TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Julie Anne Schuck TI - Personnel Selection in the Pattern Evidence Domain of Forensic Science: Proceedings of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/23681 PY - 2017 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/23681/personnel-selection-in-the-pattern-evidence-domain-of-forensic-science PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - In July 2016 The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop with the goal of bringing together industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists, experts on personnel selection and testing, forensic scientists, and other researchers whose work has a nexus with workforce needs in the forensic science field with a focus on pattern evidence. Participants reviewed the current status of selection and training of forensic scientists who specialize in pattern evidence and discussed how tools used in I-O psychology to understand elements of a task and measure aptitude and performance could address challenges in the pattern evidence domain of the forensic sciences. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward SN - DO - 10.17226/12589 PY - 2009 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12589/strengthening-forensic-science-in-the-united-states-a-path-forward PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Policy for Science and Technology AB - Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Support for Forensic Science Research: Improving the Scientific Role of the National Institute of Justice SN - DO - 10.17226/21772 PY - 2015 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21772/support-for-forensic-science-research-improving-the-scientific-role-of PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Policy for Science and Technology AB - Reliable and valid forensic science analytic techniques are critical to a credible, fair, and evidence-based criminal justice system. There is widespread agreement that the scientific foundation of some currently available forensic science methods needs strengthening and that additional, more efficient techniques are urgently needed. These needs can only be met through sustained research programs explicitly designed to ensure and improve the reliability and validity of current methods and to foster the development and use of new and better techniques. This task is challenging due to the broad nature of the field. Concerns have been raised repeatedly about the ability of the criminal justice system to collect and analyze evidence efficiently and to be fair in its verdicts. Although significant progress has been made in some forensic science disciplines, the forensic science community still faces many challenges. Federal leadership, particularly in regard to research and the scientific validation of forensic science methods, is needed to help meet the pressing issues facing state and local jurisdictions. This report reviews the progress made by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to advance forensic science research since the 2009 report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward and the 2010 report, Strengthening the National Institute of Justice. Support for Forensic Science Research examines the ways in which NIJ develops its forensic science research priorities and communicates those priorities as well as its findings to the scientific and forensic practitioner communities in order to determine the impact of NIJ forensic science research programs and how that impact can be enhanced. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Steven Kendall A2 - Joe S. Cecil A2 - Jason A. Cantone A2 - Meghan Dunn A2 - Aaron Wolf TI - Emerging Areas of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for the Courts: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief DO - 10.17226/26231 PY - 2021 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26231/emerging-areas-of-science-engineering-and-medicine-for-the-courts PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - On February 24-25, 2021, an ad hoc planning committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on Science, Technology, and Law hosted a workshop titled Emerging Areas of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for the Courts. The workshop was organized to explore emerging issues in science, technology, and medicine that might be the basis of new chapters in a fourth edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. The Reference Manual, a primary resource for federal judges on questions of science in litigation, is a joint publication of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Federal Judicial Center, the research and education arm of the federal judiciary. Over the course of the workshop, judges discussed how they evaluate scientific evidence in court and scientists and others spoke about emerging issues in science and technology that may come before the courts in coming years. This publication highlights the presentation and discussion of the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Evaluation of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence: Letter Report DO - 10.17226/12581 PY - 2009 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12581/evaluation-of-the-reference-manual-on-scientific-evidence-letter-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Policy for Science and Technology KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Cherie Chauvin TI - Threatening Communications and Behavior: Perspectives on the Pursuit of Public Figures SN - DO - 10.17226/13091 PY - 2011 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13091/threatening-communications-and-behavior-perspectives-on-the-pursuit-of-public PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Computers and Information Technology KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - Today's world of rapid social, technological, and behavioral change provides new opportunities for communications with few limitations of time and space. Through these communications, people leave behind an ever-growing collection of traces of their daily activities, including digital footprints provided by text, voice, and other modes of communication. Meanwhile, new techniques for aggregating and evaluating diverse and multimodal information sources are available to security services that must reliably identify communications indicating a high likelihood of future violence. In the context of this changed and changing world of communications and behavior, the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences of the National Research Council presents this volume of three papers as one portion of the vast subject of threatening communications and behavior. The papers review the behavioral and social sciences research on the likelihood that someone who engages in abnormal and/or threatening communications will actually then try to do harm. The focus is on how the scientific knowledge can inform and advance future research on threat assessments, in part by considering the approaches and techniques used to analyze communications and behavior in the dynamic context of today's world. The papers in the collection were written within the context of protecting high-profile public figures from potential attach or harm. The research, however, is broadly applicable to U.S. national security including potential applications for analysis of communications from leaders of hostile nations and public threats from terrorist groups. This work highlights the complex psychology of threatening communications and behavior, and it offers knowledge and perspectives from multiple domains that contribute to a deeper understanding of the value of communications in predicting and preventing violent behaviors. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Institute of Medicine TI - Medicolegal Death Investigation System: Workshop Summary SN - DO - 10.17226/10792 PY - 2003 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10792/medicolegal-death-investigation-system-workshop-summary PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - The US Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of The National Academies to conduct a workshop that would examine the interface of the medicolegal death investigation system and the criminal justice system. NIJ was particularly interested in a workshop in which speakers would highlight not only the status and needs of the medicolegal death investigation system as currently administered by medical examiners and coroners but also its potential to meet emerging issues facing contemporary society in America. Additionally, the workshop was to highlight priority areas for a potential IOM study on this topic.To achieve those goals, IOM constituted the Committee for the Workshop on the Medicolegal Death Investigation System, which developed a workshop that focused on the role of the medical examiner and coroner death investigation system and its promise for improving both the criminal justice system and the public health and health care systems, and their ability to respond to terrorist threats and events. Six panels were formed to highlight different aspects of the medicolegal death investigation system, including ways to improve it and expand it beyond its traditional response and meet growing demands and challenges. This report summarizes the Workshop presentations and discussions that followed them. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Daniel L. Cork A2 - John E. Rolph A2 - Eugene S. Meieran A2 - Carol V. Petrie TI - Ballistic Imaging SN - DO - 10.17226/12162 PY - 2008 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12162/ballistic-imaging PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Conflict and Security Issues KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - Ballistic Imaging assesses the state of computer-based imaging technology in forensic firearms identification. The book evaluates the current law enforcement database of images of crime-related cartridge cases and bullets and recommends ways to improve the usefulness of the technology for suggesting leads in criminal investigations. It also advises against the construction of a national reference database that would include images from test-fires of every newly manufactured or imported firearm in the United States. The book also suggests further research on an alternate method for generating an investigative lead to the location where a gun was first sold: "microstamping," the direct imprinting of unique identifiers on firearm parts or ammunition. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Charles F. Wellford A2 - Betty M. Chemers A2 - Julie A. Schuck TI - Strengthening the National Institute of Justice SN - DO - 10.17226/12929 PY - 2010 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12929/strengthening-the-national-institute-of-justice PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Policy for Science and Technology AB - The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the nation's primary resource for advancing scientific research, development, and evaluation on crime and crime control and the administration of justice in the United States. Headed by a presidentially appointed director, it is one of the major units in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice. Under its authorizing legislation, NIJ awards grants and contracts to a variety of public and private organizations and individuals. At the request of NIJ, Strengthening the National Institute of Justice assesses the operations and quality of the full range of its programs. These include social science research, science and technology research and development, capacity building, and technology assistance. The book concludes that a federal research institute such as NIJ is vital to the nation's continuing efforts to control crime and administer justice. No other federal, state, local, or private organization can do what NIJ was created to do. Forty years ago, Congress envisioned a science agency dedicated to building knowledge to support crime prevention and control by developing a wide range of techniques for dealing with individual offenders, identifying injustices and biases in the administration of justice, and supporting more basic and operational research on crime and the criminal justice system and the involvement of the community in crime control efforts. As the embodiment of that vision, NIJ has accomplished a great deal. It has succeeded in developing a body of knowledge on such important topics as hot spots policing, violence against women, the role of firearms and drugs in crime, drug courts, and forensic DNA analysis. It has helped build the crime and justice research infrastructure. It has also widely disseminated the results of its research programs to help guide practice and policy. But its efforts have been severely hampered by a lack of independence, authority, and discretionary resources to carry out its mission. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academy of Sciences A2 - Rita Guenther A2 - Micah Lowenthal A2 - Lalitha Sunderesan TI - India-United States Cooperation on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism: Summary of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/18960 PY - 2014 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18960/india-united-states-cooperation-on-science-and-technology-for-countering-terrorism PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - India and the United States are the world's two largest democracies with distinguished scientific traditions and experts in a wide range of scientific-technical fields. Given these strengths and the ability to learn from one another, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences together with the National Institute for Advanced Studies in Bangalore, India, held a joint Indian-U.S. workshop to identify and examine potential areas for substantive scientific and technical cooperation that can support counterterrorism efforts through the Homeland Security Dialogue and through direct cooperation. India-United States Cooperation on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism is the summary of that workshop. This report examines topics such as biological threats; protection of nuclear facilities; security (physical and cyber) for chemicals, chemical facilities and other critical infrastructure; and monitoring, surveillance, and emergency response. The report also identifies and examines promising areas for further Indian-U.S. cooperation. ER - TY - BOOK TI - A Convergence of Science and Law: A Summary Report of the First Meeting of the Science, Technology, and Law Panel SN - DO - 10.17226/10174 PY - 2001 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10174/a-convergence-of-science-and-law-a-summary-report-of PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Policy for Science and Technology KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - This report is a summary of the first meeting of the Science, Technology, and Law Panel. The Policy Division of the National Research Council established the panel to bring the science and engineering community and the legal community together on a regular basis to explore pressing issues, to improve communication, and to help resolve such issues between these communities. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - The Age of Expert Testimony: Science in the Courtroom: Report of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/10272 PY - 2002 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10272/the-age-of-expert-testimony-science-in-the-courtroom-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Biology and Life Sciences ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Katrina Baum Stone TI - Measuring Law Enforcement Suicide: Challenges and Opportunities: Proceedings of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/27216 PY - 2023 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27216/measuring-law-enforcement-suicide-challenges-and-opportunities-proceedings-of-a PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - From April 25-26, 2023 the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to identify challenges in and opportunities for measuring suicide in the law enforcement occupation. Experts in the field met to identify ways to improve the measurement of suicide by current and former police and corrections officers, dispatchers, and other sworn and civilian personnel, in public and private organizations. This proceedings provides a synthesis of key themes identified during the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - The Polygraph and Lie Detection SN - DO - 10.17226/10420 PY - 2003 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10420/the-polygraph-and-lie-detection PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences AB - The polygraph, often portrayed as a magic mind-reading machine, is still controversial among experts, who continue heated debates about its validity as a lie-detecting device. As the nation takes a fresh look at ways to enhance its security, can the polygraph be considered a useful tool? The Polygraph and Lie Detection puts the polygraph itself to the test, reviewing and analyzing data about its use in criminal investigation, employment screening, and counter-intelligence. The book looks at: The theory of how the polygraph works and evidence about how deceptiveness—and other psychological conditions—affect the physiological responses that the polygraph measures. Empirical evidence on the performance of the polygraph and the success of subjects' countermeasures. The actual use of the polygraph in the arena of national security, including its role in deterring threats to security. The book addresses the difficulties of measuring polygraph accuracy, the usefulness of the technique for aiding interrogation and for deterrence, and includes potential alternatives—such as voice-stress analysis and brain measurement techniques. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighter: A Symposium Report SN - DO - 10.17226/12735 PY - 2009 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12735/avoiding-technology-surprise-for-tomorrows-warfighter-a-symposium-report PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - On April 29, 2009 the National Research Council held a 1-day symposium titled, 'Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighter.' This volume, a report of the symposium, highlights key challenges confronting the scientific and technical intelligence (S & TI) community and explores potential solutions that might enable the S & TI community to overcome those challenges. The symposium captured comments and observations from representatives from combatant commands and supporting governmental organizations, together with those of symposium participants, in order to elucidate concepts and trends, knowledge of which could be used to improve the Department of Defense's technology warning capability. Topics addressed included issues stemming from globalization of science and technology, challenges to U.S. warfighters that could result from technology surprise, examples of past technological surprise, and the strengths and weaknesses of current S & TI analysis. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighter: Symposium 2010 SN - DO - 10.17226/12919 PY - 2010 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12919/avoiding-technology-surprise-for-tomorrows-warfighter-symposium-2010 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - The Symposium on Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighter is a forum for consumers and producers of scientific and technical intelligence to exchange perspectives on the potential sources of emerging or disruptive technologies and behaviors, with the goal of improving the Department of Defense's technological warning capability. This volume summarizes the key themes identified in the second and most recent symposium, a two-day event held in Suffolk, Virginia, on April 28 and 29, 2010. The symposium combined presentations highlighting cutting-edge technology topics with facilitated discourse among all participants. Three categories of surprise were identified: breakthroughs in product and process technology, new uses of existing technology, and the unexpectedly rapid progression of a technology to operational use. The incorporation of an adversary's own culture, history, beliefs, and value systems into analyses also emerged in discussions as an important factor in reducing surprise. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Institute of Medicine TI - Child Health and Human Rights DO - 10.17226/9154 PY - 1994 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9154/child-health-and-human-rights PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Health and Medicine ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Black and Smokeless Powders: Technologies for Finding Bombs and the Bomb Makers SN - DO - 10.17226/6289 PY - 1998 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/6289/black-and-smokeless-powders-technologies-for-finding-bombs-and-the PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - Some 600 pipe bomb explosions have occurred annually in the United States during the past several years. How can technology help protect the public from these homemade devices? This book, a response to a Congressional mandate, focuses on ways to improve public safety by preventing bombings involving smokeless or black powders and apprehending the makers of the explosive devices. It examines technologies used for detection of explosive devices before they explode—including the possible addition of marking agents to the powders—and technologies used in criminal investigations for identification of these powders—including the possible addition of taggants to the powders—in the context of current technical capabilities. The book offers general conclusions and recommendations about the detection of devices containing smokeless and black powders and the feasibility of identifying makers of the devices from recovered powder or residue. It also makes specific recommendations about marking and tagging technologies. This volume follows the work reported in Containing the Threat from Illegal Bombings (NRC 1998), which studied similar issues for bombings that utilize high explosives. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Science Needs for Microbial Forensics: Developing Initial International Research Priorities SN - DO - 10.17226/18737 PY - 2014 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18737/science-needs-for-microbial-forensics-developing-initial-international-research-priorities PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Health and Medicine AB - Microbial forensics is a scientific discipline dedicated to analyzing evidence from a bioterrorism act, biocrime, or inadvertent microorganism or toxin release for attribution purposes. This emerging discipline seeks to offer investigators the tools and techniques to support efforts to identify the source of a biological threat agent and attribute a biothreat act to a particular person or group. Microbial forensics is still in the early stages of development and faces substantial scientific challenges to continue to build capacity. The unlawful use of biological agents poses substantial dangers to individuals, public health, the environment, the economies of nations, and global peace. It also is likely that scientific, political, and media-based controversy will surround any investigation of the alleged use of a biological agent, and can be expected to affect significantly the role that scientific information or evidence can play. For these reasons, building awareness of and capacity in microbial forensics can assist in our understanding of what may have occurred during a biothreat event, and international collaborations that engage the broader scientific and policy-making communities are likely to strengthen our microbial forensics capabilities. One goal would be to create a shared technical understanding of the possibilities - and limitations - of the scientific bases for microbial forensics analysis. Science Needs for Microbial Forensics: Developing Initial International Research Priorities, based partly on a workshop held in Zabgreb, Croatia in 2013, identifies scientific needs that must be addressed to improve the capabilities of microbial forensics to investigate infectious disease outbreaks and provide evidence of sufficient quality to support legal proceedings and the development of government policies. This report discusses issues of sampling, validation, data sharing, reference collection, research priorities, global disease monitoring, and training and education to promote international collaboration and further advance the field. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Disrupting Improvised Explosive Device Terror Campaigns: Basic Research Opportunities: A Workshop Report SN - DO - 10.17226/12437 PY - 2008 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12437/disrupting-improvised-explosive-device-terror-campaigns-basic-research-opportunities-a PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - Countering the threat of improvised explosive devices (IED)s is a challenging, multilayered problem. The IED itself is just the most publicly visible part of an underlying campaign of violence, the IED threat chain. Improving the technical ability to detect the device is a primary objective, but understanding of the goals of the adversary; its sources of materiel, personnel, and money; the sociopolitical environment in which it operates; and other factors, such as the cultural mores that it must observe or override for support, may also be critical for impeding or halting the effective use of IEDs. Disrupting Improvised Explosive Device Terror Campaigns focuses on the human dimension of terror campaigns and also on improving the ability to predict these activities using collected and interpreted data from a variety of sources. A follow-up to the 2007 book, Countering the Threat of Improvised Explosive Devices: Basic Research Opportunities, this book summarizes two workshops held in 2008. ER -