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Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward
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INDEX 319
hair analysis, 131, 160
interpreting evidence, 41, 100, 139
judicial education programs, 235
jury comprehension of evidence,
236-237
laboratories, 36, 40, 41, 58, 65, 68, 131,
132
mitochondrial (mtDNA) testing, 7, 38,
47, 130-131, 132, 160-161, 182,
188, 227
nuclear testing, 7, 38, 47, 87, 100, 115,
128, 130-131, 139, 155, 161, 182,
188
President’s DNA Initiative, 41, 71, 235
proficiency testing, 40, 41, 132, 200,
207
reporting of results, 132
research, 13, 71-72, 73, 74-75, 101, 109
semen profiling, 73, 74
SNP testing, 74, 131, 227
standards and quality control, 40, 41,
65, 114-115, 131-132, 197, 200, 207
training and expertise, 13, 71, 132
validity and reliability, 7, 40, 41, 42, 47,
87, 99-100, 103, 104, 114-115, 121,
128, 130, 133, 139, 155
workload, 39, 40, 41, 72
Y STR testing, 131
DNA Identification Act, 197, 200, 207
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),
65, 203
Drug identification. See Controlled
substance
DRUGFIRE database, 151
Drylabbing, 45, 193
E
Ear prints, 145, 149, 150
Education and training
accreditation of, 75, 197, 225, 228-229,
237
advanced courses, 227
apprenticeship model, 15, 26-27, 140,
187, 217, 224, 232, 233, 238
associate degree, 148, 220-221, 225
challenges and improvement
opportunities, 14, 224-229
continuing education, 197, 218, 231,
233-234, 236, 259-260
“CSI effect,” 222
curriculum, 27, 227-228, 233-234, 238
deficiencies in, 44-45, 78
demand for forensic practitioners and,
218-221
by discipline, 220
doctoral programs, 223, 230
funding, 62, 66, 71, 223, 230-231, 237
in-service programs, 27, 227, 232
institutions offering programs, 229
of judicial community, 27, 178,
234-238
medical examiners and coroners, 6, 49,
50, 242-243, 247-249, 255, 256,
259-260, 264-265
proliferation of programs, 222-223
purposes, 217-218
quality of programs, 224-225
recommendations, 27-28, 239
and reliability of evidence, 16, 129 n.4
requirement for accreditation or
certification, 197, 231-232
research component, 230-231
sources, 16, 66, 69, 70, 73, 197, 229
standardization of materials, 189
standards for, 201, 224, 225-226, 237
status, 218-223, 231-234
training needs, 15-16, 218, 232-233
undergraduate and graduate programs,
27, 217, 220, 223, 224, 225-229,
238
variability within and across disciplines,
7, 15
European Network of Forensic Science
Institutes, 135, 202, 207
Evidence processing
backlogs and, 37
chain of custody, 36, 182, 233
computer-generated files, 182
errors in, 4-5, 9, 45, 47, 57, 100
impacts of, 37, 45
Exclusionary evidence, 36, 51, 82, 127 n.1,
131, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 149,
156, 157, 160, 167, 204-205
Exculpatory evidence, suppression, 45, 107
n.81
Expert testimony. See also Admissibility
of forensic evidence; Interpretation
of forensic evidence; Reporting of
results
access to, 11, 98
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