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Who is Better at Face Recognition- Algorithms or People?
Since 2018, NIST researcher Jonathan Phillips and his multi-institutional team have been delving into the accuracy of super recognizers, forensic examiners and facial recognition algorithms. read more
California Police Make Arrest in 25-Year-Old Sexual Assault Case
Twenty-five years ago in October 1995, an 18-year-old female victim was walking in the 8800 block of Indiana Avenue when a stranger attacked her. read more
Mental Health Workers to Replace Police in Some NYC 911 Calls
Mental health workers will replace police officers in responding to some 911 calls next year in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. read more
Trauma Hospitalizations Fall in Philly During COVID-19, But Gun Violence Rises
Philadelphia hospitals saw a drop in overall trauma cases once Pennsylvania enacted a COVID-19-related stay-at-home order in 2020, but gun violence remained a significant problem. read more
Grant Establishes, Extends SANE Programs in Texas
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) recently received a grant that will help support and empower sexual assault survivors and victims. read more
Drug Screening: Targeted GC-MS Method Shows 135% Increase in Retention Time
In collaboration with the Maryland State Police, NIST is developing a novel, targeted GC-MS method for drug screening that shows enhanced separation of isomers and increased sensitivity compared with traditional methods. read more
DNA Doe Project Working to ID Victims of California's Deadliest Wildfire
Before the fire was fully contained 17 days later, 85 lives had been lost. Conditions had conspired to cause an intensely hot firestorm. Recovery and identifications of the victims proved difficult. read more
Well Excavated in Search for Remains of Missing Woman from 2001 Cold Case
Remains found during an excavation connected to a cold case in Watertown have been sent to a forensic lab for analysis, according to investigators. read more
New Initiative to Reduce Law Enforcement Driving Risks
Imagine you are an officer en route to a critical call for service. You look down for a moment at your mobile data terminal for an important message from dispatch, and immediately return your focus on the road. In that split second, a civilian motorist crosses into your travel lane and forces you to... read more
Whitey Bulger’s Family: Prison System Did Not Protect Him
Family members of Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger Jr. have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons and 30 unnamed employees of the prison system for failing to protect Bulger, who was beaten to death at a West Virginia prison. read more
Opinion: The Forensic Sciences Have a Diversity, Inclusion Problem
A recent decision by the Executive Committee of AAFS to eliminate an important and productive diversity committee—and my consequent resignation as Chair of the AAFS Diversity Outreach Committee—has sparked intense discussions in the forensic community. read more
Isotopes in Bones Conclude Early Big-game Hunters Were Female
For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals a different story. read more
DHS Awards $2 M to Create National Network of Cybersecurity Institutes
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has awarded $2 million to the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute to develop a plan that CISA can execute to build a national network of cybersecurity technical institutes. read more
Arizona's Report on Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls Has Over 50 Recommendations
After nearly a year of in-depth research, which was slowed by COVID-19 and some enforcement agencies choosing not to participate, Arizona got its clearest picture to date of the increasing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. read more
Kentucky Police Head Resigns after Report on Old Training
The head of Kentucky State Police is stepping down days after a report surfaced about old training materials the agency used that encouraged cadets to be “ruthless” and quoted Adolf Hitler. read more