Statistics for Fingerprints Course May 24-28

[g.]

The following announcement comes with the caveat/warning that this is still going through Administrative
Approval, but rather than wait for the final approval, which could be weeks, we have decided to make announcements
now to allow as much time for you to seek approval from your agency. See note at end...

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in St. Paul, Minnesota will host the course "The Application of Statistics to the ACE-V Methodology, Fingerprints, and other Pattern Evidence"

It is a 5-day course, May 24-28, 2010, 0800-1630, with Friday end time at 1500.
The course will be instructed by Dr. Cedric Neumann and Glenn Langenburg

Email Glenn.Langenburg@state.mn.us for a course outline/schedule and to reserve your seat today.
Interested parties will receive more emails from me later, with a registration form and instructions for tuition payment (after
the course has been officially approved). My direct number is (651) 793-2967 if you have questions.

Tuition cost is $500 and the number of seats is limited to 20. The course is aimed at FINGERPRINT PRACTIONERS, but forensic scientists in other disciplines, attorneys, quality managers, or administrators interested in learning about probabilities and their potential application for forensic evidence are also welcome to take the course, but we would recommend just coming for the first 3 days of theory. The last 2 days move into specific fingerprint applications/exercises. Such persons should contact me directly for a pro-rated tuition rate and be placed on a different list. (the 20 seat limit is only for persons staying all 5 days)

The course is a blend of lectures and exercises on the topics of:
-basic probability and theory
-conditional probabilities and diagnostic testing trees
-fingerprint modeling
-legal issues surrounding probabilities in court
-practical fingerprint comparison exercises using a statistical model
-"mock" court exercises for reporting probabilistic statements

The math in the course is kept simple and to a minimum. A calculator for basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is recommended (but not required...and yes your cell phone calculator will work just fine).

The course will be held at the BCA Laboratory located at 1430 Maryland Avenue in St. Paul, MN. There are recommended hotels listed below (LivInn Suites will be the primary hotel recommendation at $45/night!), but given there are no hotels in walking distance from the lab, students will need to either car pool, rent a car, or take a taxi (about $17/1 way). Lack of transportation should NOT stop you from attending, as the first day, we can send some cars to pick people up, and after that try to help people meet each other and car pool together. The lab and hotel are only about 5 miles apart.

Flights are best booked through MSP (Minneapolis, St Paul airport) with Delta as the core/hub city provider. The airport is approximately 10 miles south of the hotel and lab. This is about a $30 cab fare/1way. They have plenty of rental agencies in the airport. The hotel and lab are very near to I-94 and I-35E, if you are considering driving here.

Total budget for this course:
Approx. $400 airfare (variable)
Tuition $500
Hotel: $350
Rental car $300 (variable, or not needed if car pooling)
Per diem $40/day (variable) ($250)
Total approx: $1500, $1800 with rental car

And as always, you will find as hosts, we will help organize several social nights, including the famous Mall of America (a 4-story mall with indoor amusement park, rollercoasters, and other entertainment), some local restaurants, and towards the weekend, Thur and Fri (for those willing to stay on Friday night), some nightclubbing downtown in Minneapolis. Always a good time.... Incidentally May in Minnesota is perfect, the mosquitoes aren't out yet and fishing season is in high gear. Fishermen/women, bring your gear. We have plenty of people at the lab always looking to give someone a tour of the lakes. Also several golf courses nearby too.

HOTELS

LivInn Suites
(651) 738-1600
Call M-F between 7AM and 3PM. Ask for Derek and
the "BCA GROUP" rate of $45/night + tax. (yes, $45 and
it's not a bad place, free wireless, parking, lake view rooms)

http://www.livinnsuites.com/locations.php

Also nearby are the:

Holiday Inn Express, Woodbury
877-859-5095 for reservations
9840 Norma Lane, Woodbury, MN
$70/night government rate

Embassy Suites, Downtown St Paul
(very good location for things to do downtown)
175 East 10th Street, Saint Paul, MN‎ - (651) 224-5400
Govt rate of $137/night, parking $10/night


DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE: the course is still subject to admin approval (but all signs point to "yes", there is just some official red tape to work out in setting up the course. As such, I recommend you submit requests to your agency, get approval to attend, but don't rush out and buy an airline ticket or start sending tuition checks until you hear back from me that it is officially approved).

Oh and you may want to watch "Fargo" before attending....