Rapid DNA Analysis Webinar: Understanding How it Can Expedite Forensic Investigations

Rapid DNA analysis has the potential to become one of the most powerful biometric tools to be implemented in decades. This webinar will  host two speakers currently involved in the investigative genetic, forensic, and scientific fields from both the University of North Texas  and NetBio. The webinar will explain several things about Rapid DNA technology including how DNA is used in forensic applications, and how Rapid DNA technology complements current biometric technology while shortening the time from sample collection to results. This free webinar will be hosted by forensicmag.com and will take place on April 11 at 11:00 AM ET.

Register here.

Source: forensicmag.com

Robotics Cuts Crime Lab Back Log

New advances in DNA processing have once again aided investigators in shortening the turnaround time for DNA evidence. The six month back log of DNA evidence analysis that use to swamp the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab in Ohio has been cut down into a two to four weeks completion time. With these faster turnaround times comes the quicker adjudication of innocent suspects and sooner charges levied against the true criminals. Denise Rankin, assistant director of the crime lab, said that this new innovation will enable the processing of DNA evidence from local departments to begin as soon as it is received and that each case may have 10 to 50 evidence samples for testing. Laboratory testing has become an increasing and vital aspect of law enforcement, and new advances such as these aid in closing the gaps in cases that have remained unsolved for months or even years.

Full article here.

Source: Forensicmag.com

[Abstract by ForensIQ Intern – Mark Lombard]

Citation:

Smith, J. News, information & entertainment for Middletown and Butler. Robotics cuts crime lab back log. Retrieved March 28, 2013, from http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/robotics-cuts-crime-lab-back-log/nWzST/

Seminar Brings Legal, Forensics Experts Together to Win Cases

Penn State Law is offering a day-long seminar on April 5, that will provide attendees an opportunity to learn from experts about forensic tools that can help win cases. “Forensic Science Legal Tools” is designed for prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys and civil litigators as well as members of the science and law enforcement communities who may be expert witnesses. Students who are interested in careers in law, law enforcement and/or forensics are also encouraged to attend. The seminar is free to the public but there is a fee to register for continuing education credits.

“The ‘CSI effect’ has created the perception that forensic science can solve and win cases with ease, but forensic scientists and law enforcement and legal professionals are continuing to face serious challenges on the collection and use of this evidence,” said David Kaye, a professor at Penn State Law. Kaye, who has written a comprehensive history of DNA evidence, will be one of the featured speaker and will be joined by Cedric Neumann, a member of Penn State’s Eberly College of Science Forensic program, and a renowned expert on fingerprint evidence who helped develop the digital ink library for the U.S. Secret Service.

For more information on the seminar’s agenda and location click here. 

Source: forensicmag.com

The forensicweek.com Show – Episode #17 – “Lizzie Borden-Nothing but the Truth” – LIVE – TODAY

The forensicweek.com Show is airing Episode #17 – “Lizzie Borden-Nothing but the Truth” – LIVE – TODAY, Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 7:00 PM (EST).  This topic was previously presented in Episode #13 on February 28^th, but because of A/V and internet difficulties, forensicweek.com decided to redo the show for the viewing audience who expressed great interest in the topic. This show brings viewers back to the Victorian era in New England as guests located in Fall River, Massachusetts, analyze the most infamous murder case of the 19th century.  The case…, the arrest and acquittal of Lizzie Borden for the double hatchet murders of her father and step-mother, Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River.  The time,… August 4th, 1892.  Special guest experts are Dr. Stefani Koorey, Editor and Publisher of the “The Hatchet: A Journal of Lizzie Borden & Victorian America; Michael Martins, Curator of the Fall River Historical Society, and Dennis Binette, Assistant curator, both co-authors of the book, “Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River.” Want to know the facts about Lizzie, the murders, the evidence against her, why she was acquitted, and why the fascination with this case after 120 years?  Then join host, Tom Mauriello, and the rest of the forensicweek.com webcast team and learn the “real” truth about Lizzie Borden and the legend.  Watch the show LIVE or view it at your convenience after the show is aired.  Remember all previous episodes are there also.  Just GO TO www.forensicweek.com .   Thank you for watching.

NIST Guides Seek Interoperability for Automated Fingerprint ID Systems

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released three new publications to assist forensic examiners in matching a set of fingerprints to those on file in local, state, or federal fingerprint databases. In 2008, NIST’s Law Enforcement Standards Office partnered with NOBLIS, a non-profit research corporation to implement the Extended Feature Set (EFS). The EFS is a method for encoding fingerprint, palm print, and footprint features regardless of what automated fingerprint identification system is being used. The first publication, Extended Feature Set Profile Specification, defines the EFS Profile, sets of reference friction ridge characteristics that allow examiners to “triage” their search strategy for a particular latent print. The Markup Instructions for Extended Friction Ridge Features provides forensic examiners with instructions to encode a set of latent ridge print information using the Extended Feature Set. It also ensures that examiners use common terminology to enable information sharing between other examiners. The third publication Latent Interoperability Transmission Specification describes the application profile language by which different automated fingerprint identification systems can communicate with each other.

Source: Forensic Magazine and NIST

To read the full article and download the publications, click here.

Citation: (2013). Forensic Magazine. NIST guides seek interoperability for automated fingerprint ID systems. Retrieved from http://www.forensicmag.com/news/nist-guides-seek-interoperability-automated-fingerprint-id-systems.

[Abstract by ForensIQ intern, Andrea Williams]

Seminar Brings Legal, Forensics Experts Together to Win Cases

Penn State Law will hold a “Forensic Science Legal Tools” seminar on Friday, April 5^th, 2013. The seminar is designed for prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, civil litigators, students and members of the forensic science and law enforcement communities. The seminar is will begin at 10am and end at 5pm, is free to the public and is also available through a live webcast. Topics that will be presented include Forensic DNA for Litigation, The Nature and Admissibility of Fingerprint Evidence, DNA Databases and the Fourth Amendment and Confrontation Clause Challenges to Laboratory Reports and Testimony.

Source: Penn State News

For more information and to register for the seminar, click here.

Citation: (2013.) Penn State News. Seminar brings legal, forensics experts together to win cases. Retrieved from http://news.psu.edu/story/269830/2013/03/22/academics/seminar-brings-legal-forensics-experts-together-win-cases

[Abstract by ForensIQ intern, Andrea Williams]

Expert Witness Webinar – What Makes a Credible Witness?

Juries look for many characteristics that establish credibility in a witness, including knowledge, demeanor, communication skills, and response during direct and cross examination. must demonstrate competency in their chosen disciplines and in their interactions with members of the criminal justice system. Join the free webinar offered by The Evidence Conferene to find out what makes a credible witness. The presentation will provide attendees information on factors affecting credibility, and advice on how to strengthen and evaluate credibility.  The webinar is scheduled for April 25 at 1:00 PM ET, and will last 90 minutes.

For registration information click here.

The forensicweek.com Show – TONIGHT – Episode 16

The forensicweek.com Show is airing Episode 016 tonight LIVE, March 21, 2013 at 7:00 PM (EST).  Tonight’s show will be an “Open Forum” discussion of a number of forensic sciences topics, as well as the introduction of the use of “Virtual Teaching Crime Labs.”  Dr. Richard Saferstein, Forensic Consultant and the foremost author and pioneer of forensic science textbooks will be a return guest.  So join ForensIQ host, Tom Mauriello, and the rest of the University of Maryland forensicweek.com webcast team, and watch the show LIVE or view it at your convenience.  Remember all episodes are archived, so just GO TO www.forensicweek.com to view the LIVE show or any of the previous shows whenever you want.  Thank you for watching!

The 3 Fs of Spotting Photo Fraud

With advances in digital imaging continually increasing, so has increases in photographic fraud. The field of photo forensics has emerged to help restore and regain some trust in digital photographs. There are a variety of tools experts can use to help determine the history of a photograph. These tools have been characterized into one of three main categories: files, footprints, and flaws, the three Fs. The application of forensic tools in these categories can help verify the authenticity of a photo or detect photographic fraud. The first category, files, relies on the packaging of the image into a file and relates to the format used to save the photo. The footprints category relies on the photo’s collection of pixels, defined by numerical values that represent individual colors. Every editing operation that was done to the photograph leaves behind statistical traces. The last category focuses on flaws of the image, errors made while trying to manipulate factors of a photograph including shadows, lighting, and reflections.

Source: Evidence Technology Magazine

Read the full article here.

[Abstract by ForensIQ intern, Andrea Williams]

Citation: Connor, K., & Farid, H. (2013, March-April). The 3 Fs of spotting photo fraud. Evidence Technology Magazine, 11(2), 16-19. Retrieved from http://www.evidencemagazine.com/v11n2.htm

Straight to the Bone – Advances in Forensic Anthropology

The Forensic Research Seminar, Straight to the Bone: Advances in Forensic Anthropology, airs live on April 2 at 1pm ET. The seminar will include presentations by experts within the Forensic Anthropology community. Forensic Anthropology experts for these events include Natalie Shirley, Jennifer Love, and Stephen Ousley.

This seminar is sponsored by NIJ and presented by RTI International, NIJ’s Forensic Science Technology Center of Excellence.

If you can’t make it online on Tuesday, two additional times have been added – April 4 at 1pm ET and April 18 at 1pm ET.

Register for this free webinar here.

Source: forensicmag.com and NIJ

Falling Into Decay: Postmortem Interval and Molecular Autopsy

Join NIJ as they host another live webinar. Presentations include:

• Microbial Community Change Associated with Decomposing Corpses, Rob Knight
• Using Differential RNA Degradation to Estimate an Extended Postmortem Interval, Clifton Bishop and Joshua Moor.

Register to attend on one of the following days:

• April 10th at 1 pm ET
• April 16th at 1 pm ET
• April 30th at 1 pm ET

This webinar is presented by RTI International, NIJ’s Forensic Science Technology Center of Excellence, in their Live Forensic Research Seminar Series.

Source: forensicmag.com and NIJ

The forensicweek.com Show – Episode 15 – “Gun Safety, Identification, and Awareness.”

The forensicweek.com Show is airing Episode 15 TONIGHT— March 14, 2013, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST).  This special two-hour show will be broadcast LIVE on location at the University of Maryland, Marie Mount Hall, Multi-Media Lecture Room.  The entire show will be dedicated to broadcasting a student sponsored campus wide event that is focused on reducing gun violence and promoting gun safety, awareness, and recognition.  The significance of this topic is paramount, because guns are a part of American culture so steeped in misconceptions and media sensationalism, that it needs this honest attention.

THIS CAMPUS EVENT AND THE BROADCASTING OF THIS SHOW IN NO WAY PROMOTES THE SALE, PURCHASING, USE, OR OWNERSHIP OF GUNS.

So join forensicweek.com host, Tom Mauriello, the forensic firearms experts and the University of Maryland Police Department, as the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity and Criminal Justice Student Association presents, “Gun Safety, Identification and Awareness.”  Watch the show LIVE or view it at your convenience after the show is aired and archived at http://www.youtube.com/forensicweek/  .   Thank you for watching!

NIST Offers Forensic Science Education and Training Webcasts

The National Institute of Standards and Technology will be offering two upcoming educational workshops and a conference for forensic science professionals. All three events will be free to attend and viewable through live webcasts.

The first workshop scheduled for April 12, 2013 and will be focused on interpreting forensic DNA mixtures in casework. Some topics to be covered include why working with DNA mixtures is difficult and approaches being used around the world to cope with complex mixtures. The second two-day workshop is scheduled for April 30-May 1, 2013. This workshop will be focused on exploring emerging trends in the forensic analysis of three types of designer drugs: synthetic cannabinoids, substituted cathinones, and novel hallucinogens. The Measurement Science and Standards in Forensic Handwriting Analysis Conference will take place June 4-5, 2013 at the NIST Headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The conference will focus on enhancing the current state of forensic handwriting analysis through the use of advancements in science and research.

For more information on the DNA mixtures workshop, click here.

For more information on the designer drugs workshop, click here.

For more information on the handwriting conference, click here.

Source: Forensic Magazine and NIST

[Abstract by ForensIQ intern, Andrea Williams]

Citation: (2013, March 6). NIST offers forensic science education and training webcasts. Forensic Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.forensicmag.com/news/nist-offers-forensic-science-education-and-training-webcasts.