Monthly Archives: March 2017

#Forensics scandal – Reinstated Scottish fingerprint expert gets the boot – again

Is there a common source for these prints? Shirley McKie was and maybe still is, a fingerprint detective with a Scottish police agency. In the late 90’s she was part of a murder investigation that centered on identifying the man … Continue reading

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Do “Science People” in Forensics plan to #ScienceMarch on Earth Day?

  I haven’t run across any evidence that the April 22 March for Science national event has hit the radar of major US forensic organizations. The fact is that most members are local, state or federal employees. Certainly many call themselves … Continue reading

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#Forensic News from over the place: scandal deniers, goofs and some research

Opening words at the American Academy of Forensic Science 2017 meeting. Reading about a new crime lab scandal every week, Lentini told the audience, “I’m just embarrassed.” Then read later some quotes from a “founder” and a police forensics website contributor talking … Continue reading

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A short look at what the Feds don’t like about Science and Forensics

The application of measurement (metrology) science is well established in the basic sciences. In essence it is the collection of physical data and the study of best methods to improve precision of methods. This paper has a well known fingerprint … Continue reading

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Missing in America: California’s premier Unidentified Persons Unit

US Stats: 4,000 unknown human bodies found each year. >1000 remain unidentified after one year. >40,000 human remains exist as ‘unidentified’ in the US. Missing person reports in CA now at 20,000. Unknown bodies in CA exceed 3,000. I recently … Continue reading

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Today’s #Forensic News around the Globe: Crime rate within crime labs increasing

From the archives. Smithsonian talks about the career of a very reclusive founding father of scientific approaches to trace evidence analysis who worked from 1929 to 1954. Some called him “Detective X.” Somehow he determined the ransom notes in the Lindberg kidnapping … Continue reading

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