I don't think there is a thread about this yet, so I thought I would post the official announcement from NIST:
"Department of Justice and National Institute of Standards and Technology Announce Launch of National Commission on Forensic Science
For Immediate Release: February 15, 2013
Contact: Jennifer Huergo
301-975-6343
DOJ Contact: Office of Public Affairs
202-514-2007
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today the establishment of a National Commission on Forensic Science as part of a new initiative to strengthen and enhance the practice of forensic science.
The National Commission on Forensic Science will be composed of approximately 30 members, bringing together forensic science service practitioners, academic researchers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and other relevant stakeholders to develop policy recommendations for the Attorney General. The commission will consider guidance on practices for federal, state and local forensic science laboratories developed by groups of forensic science practitioners and academic researchers administered by NIST.
"Forensic science is an essential tool in the administration of justice and needs to be continually evaluated as science progresses," said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole. "Forensic science helps identify perpetrators, convict the guilty, exonerate the innocent, and protect public safety. This initiative is led by the principle that scientifically valid and accurate forensic analysis strengthens all aspects of our justice system."
"The Department of Justice and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have a history of successful collaboration," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher. "Through this initiative, we will work even more closely with the forensic science community to strengthen the forensic science system."
The commission will have responsibility for developing guidance concerning the intersections between forensic science and the courtroom and developing policy recommendations, including uniform codes for professional responsibility and requirements for training and certification.
The new initiative provides a framework for coordination across forensic disciplines under federal leadership, with state and local participation. The Department of Justice, through its involvement in the commission, will take an active role in developing policy recommendations and coordinating implementation. The NIST-administered guidance groups will develop and propose discipline-specific practice guidance that will become publicly available and be considered for endorsement by the commission and the Attorney General. This coordinated effort will help to standardize national guidance for forensic science practitioners. Additionally, NIST will continue to develop methods for forensic measurements and validate select existing forensic science standards.
Specific criteria for membership will be announced in an upcoming Federal Register notice, and applicants will have 30 days from the publication of the notice to submit their applications.
As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. To learn more about NIST, visit www.nist.gov.
National Commission on Forensic Science
-
bficken
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:39 am
Re: National Commission on Forensic Science
Other reads regarding this topic...
http://ncforensics.wordpress.com/2013/0 ... e-created/
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013 ... scientists
http://ncforensics.wordpress.com/2013/0 ... e-created/
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013 ... scientists
-
clpexco
- Site Admin
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm
Re: National Commission on Forensic Science
Forensic Science News
from the National lnstitue of Standards and Technology
Meeting on the Path Forword
Inaugural meeting launches commission on forensic science;
Organization of Scientific Area Committees announced
At THE FIRST meeting of the National Commission on Forensic Science, February 3-4,
2014 in Washington, D.C., 37 members
officially launched an effort to set
forensic science on the "path forward"
that the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) referred to five years before.
Judge Harry T. Edwards, who served
as co-chair of the NAS committee
that wrote the 2009 report, gave the
opening address at the inaugural
commission meeting. His words were
cautionary but also optimistic.
"One of our most important [recommendations
made by the NAS]
was that Congress establish a new,
independent federal entity to support
and oversee the forensic disciplines,
and to implement a fresh agenda to
address the problems in the forensic
community," said Edwards. "This
commission does not meet all of the
criteria we had in mind, but it at least
offers a measure of hope. The one
thing that I am sure of is that the
members of this commission have the
talent and wisdom to get the job done."
Those members are headed by
commission co-chairs James M. Cole
of the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) and Patrick Gallagher of the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST). Meetings are
moderated by DOJ Vice Chair
Nelson Santos and NIST Vice Chair
John Butler.
Speaking on the phone the day
after the inaugural meeting, Butler - who
has been involved in the foundational
work for the commission since
mid-2013, including selection of the 37
members----expressed both exhaustion
and exhilaration.
"It was very intense," he said.
"There's so much energy in the room.
Being the person that has to call on
who is going to be speaking, it is
analogous to holding a tiger by the
tail. But everybody wants to see
forensic science improve. Having
people from the legal community.
from the opposite side of the table,
that were willing to talk and agree that,
Yes, this is how we can go forward to
improve things... That was the most
exciting part of the meeting for me."
New Life for SWGs
One key item on the agenda for the
commission was a briefing on the
formation of the Organizatton of
Scientific Area Committees (OSAC).
With support and oversight from NIST,
OSAC will coordinate development of
standards and guidelines to improve
quality and consistency of work in the
forensic science community.
Since the early 1990s, such efforts
have been undertaken by Scientific
Working Groups (SWGs). Many of
these SWGs have been funded by
federal organizations, chiefly DOJ.
While they have been praised for
their efforls in establishing and publishing
standards within their areas of
forensic science, they have also been
criticized as lacking a standardized
organizational structure. Likewise, no
legal requirements were in place to
enforce the standards established by
the SWGs.
The concept that became OSAC
was born in response to the 2009 NAS
Report. Following the inaugural commission
meeting, OSAC was formally
presented to the forensic science community
at the American Academy of
Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Annual
Scientific Meeting in late February.
There, Mark Stolorow, director of the
Law Enforcement Standards Office at
NIST's Office of Special Programs,
explained how OSAC's role is to pick
up where the SWGs leave off.
"As DOJ ends funding for most of
the SWGs, which they announced
last summer, what's next?" asked
Stolorow. "One of the central themes of
the framework of this new organization
is to maintain access for all of the
legacy SWG documents, and to
assure that the good works that the
scientific working groups have
accomplished in their histories is not
lost, and is not in vain. One of the
primary responsibilities of this organization
is going to be to carry those
good works forward."
Central to OSAC, Butler explained,
will be community involvement. "We
will have practitioners involved, academics
and researchers... particularly
statisticians who can inform and
infuse their expertise into the process
of developing documentary standards
that can be used by the community,"
he said. "In terms of what someone at
a local crime lab can offer, they can
certainly apply to be a part of OSAC.
Get involved at that level."
For the commission, meetings will
now proceed on a quarterly basis as
the group fulfills its mission to provide
recommendations and advice to the
DOJ regarding strengthening forensic
science, improving quality control,
and identifying scientific guidance
and protocol for evidence seizure.
testing, analysis, and reporting.
For More Information
To learn more about the Organization
of Scientific Area Committees, visit:
http://www.NIST.gov/forensics/osac.cfm
from the National lnstitue of Standards and Technology
Meeting on the Path Forword
Inaugural meeting launches commission on forensic science;
Organization of Scientific Area Committees announced
At THE FIRST meeting of the National Commission on Forensic Science, February 3-4,
2014 in Washington, D.C., 37 members
officially launched an effort to set
forensic science on the "path forward"
that the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) referred to five years before.
Judge Harry T. Edwards, who served
as co-chair of the NAS committee
that wrote the 2009 report, gave the
opening address at the inaugural
commission meeting. His words were
cautionary but also optimistic.
"One of our most important [recommendations
made by the NAS]
was that Congress establish a new,
independent federal entity to support
and oversee the forensic disciplines,
and to implement a fresh agenda to
address the problems in the forensic
community," said Edwards. "This
commission does not meet all of the
criteria we had in mind, but it at least
offers a measure of hope. The one
thing that I am sure of is that the
members of this commission have the
talent and wisdom to get the job done."
Those members are headed by
commission co-chairs James M. Cole
of the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) and Patrick Gallagher of the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST). Meetings are
moderated by DOJ Vice Chair
Nelson Santos and NIST Vice Chair
John Butler.
Speaking on the phone the day
after the inaugural meeting, Butler - who
has been involved in the foundational
work for the commission since
mid-2013, including selection of the 37
members----expressed both exhaustion
and exhilaration.
"It was very intense," he said.
"There's so much energy in the room.
Being the person that has to call on
who is going to be speaking, it is
analogous to holding a tiger by the
tail. But everybody wants to see
forensic science improve. Having
people from the legal community.
from the opposite side of the table,
that were willing to talk and agree that,
Yes, this is how we can go forward to
improve things... That was the most
exciting part of the meeting for me."
New Life for SWGs
One key item on the agenda for the
commission was a briefing on the
formation of the Organizatton of
Scientific Area Committees (OSAC).
With support and oversight from NIST,
OSAC will coordinate development of
standards and guidelines to improve
quality and consistency of work in the
forensic science community.
Since the early 1990s, such efforts
have been undertaken by Scientific
Working Groups (SWGs). Many of
these SWGs have been funded by
federal organizations, chiefly DOJ.
While they have been praised for
their efforls in establishing and publishing
standards within their areas of
forensic science, they have also been
criticized as lacking a standardized
organizational structure. Likewise, no
legal requirements were in place to
enforce the standards established by
the SWGs.
The concept that became OSAC
was born in response to the 2009 NAS
Report. Following the inaugural commission
meeting, OSAC was formally
presented to the forensic science community
at the American Academy of
Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Annual
Scientific Meeting in late February.
There, Mark Stolorow, director of the
Law Enforcement Standards Office at
NIST's Office of Special Programs,
explained how OSAC's role is to pick
up where the SWGs leave off.
"As DOJ ends funding for most of
the SWGs, which they announced
last summer, what's next?" asked
Stolorow. "One of the central themes of
the framework of this new organization
is to maintain access for all of the
legacy SWG documents, and to
assure that the good works that the
scientific working groups have
accomplished in their histories is not
lost, and is not in vain. One of the
primary responsibilities of this organization
is going to be to carry those
good works forward."
Central to OSAC, Butler explained,
will be community involvement. "We
will have practitioners involved, academics
and researchers... particularly
statisticians who can inform and
infuse their expertise into the process
of developing documentary standards
that can be used by the community,"
he said. "In terms of what someone at
a local crime lab can offer, they can
certainly apply to be a part of OSAC.
Get involved at that level."
For the commission, meetings will
now proceed on a quarterly basis as
the group fulfills its mission to provide
recommendations and advice to the
DOJ regarding strengthening forensic
science, improving quality control,
and identifying scientific guidance
and protocol for evidence seizure.
testing, analysis, and reporting.
For More Information
To learn more about the Organization
of Scientific Area Committees, visit:
http://www.NIST.gov/forensics/osac.cfm
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.