U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Testing the Accuracy and Reliability of Palmar Friction Ridge Comparisons: A Black Box Study
Award Information
Awardee
              RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
Award #
              2017-DN-BX-0170
Funding Category
              Competitive Discretionary
Location
                    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC
Congressional District
              4
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2017
Total funding (to date)
              $370,454
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY17 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2017, $370,454)
As submitted by the proposer:
The latent print comparison field has long been at the forefront of forensic science reform, conducting research to meet the challenges of critics, and producing error rate studies that establish the foundational validity of the comparison process. However, these studies have largely focused on fingerprints only, and palm impressions have been hitherto neglected.
RTI International and the University of Lausanne have partnered to conduct a black box error rate study using exclusively palm print impressions. The researchers seek to begin establishment of the foundational validity of palmar friction ridge comparisons by empirically determining estimated error rates. The researchers will also investigate the relative strengths and weaknesses of both frequentist and Bayesian approaches to the presentation of error rate information in the courtroom, and provide recommendations that will assist examiners with their testimony about all friction ridge comparisons -- not only palms.
This project will take place over two calendar years, and will involve partnerships with several forensic laboratories and the participation of approximately 150 working latent print examiners. More than 500 known ground truth palmar impressions of diverse size, quality, substrate, and development techniques will be collected from our partner laboratories to make up the test sample pool, and each latent print examiner study participant
will complete 75 trials, resulting in an estimated 11,000+ presentations of palmar images.
Trials will include both same-source and challenging different-source trials to allow both false-positive and false-negative estimates to be made. Error rates will be calculated for all trials in aggregate, but also stratified by size and quality, which will allow examiners to select the error rate that most closely corresponds to the size or quality of the impression(s) in the case when presenting testimony.
Results will be disseminated to the forensic and legal communities via presentations at professional meetings, an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and the presentation of a webinar. Additionally, the researchers will develop a web-based application specifically designed for computing confidence intervals and credible intervals. This application will demonstrate the benefits and limitations of both frequentist and Bayesian approaches in the context of error rates in friction ridge comparisons; and will be freely available for public use. Finally, a primer on error rates in friction ridge comparisons will be developed and distributed to the court system to educate jurors who will hear friction ridge testimony.
Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law, and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR  200.210(a)(14).
ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      A primer on error rates in fingerprint examination
                  Mind-set - How bias leads to errors in friction ridge comparisons
                  Testing the Accuracy and Reliability of Palmar Friction Ridge Comparisons: A Black Box Study
                  Testing the Accuracy and Reliability of Palmar Friction Ridge Comparisons: A Black Box Study

  
Date Created: September 29, 2017
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      An Image Analysis Framework for Objective Color Interpretation of Seized Drug Tests
                  "Examining the Effects of Back-End Release Discretion on Prison Populations and Length of Stay: A State-by-State Analysis"
                  Research and Development of an Approach for Non-invasive Determination of Cannabis Ingestion for Forensic Science Purposes
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov