Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Secretariat New Forensic Toxicology Standard From the AAFS Standards Board The AAFS Standards Board (ASB) is pleased to announce the publication of ANSI/ASB Standard 053, Standard for Report Content in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2020. This document delineates the requirements for reporting results from forensic toxicology analyses. Specifically, it is intended […]
Source: Karen J. Nobles, MFS, Questioned Documents Section Chair The Questioned Document section is sad to announce the passing of Dan C. Purdy on August 19, 2020, at the age of 74. Dan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of B.C. and trained as a forensic scientist at the Royal […]
The Forensic Sciences Foundation is pleased to award Ronald Moss with the 2020-21 Warren-Young Scholarship. This award is designed to encourage forensic science education at the middle and high school levels and is intended to provide funds to purchase supplies, equipment, or reference materials to support forensic science education in teaching basic scientific principles. Applications […]
Source: Rich Press, Public Affairs Specialist, NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research group that produces the Human DNA Quantitation Standard and other standards used in forensic DNA profiling have put their know-how to use in an effort to improve testing for COVID-19. COVID tests can give a false negative if a person is […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Secretariat Three New Footwear and Tire Forensic Documents from the AAFS Standards Board The Academy Standards Board (ASB) is pleased to announce the publication of three new American National Standards. ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 049, Best Practice Recommendation for Lifting of Footwear and Tire Impressions, First Edition; ANSI/ASB Standard 095, Standard […]
Source: Rich Press, Public Affairs Specialist, NIST The 2018 Farm Bill legalized cannabis products with less than 0.3% THC. However, labs can have a hard time getting accurate THC measurements, especially at that low level. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has now launched a program to help laboratories accurately measure key chemical […]
Source: Kenneth E. Melson, JD, AAFS CFSO Liaison In the previous posting of the CFSO Flash Brief for July 2020, there was a transposition of budget categories on page 3. The correct budget figures for NIST’s OSAC are FY20: $3,150,000 and House bill: $3,150,000. The figures for NIST’s Forensic Technical Evaluations category are FY20: $1,000,000 […]
Source: Kristy Kadash, PhD A new Promega® Webinar Series will be held over the next few months. The series is free and open to all. A portion of the abstract is provided here: A series of webinars have been created to provide information and educate the forensic and criminal justice community regarding new and emerging […]
Medicine and Law is an international publication dealing with medicolegal issues. The journal is comprised of original articles, court decisions, and legislation on topics including medical law, forensic medicine, sexology and law, psychiatry and law, psychology and law, dentistry and law, nursing law, pharmaceutical law, medical ethics, clinical criminology, drugs, alcohol, child abuse, medical experimentation, […]
Source: Jeri D. Ropero-Miller, PhD, AAFS President Significant historic happenings on June 3: 1904—Charles Richard Drew, African-American physician and surgeon; authority on the preservation of human blood for transfusion and pioneer of blood plasma research was born 1934—Dr. Frederick Banting, the co-inventor of insulin, was knighted 1963—Clarence Gideon is arrested and charged with breaking into […]
Source: Rich Press, Public Affairs Specialist, NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces the first large-scale black box study for digital forensics. There have been black box studies for fingerprint and ballistic examiners, but this is the first large-scale black box study for digital forensics. It will test how well experts perform […]
Source: Rich Press, Public Affairs Specialist, NIST The Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science has placed two new standards covering the interpretation of DNA evidence on its registry of approved standards. This stamp of approval from OSAC, which is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), indicates that these […]
Source: Rich Press, Public Affairs Specialist, NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers used black light and glow powder to show how microscopic particles—in this case, from drug powders—can be spread around a forensic chemistry lab when handling evidence. This spread cannot be completely eliminated, but it’s important for labs to manage the […]
Source: Glen Calhoun, IAI Chief Operations Officer Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the International Association for Identification (IAI) Board of Directors has voted to cancel the Orlando Annual IAI Educational Conference scheduled for August 9-14, 2020. This decision is out of an abundance of care, caution, and concern for our members and organization. The […]
Source: Teresa Ambrosius, ASB Secretariat The Academy Standards Board (ASB) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization. The ASB is announcing the formation of a new Consensus Body: Crime Scene Investigation. The consensus body will have 7 to 25 members based on applications received. Members will be selected […]
The Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Foundation released a first-of-its-kind book, Unexplained Pediatric Deaths: Investigation, Certification and Family Needs, in collaboration with the National Association of Medical Examiners and the American Academy of Pediatrics. This groundbreaking publication establishes the first-ever national consensus guidelines in the U.S. to fill crucial needs to determine why unexplained […]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has made the following revision to the DOJ Grants Financial Guide. The change implemented below became effective April 15, 2020. Chapter 2.2: Acceptance of Award and Award Conditions and Award Notification and Acceptance Procedures: Revised language to allow electronic signatures on award acceptance documents and Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) forms. The […]
With this solicitation, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks proposals from qualified applicants to establish and operate the NIJ National Center on Forensics to: Facilitate a partnership amongst: A full-service State department of forensic science with a medical examiner function; An accredited university of higher education with affiliate medical and law schools; and A […]
The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ)’s Drugs and Crime Research Program supports rigorous applied research on evidence-based tools, protocols, and policies for state, tribal, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies that address drug trafficking, drug markets, and drug-related violence. The focus of this research solicitation is narcotics-related criminal investigation, prosecution, intelligence, and […]
Source: Jonathan G. McGrath, PhD, MSFS, Senior Policy Analyst, National Institute of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding for research and evaluation studies to produce practical knowledge that has the potential to improve the examination and interpretation of […]