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Oxygen Isotopes Help ID 2016 Human Remains
June 17, 2020
In May 2017, the Sheriff’s Office requested ISO Forensics to pull oxygen isotopes from the remains to predict areas of the United States that the victim could be from. read more
Australian Study Finds 15 New Psychoactive Substances in Wastewater
June 16, 2020
The most comprehensive wastewater study ever undertaken in Australia has revealed the presence of 15 new psychoactive substances in the country’s metropolitan and regional wastewaters over the past three years. read more
Microsoft Joins Amazon, IBM in Pausing Face Scans for Police
June 16, 2020
Microsoft has become the third big tech company to say it won’t sell its facial recognition software to police, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM. read more
Familial DNA Leads to Indictment of Cleveland Man
June 16, 2020
After further investigation, the case was identified as a candidate for the department's familial DNA search tool, which mines CODIS to find DNA that may match that of an offender’s relative. read more
Technique Suggests Adding UV/IR Photography to Fingerprint Retrieval Process
June 15, 2020
Deciding how to process evidence when looking to retrieve identifiable friction ridge patterns can be difficult at times. read more
Parabon Helps Solve 42-Year-Old Cold Case in Florida
June 15, 2020
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators launched a full investigation, several suspects were interviewed and investigated. DNA evidence was collected on scene, but lack of technology made it impossible to use for an arrest. read more
A.I. Makes Blurry Faces Look More Than 60 Times Sharper
June 15, 2020
Researchers have developed an AI tool that can turn blurry, unrecognizable pictures of people's faces into eerily convincing computer-generated portraits, in finer detail than ever before. read more
Maine AG to Review 2007 Police Shooting, Forensic Evidence Doesn't Match Statements
June 15, 2020
Maine AG Aaron Frey agreed to review the fatal shooting of a teenager by a police officer more than a decade ago. The forensic evidence didn’t sync with statements the police officer made about the shooting to investigators. read more
New Approach to DNA Data Storage Makes System More Dynamic, Scalable
June 15, 2020
Researchers have developed a fundamentally new approach to DNA data storage systems, giving users the ability to read or modify data files without destroying them and making the systems easier to scale up for practical use. read more
Despite Improvements, New York State Police Lab Has an 88% Sexual Assault Kit Backlog
June 12, 2020
As of Oct. 31, 2019, the FIC had 1,916 kits that needed to be processed, and the required processing time of 90 days had elapsed for 1,681 of them, or 88%. read more
How Dashcams Help, Hinder Forensic Investigations
June 12, 2020
A researcher has assessed seven different types of dashcams' SD storage systems to see how they help and hinder digital forensics. read more
FBI: $100,000 Reward in Kansas Cold Case
June 12, 2020
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the death of Alonzo Brooks. Brooks’ body was found in a creek in La Cygne, Kan., on May 1, 2004. read more
Continued Cold Case Success Leads to Expansion of Bode’s Forensic Genealogy Team
June 12, 2020
The expansion is another sign of the repeated impact forensic genealogy is having by enhancing public safety, exonerating the innocent, and bringing justice for victims and their families. read more
New York Passes Bill to Unveil Police Discipline Records
June 12, 2020
New York state lawmakers repealed a decades-old law Tuesday that has kept law enforcement officers’ disciplinary records secret, spurred by the national uproar over the death of George Floyd. read more
Texas State To Study the Use of Drones to Locate Human Remains
June 10, 2020
Over the course of the two-year project, forensic anthropologists will explore the capabilities and limitations of drones as tools for locating and identifying human remains. read more
Better Support for Sexual Abuse Victims Under New Training for Australian First Responders
June 10, 2020
A new federal grant awarded to Monash University will improve the way frontline workers and health professionals respond to victims of sexual violence. read more
IBM Quits Facial Recognition Business Over Racial Concerns
June 10, 2020
IBM is getting out of the facial recognition business, saying it's concerned about how the technology can be used for mass surveillance and racial profiling. read more
Study: AI Sentencing Tools Need to be Closely Scrutinized
June 10, 2020
In a new paper, experts take a critical look at the growing use of algorithmic risk assessment tools, which act as a form of expert scientific evidence in a growing number of criminal cases. read more
On the Frontlines of the Worst Crimes: New True Crime Podcast Seeks to Humanize Law Enforcement
June 09, 2020
Eighteen years after he worked as the assistant district attorney in the brutal kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, David Brent still has every word from her mother’s victim impact statement stored in his phone. read more
Fingerprints are Harder to Detect on Scotland’s Polymer Banknotes
June 08, 2020
Compared with the old cotton paper notes, the polymer notes are non-porous, have a large amount of background pattern interference, and lack surface uniformity. read more