Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

OSAC	Research	Needs Assessment Form

Title	of	research	need:

Keywords:

Submitting subcommittee(s): Date	Approved:

(If	SAC	review	identifies	additional	subcommittees,	add	them	to	the	box	above.)

Background	information:

1.	 Description	of	research	need:

2.	Key	bibliographic	references	relating	to	this	research	need:

3a.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	current	laboratory	capabilities?

A	wide	range	of	technological	advances have	further	the	ability	of	investigators	to	document	crime	scenes.		Access	to	

these	advances	may	be	limited	by	budget,	personnel,	security,	and/or	training.		Putting	aside	potential	limitations	how	

can	crime	scene	personnel	harness	advances	in	technology that	pertains	to	mobile,	paperless,	electronic,	and/or	digital	

documentation.		How	does	digital	technology	compare	to	traditional	analog	or	physical	means	of	scene	documentation	

in	terms	of	precision,	accuracy,	efficiency,	efficacy,	margin	of	error,	reproducibility,	general	limitations,	and	limitations	

due	to	environmental	incompatibility?

1. Agosto,	E.,	Ajmar,	A.,	Boccardo,	P.,	Tonolo,	F.	G.,	&	Lingua,	A.	(2008).	Crime	scene	reconstruction	using	a	fully	geomatic	

approach.	Sensors,	8(10),	6280–6302.

2. Baber,	C.,	Smith,	P.,	Butler,	M.,	Cross,	J.,	&	Hunter,	J.	(2009).	Mobile	technology	for	crime	scene	examination.	International	

Journal	of	Human-Computer	Studies,	67(5),	464-474.	

3. Baltsavias,	E.	P.	(1999).	A	comparison	between	photogrammetry	and	laser	scanning.	ISPRS	Journal	of	Photogrammetry	and	

Remote	Sensing,	54(2),	83–94.

4. Bolic,	M.,	Borisenko,	A.,	&	Seguin,	P.	(2012).	Automating	Evidence	Collection	at	the	Crime	Scene	Using	RFID	Technology	for	

CBRN	Events.Forensic	Science	Policy	&	Management:	An	International	Journal, 3(1),	3-11.

5. Cavagnini,	G.,	Scalvenzi,	M.,	Trebeschi,	M.,	Sansoni,	G.	(2007).	Reverse	engineering	from	3D	optical	acquisition:	Application

to	crime	scene	investigation.	London,	UK:	Taylor	and	Francis	Group

6. Haag,	M.	(2008).	The	accuracy	and	precision	of	trajectory	measurements.	Association	of	Firearm	and	Tool	Mark	Examiners	

(AFTE)	Journal,	40,	145–182.

7. Komar,	D.	A.,	Davy-Jow,	S.,	&	Decker,	S.	J.	(2012).	The	use	of	a	3D	laser	scanner	to	document	ephemeral	evidence	at	crime	

scenes	and	postmortem	examinations.	Journal	of	Forensic	Sciences,	57(1),	188–191.

8. RTI	International.	(2016).	Landscape	Study	on	3D	Crime	Scene	Scanning	Devices.	The	National	Institute	of	Justice’s	(NIJ’s)	

Forensic	Technology	Center	of	Excellence	(FTCoE).

9. Sansoni,	G.,	Trebeschi,	M.,	&	Docchio,	F.	(2009).	State-of-the-art	and	applications	of	3D	imaging	sensors	in	industry,	cultural	

heritage,	medicine,	and	criminal	investigation.	Sensors,	9(1),	568–601.

Research	in	this	area	would	improve	crime	scene	documentation	by	modernizing current	practices

and	improving	workflow.	An	overarching	goal	of	this	research	is	to	reduce	human	error	and	

expedite	data	transfer.	Other	goals	include	improved note-taking,	evidence	tracking,	the	

elimination	of	transcription	/	hand-drawn	sketches,	and	general	interfacing	with	computer	

systems	to	simplify back-end	work and	data	distribution.	Improving	accuracy	of	measurements	and	

the	ability	to	create	reproducible	results	from	scene	documentation	would	infuse	scientific	rigor	

into	crime	scene	examination.		

Use	of	Technology	for	Crime	Scene	Documentation

documentation,	paperless,	mobile,	wireless,	laser	scanning,	digital,	photography,	measurement	

uncertainty

Crime	Scene	Investigation Sep.	30,	2016
Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

3b.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	understanding	of	the	scientific	basis	for	the	

subcommittee(s)?

3c.		In	what	ways	would	the	research	results	improve	services	to	the	criminal	justice	system?

4.		Status assessment	(I,	II,	III,	or	IV):		

This	research	need	has	been	identified	by	one	or	more	subcommittees	of	OSAC	and	is	being	provided	as	an	

informational	resource	to	the	community.

Major gap	

in	current	

knowledge

Minor gap	

in	current	

knowledge

No	or	limited

current	research	

is	being	

conducted

I III

Existing current	

research	is	being	

conducted

II IV

This	area	of	research would	infuse	the	latest	technological advances	into	crime	scene	

documentation to	enable	streamlined	data	interpretation.		Research	would	provide	a	better	

understanding	of	error	within	crime	scene	documentation.

Research	results	could	provide	solutions	for real-time	data	for	investigators,	minimize	error	in	data	

collection	and	transfer,	and	produce	better	products	for	presentation	in	court	as	well	as	

streamlining	the	peer-review	process	of	reports.

II						
Version	1	/	Date	of	Issue:	10.29.15	/	Issuing	Authority:	Forensic	Science	Standards	Board	(FSSB)

// Approval	date:

(Approval	is	by	majority	vote	of	subcommittee.		Once	approved,	forward	to	SAC.)

1.		Does	the	SAC	agree	with	the	research	need?				Yes 							No		

2.		Does	the	SAC	agree	with	the	status assessment?				Yes										No		

If	no,	what	is	the	status assessment	of	the	SAC:

Approval	date:

(Approval	is	by	majority	vote	of	SAC.		Once	approved,	forward	to	NIST	for	posting.)

Subcommittee Sep.	30,	2016

SAC

Feb	9,	2017