Overview	of	NIST	Ac0vi0es	in		

the	Forensic	Sciences	

*

Mark	D.	Stolorow	

Director,	Law	Enforcement	Standards	Office		

Na;onal	Ins;tute	of	Standards	and	Technology		

American	Academy	of	Forensic	Sciences	

February	22,	2014	

SeaIle,	WA	
• NIST	Presenta;ons	at	AAFS	in	SeaIle	–	2014	

• Memorandum	of	Understanding	between	NIST	&	

DOJ		

• Na;onal	Commission	on	Forensic	Science	(NCFS)		

• Organiza;on	of	Scien;fic	Area	CommiIees	(OSAC)	

• Forensic	Science	Publica;ons	and	Research	Projects		

• Training,	Workshops,	Symposia,	Conferences	

AAFS	Presenta0on	Overview	
NIST	Presenta0ons	at	AAFS	–	2014	

36		Presenta0ons,	including:	

• 		7	 Scien;fic	posters	in	3	poster	sessions	

• 29	 Pla\orm	presenta;ons	in	17	Moderated	

Sessions	in	AAFS	Sec;ons,	including:	

– 		Criminalis;cs	

– 		Ques;oned	Documents	

– 		Jurisprudence	

– 		General		

– 		Digital	and	Mul;-Media	
NIST/DOJ	Memorandum	of	Understanding	

• MOU	between	NIST	and	USDOJ	signed	Feb	2013	

• Announced	at	the	AAFS	Mee;ng	in	Washington,	DC	

• Established	two	en;;es	responsive	to	the	NAS	Report	

calling	for	na;onal	leadership	in	forensic	science			

• Na;onal	Commission	on	Forensic	Science	(NCFS)	

• Inaugural	mee;ng	held	in	Washington,	DC,	Feb	3-4,	2014	

• Organiza;on	of	Scien;fic	Area	CommiIees	(OSAC)	

• Presenta;on	and	webcast	at	AAFS	Forum,	Feb	18,	2014	

• Slides	and	webcast	posted	on	www.nist.gov/forensics		
Na0onal	Commission	on	Forensic	Science		

• NCFS	Charter	available	at:		

– hLp://www.facadatabase.gov/commiLee/charters.aspx?cid=2461&aid=44

• 6	Objec;ves	in	NCFS	Charter:	

a. To	recommend		priori;es	for	standards	development	to	the	AIorney	General;	

b. To	review	and	recommend	that	the	AG	endorse	guidance	iden;fied	or	

developed	by	subject-maIer	experts;	

c. To	develop	proposed	guidance	concerning	the	intersec;on	of	forensic	science	

and	the	courtroom;	

d. To	develop	policy	recommenda;ons,	including	a	uniform	code	of	professional	

responsibility	and	minimum	requirements	for	training.	accredita;on		and/or	

cer;fica;on;	

e. To	consider	the	recommenda0ons	or	the	Na0onal	Science	and	Technology	

Council's	SubcommiLee	on	Forensic	Science;	

f. To	iden;fy	and	assess	the	current	and	future	needs	of	the	forensic	scien;sts	

to	strengthen	their	disciplines	and	meet	growing	demands.	
Na0onal	Commission	on	Forensic	Science		

• NCFS	Leadership:			

• Co-Chair:		Patrick	Gallagher,	Director,	NIST	

• Co-Chair:		James	Cole,	Deputy	AIorney	General,	USDOJ	

• Vice	Chair	for	DOJ:	Nelson	Santos,	Director,	DEA	Laboratory	

• Vice	Chair	for	NIST:	John	Butler,	Special	Assistant	to	the	

Director	in	Forensic	Science		

• Designated	Federal	Official:		BreIe	Steele,	USDOJ	

• Applica0ons	for	NCFS:			

• No;ce	posted	in	the	Federal	Register	in	2013	

• 330+	applica;ons	received	for	the	NCFS	
Na0onal	Commission	on	Forensic	Science		

• NCFS	membership	announced	in	Jan	2014	

– 30	vo;ng	Commissioners	

– 7	ex-officio	members	

– (Includes	16	AAFS	members)	

• NCFS	news	release	announcing	Commissioners	

available	at:	

– hLp://www.jus0ce.gov/opa/pr/2014/January/14-

at-029.html			

• NCFS	is	a	Federal	Advisory	CommiIee	under	DOJ	

to	make	policy	recommenda;ons	to	strengthen	

forensic	science		
Organiza0on	of	Scien0fic	Area	

CommiLees	(OSAC)

• Organiza;onal	framework	development	from	2013	

and	con;nuing	to	evolve	

• NIST	ac;vely	sought	public	comment	(we	listen)	

1. June	18,	2013		-	mee;ng	with	current	SWG	Chairs	

2. Sep	27	–	Nov	26,	2013	–	No;ce	of	Inquiry	(NOI)	

published	in	the	Federal	Register	

– Received	82	responses	and	337	pages	of	comments	

– Available	on	NIST	website	at:	www.nist.gov/forensics

3. Feb	18,	2014	–	Open	Forum	at	AAFS	Mee;ng	

• OSAC	is	under	NIST	guidance	and	designed	for	

standards	development	and	to	improve	prac;ce	
Individual SWGs vs. Organized Effort 

		•			•			•	

OSAC	

funded	support	

enforceable	standards	

unified	effort	

greater	influence	and	impact	
Organiza0on	of	Scien0fic	Area	CommiLees	(OSAC)	

	SAC	=	Scien;fic	Area	CommiIee	

	Sub	=	SubcommiIee	

Imaging	Technologies	Sub	 Firearms	&	Toolmarks	

Sub		

Ques;oned	Documents	

Sub	

DNA	Analysis	Sub1	 Controlled	Substances	Sub	 Anthropology	Sub	 Facial	Iden;fica;on	Sub	

Disaster	Vic;m	Iden;fica;on	

Sub	

Fric;on	Ridge	Sub	

Fire	Debris	and	Explosives	Sub	

(lab)	

Materials	(Trace)	Sub	

Medical/Legal	Death	Invest	

Sub	

Blood	Stain	PaIern	Analysis	

Sub	

Toxicology	Sub	

Dogs	and	Sensors	Sub	

Footwear		

&	Tire	Tread	Sub	

Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)	

Wildlife	Forensics	Sub	

Geological	Materials	Sub	

Speaker	Recogni;on	Sub		

SAC		

Biology/DNA	

Quality	Infrastructure	

CommiIee	(QIC)

SAC		

Physics/PaLern

SAC		

Chemistry/	

Instrumenta0on	

SAC		

IT/Mul0media	

SAC		

Crime	Scene/		

Death	Inves0ga0on	

Fire	Scene	and	Explosives	

Sub		

Legal	Resource	

CommiIee	(LRC)

DNA	Analysis	Sub2	

Human	Factors	

CommiIee	(HFC)

Gunshot	Residue	Sub	
Planned	Presenta0ons	

April	14	–	17,	2014 Bode	West

May	3-8,	2014 ASCLD	Symposium			 		

May	5-9,	2014 CAC	Spring	2014

May	11-16,	2014 AFTE	2014	 		

May	13-15,	2014 Interna;onal	Crime	Scene	Inves;ga;on	Associa;on

May	15-18,	2014 NACDL	 		

May	19-23,	2014 MAAFS

May	19-22,	2014 Bode	East

July	28-30,	2014 Green	Mountain	DNA	Conference	

Aug.	10-16,	2014 The	IAI	2014	Conference	 		

Aug.	31/Sept.	4,	2014	 ANZFSS

Sept.19-23,	2014 NAME	2014 		

Sep.	23-26,	2014 SAFS 	 	

Sept.	29/Oct.	2,	2014 Interna;onal	Symposium	for	Human	Iden;fica;on

Oct.	6-10,	2014 MAFS 	 	

Oct.	11-17,	2014 IAFS 	 	

Oct.	19-23,	2014 SWAFS

Oct.	19-24,	2014 SOFT

Oct.	20-24,	2014 NWAFS

Nov.	3-6,	2014 NEAFS
Technical Working Group on 

Biological Evidence Preservation

•The	Handbook	on	Biological	Evidence	

Preserva0on	published	January	2013,	

provides	recommenda;ons	on:	

•Packaging	and	storage	of	

biological	evidence	

•Tracking	the	evidence	

•Maintaining	the	chain	of	custody	

•Prac;cing	biological	safety	

procedures	

•Disposi;on	

•Developing	reports	that	contain	

recommenda;ons	on:	

•Legisla;ve	issues	

•Increasing	technology	awareness	
Expert Working Group on Human 

Factors in Latent Print Analysis

• The	Expert	Working	Group	on	Human	

Factors	in	Latent	Print	Analysis	

conducted	a	scien;fic	assessment	of	the	

effects	of	human	factors	on	forensic	

latent	print	analysis	and	to	develop	

recommenda;ons	to	reduce	the	risk	of	

error.		

• It	provides	a	comprehensive	discussion	

of	how	human	factors	relate	to	all	

aspects	of	latent	print	examina;ons	

including	communica;ng	conclusions	to	

all	relevant	par;es	through	reports	and	

tes;mony.	

• Released	Feb	9,	2012		

www.nist.gov/oles/		
Latent Print Process Map
Latent Print Process Map

[With	permission	

from	Todd	Weller]	
Updated Forensic Facilities 

Planning Guide

• NIST	OLES	partnered	with	a	

team	of	architects,	

laboratory	managers,	and	

consultants	to	update	the	

NIST/NIJ	produced:	Forensic	

Laboratories:	Handbook	for	

Facility	Planning,	Design,	

Construc;on.	

• Originally	published	in	April	

1998.	

• Update	Released	June	2013	
Updated NIJ 

Crime Scene Guide

• NIST	OLES,	NIJ,	BJA	and	

NFSTC	collaborated	to	

update	the	NIJ	

published:	Crime	Scene	

Inves;ga;on:	A	Guide	

for	Law	Enforcement.	

• Originally	published	in	

January	2000	

• Released:	

September	17,	2013	
Crime Scene Investigation: 

Guide for Law Enforcement

• Arriving	at	the	Scene:	Ini;al	

Response/	Priori;za;on	of	

Efforts	

• Preliminary	Documenta;on	

and	Evalua;on	of	the	Scene	

• Processing	the	Scene	

• Comple;ng	and	Recording	the	

Crime	Scene	Inves;ga;on	

• Crime	Scene	Equipment	

Principle,	Policy,	

Procedure,	Summary	
ABFO #2 Photo Scale Surveillance 

 Testing Report

• Five	rulers	were	purchased	from	

ten	distributors	to	test	the	

accuracy	of	the	ruler	against	the	

established	tolerances.		

• 1988	JFS	Ar;cle	lists	

measurement	specifica;ons	

• Published	Report:	August	2013	
Working Group on Presenting Forensic 

Science Evidence Using Quantitative 

and Qualitative Terms (QQWG)

• Mission:	To	recommend	best	prac;ces	for	repor;ng	conclusions	of	

forensic	examina;ons,	when	expressed	using	quan;ta;ve	or	

qualita;ve	terms.	

• Background:	Forensic	science	findings	are	some;mes	presented	

qualita;vely	and	some;mes	quan;ta;vely.		These	include	some	

level	of	uncertainty.	We	want	to	report	the	findings	along	with	any	

uncertainty	in	a	fair,	transparent,	and	comprehensible	way.	

• Deliverable:		A	report	with	recommenda;ons	for	forensic	

scien;sts,	aIorneys,	and	judges	on	the	presenta;on	and	

comprehension	of	quan;ta;ve	and	qualita;ve	terminology	in	the	

legal	system.		These	recommenda;ons	will	be	useful	in	

standardizing	and	op;mizing	the	presenta;on	of	forensic	science	

evidence	to	law	enforcement	and	jurors.
Training,	Workshops,	Symposia,	

Conferences	

• Measurement	Science	and	Standards	in	Forensic	

Handwri0ng	Analysis	

– Partnered	with:	AAFS-QD,	ASQDE,	ABFDE,	FBI,	NIJ	&	

SWGDOC	

– June	4-5,	2013

• Emerging	Trends	in	Synthe0c	Drugs	Workshop	

– Partnered	with:	DEA	

– April	30	–	May	1,	2013
Training,	Workshops,	Symposia,	

Conferences	

• DNA	Mixture	Interpreta0on	Workshop	

– April	12,	2013	(8	hours)	

• Forensics@NIST	2012	Symposium		

– November	28-30,	2012	

• Measurement	Science	and	Standards	in	Forensic	

Firearms	Analysis	

– Partnered	with	AFTE	&	SWGGUN	

– July	10-11,	2012	
Save	the	Date	

• Forensics@NIST	2014	–	Symposium															

At	NIST	in	Gaithersburg,	MD																					

Dec	3-4,	2014		
Ques0ons?	

mark.stolorow@nist.gov	

www.nist.gov/forensics