriented evaluation toolkit to assess the impact of their programs.

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.

An NIJ-funded study explored injury and forensic evidence in sexual assault cases using data from different types of medical examiners, laboratories, and the police.

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

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.

The ability of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instruments to detect practically the entire periodic table of elements very quickly and without the complexity of other systems makes them an economic choice for forensic analysis.

Criminals track dust particles to and from virtually every crime scene, but particles on a suspect’s shoes are seldom used as evidence linking the accused to the crime. In this NIJ-supported project, researchers assert that investigators can use small par

Researchers conducted a statistical study of handwriting characteristics to provide a database so that forensic document examination standards will better stand up to judicial scrutiny.

Researchers who developed a 3-D imaging system for analyzing cartridge casings say their latest work is “a critical next step” that gives cartridge analysis more credibility by including datasets, best practices, and performance checks.

Researchers claim they have developed a prototype system that could enable “low-cost, portable, objective analysis of tool marks.”

After analyzing how ignitable liquids break down because of weathering and biological degradation in the aftermath of a fire, researchers have provided new data to fire investigators and crime labs.

By touching a cell phone, car keys, or even a pen, you are leaving behind a chemical signature that can reveal much about how you live your daily life.

In response to the National Academy of Sciences’ call for scientific data to support forensic evidence, researchers revised forensic anthropology procedures to include an “error metric” for the measurement of human skeletal remains.

The standard method for collecting and storing blood samples from newborns might be useful for forensic toxicology.