A partial look at fingerprint error distribution : False Exclusions only studied

Posted on May 23, 2017 by csidds

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I do think ‘false positives’ have been eradicated from police crime lab vernacular.

This FSI article went after “false negatives’ as they say their literature is all about ‘individuation.’ Seems a bit non-sequitor to me as their study is in that very venue. Must be fingerprint person slang for “identifying one person in the entire world’  which the fingerprinters do for a living.

At any rate, this is some research about fingerprint examiners and fingerprint features that ‘might’ contribute to eliminating the actual perp. (abstract only).

I wonder how well distributed this journal is within law enforcement labs.

http://www.fsijournal.org/article/S0379-0738(17)30065-8/fulltext?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=0379-0738_201706_275__&elsca4=Pathology%7CForensic%20and%20Legal%20Medicine

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Pre-Trump advances in forensics published to DAs : All efforts largely muted and moot

Posted on May 23, 2017 by csidds

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Due to the change of ‘command’ to Trump and Sessions, this Victor Weedn (AAFS past president) 7 page white paper on forensics and the efforts of NAS, PCAST, NCFS and OSACs are likely to end up in the DAs Spam Folder. It still is a worthwhile look for its historical perspective for those involved in what needs to be preserved in Criminal Justice reform regarding forensic testimony.

http://necaa.org/recent-developments-in-the-forensic-sciences/

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Sessions close to prosecuting sanctuary cities : first step is to revoke police funding

Posted on May 23, 2017 by csidds

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Visit tRump’s last term as a “crime fighter.” His effect on forensic research was equally bad. Substitute the old AG Jeff Sessions with 47’s current proposed genius.

From 2017

I expect the worst, as Sessions latest appeal maneuver in overturning a federal judge ruling against his immigration ‘laws’ shows large hints of considering state and municipal resistance to be federal crimes.

Seen in this quote from tRump’s appeal’s latest ‘memo.’

“In Monday’s memo, Sessions said the Justice Department may still try to put more stringent conditions on the money it doles out and “may seek to tailor grants to promote a lawful system of immigration.” ” (bold added).

Its large to say anything related to tRump and immigration will be “legal.”

http://www.wral.com/sessions-may-put-more-rules-on-money-for-sanctuary-cities/16717455/

As in other aspects of the WH world, justifications for immigration bans on ethnic grounds seems to be blind to the fact that……

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-outrage-white-men-kill-police-article-1.2780161

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Sessions wants to hear from you – drop him a note before June 10 2017

Posted on May 22, 2017 by csidds

 

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The USDOJ is magnanimously open for comments to its unilateral dismissal of the Natl Forensic Commission. Deadline soon. Let Jeff know you are interested in getting involved. Read this page to review the 96 comments to date and where you can also access his announcement of how to “interact” with forensic science and help prosecutors to understand forensic science. From Sessions past remarks, he seems to have already figured out that last part. See this for a look. 

 

 

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Forensic experts in the NEWs and Courts

Posted on May 20, 2017 by csidds

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Cuts on body appears self-inflicted. 

DNA found on clothing was not mere casual contact. 

Drugs and alcohol’s effect on defendant’s capacity for ‘hiding a body’  along with time and cause of death.

Gunshot residue on steering wheel.

Look at a crime lab’s dangerous job of drug testing. 

‘Body farmers’ getting started in Florida.

Test your talent for fingerprint tech.

Bitemark testimony given by a police detective and a physician.

Exoneration litigation

“Monstrous effort’ in getting wrongful conviction litigation into Canadian court system.

 

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Crime labber ‘scientist’ hides DNA specimens for years – Other news too

Posted on May 18, 2017 by csidds

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This new case indicates a total failure of in-house management regarding what comes into and out of their police owned crime lab.

Abject proof that criminal prosecutors’ track record at responding to flawed and fraudulent forensic science is terrible. At times the appeals courts do get it right. Sometimes not.

FBI validates its 5 mixture testing of STRmix DNA. The focus of concerns about the police validating any thing forensic without independent review (NOT by the commercial companies) has been rather sketchy over the decades. This PR piece uses court admissibility of this system as some benchmark for scientific reliability of  the product. Here is a video from a scientist that co-developed STRmix which is commercially sold.

Orange County CA judge goes after its DAs office for prosecutorial misconduct – again. THe end result may be nil, as usual.

Go to FOX NEWS as the worst source of forensic case details.

South African digital forensics ‘kinda sucks.’ Mere opinion, of course.

 

 

 

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Using non-destructive Raman Spectroscopy at the crime scene –

Posted on May 17, 2017 by csidds

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Handheld processors getting hyped by commercial vendors and praised by law enforcement. The process is meant to ID small materials, trace evidence from blood to chemicals to drugs. Its another ‘point and shoot’ kinda test. I have not been able to uncover what false positive data may exist for in-the-field analyses.

What is Raman Spec?

Forensic applications.

 

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DNA taking law enforcement into all our lives – Is it unfettered invasion of privacy?

Posted on May 16, 2017 by csidds

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CODIS has More ID information than [once] believed – Scientists Find

This open access research paper is explained in the following commentaries:

Laboratory Equipment News

Stanford Medicine 

Stanford News 

 

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The ‘totality of indicators’ in DUI arrests passes for ‘science’ to Georgia traffic stops

Posted on May 15, 2017 by csidds

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Another example of police using untested or flawed field sobriety ‘testing’ when accurate drug tests do not exist. Total crap. Innocent folks get jail time, fines, license revocation before DAs drop charges.

 

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The ABC’s of using Psychic ‘Mentalists’ in crime cases. The US Department of Justice

Posted on May 15, 2017 by csidds

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I’m putting this on a scale of ‘smart’ versus ‘dumb on crime’ chaos going on in the media. It surely clanks the lowest position on the dumb scale.

This 2000 White Paper on the use of soothsayers shows how LEOs being in charge of forensic science standards and vetting of ‘new’ methods is truly a step towards the over incarceration. Alchemy, maybe be inadmissible, but the police increasing use of PredPol (commercial vendor) estimations of population crime is in use without any significant peer review. Apparently, police don’t need it.

 

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