Bøger af National Institute Of Justice

Where final reports are available in print, a NCJ number will be listed. All NCJ numbers listed herein can be searched through the "Library/Abstracts" link on the National Criminal Justice Reference Center (NCJRS) home page, www.ncjrs.gov. A search by NCJ number will yield an abstract of the final report as well as an Adobe PDF link to a copy of the final report or to the publisher's website. Final reports may also be found through a search by Author, Title or Subject.

On September 11, 2001, 2,792 people were killed in terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. The number of victims, the condition of their remains, and the duration of the recovery effort made the identification of the victims the most difficult ever undertaken by the forensic community in this country. In response to this need, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, brought together a group of experts to provide advice and support throughout the identification effort. Called the Kinship and Data Analysis Panel (KADAP), the group made recommendations on new forensic technologies, tools, policies, and procedures to help identify those who perished in the WTC attack. This report contains the KADAP's "lessons learned," particularly regarding DNA protocols, laboratory techniques, and statistical approaches, in the DNA identification of WTC victims. It is written primarily for the Nation's forensic laboratory directors and other officials who may be responsible for organizing and managing the DNA identification response to a mass fatality incident. Although New York City's mass disaster plan on 9/11 contained lessons learned from the 1993 terrorist bombing of the WTC, it did not contain policies or procedures for identifying mass disaster victims through DNA analysis. Had this been part of the city's plan in 2001, many of the issues that arose after the attacks could have been more quickly resolved. This report discusses the incorporation of DNA identification into a mass fatality disaster plan, including how to: Establish laboratory policies and procedures, including the creation of sample collection documents; Assess the magnitude of an identification effort, and identify and acquire resources to respond; Identify reference and kinship samples; Create a comprehensive laboratory management plan, including technology management and quality assurance; Establish lines of communication between agencies, departments, victims' families, and the press. Designed to augment another NIJ publication, Mass Fatality Incidents: A Guide for Human Forensic Identification, this guide will help the Nation's forensic laboratories-whether called upon to identify victims of a major natural disaster, transportation accident, or terrorist attack-prepare for a mass fatality incident. Although this report does not address every aspect of a mass fatality DNA identification effort, it does stress intentional testing redundancy as a way to monitor a system's effectiveness. The report also discusses how decisions made in the first 48 hours after a mass fatality event shape the scope of the identification effort.

The idea of The Fingerprint Sourcebook originated during a meeting in April 2002. Individuals representing the fingerprint, academic, and scientific communities met in Chicago, Illinois, for a day and a half to discuss the state of fingerprint identification with a view toward the challenges raised by Daubert issues. The meeting was a joint project between the International Association for Identification (IAI) and West Virginia University (WVU). One recommendation that came out of that meeting was a suggestion to create a sourcebook for friction ridge examiners, that is, a single source of researched information regarding the subject. This sourcebook would provide educational, training, and research information for the international scientific community. The Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST) prepared an outline of the subjects that should be included in the sourcebook. Charles Illsley, a SWGFAST member, prepared a grant proposal for submission to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for funding of the project, with Frank Fitzpatrick as the project director and Alan and Debbie McRoberts as the sourcebook editors. Although many participants in the project were, and some remain, active members of SWGFAST, participation in the project was not restricted to SWGFAST members. NIJ provided grant funding to the WVU Forensic Science Initiative to support the project and a call for authors and reviewers was extended throughout the forensic community. The prospective authors were asked to prepare a detailed outline and an introduction for each chapter that they hoped to write. They were also asked to provide curriculum vitae. Two or more individuals volunteered for most chapters and some chapters had as many as seven volunteers. Multiple reviewers for each chapter participated and are listed at the end of each chapter. The curricula vitae for all of the authors and most reviewers are included in the appendix. After the selection of authors was made and the chapters were assigned to the various authors and coauthors, the chapters were written and multiple rounds of author revisions and review were completed. The chapters were then edited and reviewed again. The chapters were then submitted to NIJ, where additional review and editing occurred. During the NIJ edit and review process, Chapter 15 (Special Abilities and Vulnerabilities in Forensic Expertise) was added to the project because of contemporary importance placed on that research. Those NIJ employees who participated in reviewing, editing, and finalizing this book should be congratulated for their efforts in bringing this project to completion. For those who have worked in the field of fingerprint identification during the last 50 years, the influence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) leadership in providing fingerprint training is well known. However, with the creation of SWGFAST in 1995, the FBI showed great leadership in providing a mechanism to promote consensus standards within our diverse forensic community. A brief sketch about the origin of SWGFAST and a list of the past and current members of SWGFAST are included in the appendix. In the history of fingerprints, no previous effort of this magnitude has been made to assemble as much reviewed information into a single source. Using fingerprints to identify individuals has become commonplace, and that identification role is an invaluable tool worldwide.

Tragic events lead to new prevention and response strategies. We recognize that there are dangers in our communities and in our schools. These realities call for an enhanced focus on safety. The decades-old school fire drill has evolved to active shooter/threat drills as threats have escalated and materialized, often with tragic outcomes. Our nation is seeking new and innovative ways to keep children and adults safe in school settings. Far from simply developing techniques to respond efficiently to an active incident, public safety officials are also exploring technologies to gauge and prevent potential crises. And they are sharing their ideas and results. Across the country, entire communities are rallying and dedicating themselves to being proactive in preventing school violence. There is much talk about how existing programs can be reinvigorated, what new technologies can be created and how training tools can be distributed to school resource officers (SROs), administrators and local law enforcement agencies. Modern threats are being addressed with modern technology, strategy and resolve. The U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is a leader in identifying and sharing new training and technology with law enforcement and other first responders. Since Congress passed the Safe Schools Initiative 15 years ago, NIJ has worked collaboratively with other federal agencies on behalf of our nation's law enforcement to answer the call to develop tools and strategies to boost security in our schools. Front-line professionals are working more closely with teachers and administrators, students, parents and community leaders to create alliances that will transform our nation's schools.

Researchers have begun to look at the inner workings of drug courts and to investigate how key functional drug court components, singly and in combination, affect outcomes. When the evidence base resulting from such research is sufficiently strong to support meaningful conclusions about effectiveness, research can be translated into practice. This compendium presents findings from several recent studies that speak to the concerns of practitioners and policymakers about "what works." Sometimes the studies confirm what previous research has found, and sometimes they raise more questions than they answer. But in every instance, they contribute to the slowly building base of knowledge about "the drug court effect."

The National Institute of Justice is pleased to release DNA for the Defense Bar. This is the fourth publication in a series designed to increase the field's understanding of the science of DNA and its application in the courtroom. The other three publications include "Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court," "DNA: A Prosecutor's Practice Notebook," and "DNA for Law Enforcement Decision Makers." This book is specifically designed for criminal defense attorneys. You are defense counsel in a case with DNA evidence or where the absence of DNA evidence may raise factual or legal issues. DNA evidence, when properly collected and analyzed, and when relevant to an alleged crime, can have extraordinary value in the adjudication of a criminal case. This book is designed to help defense attorneys understand: The biology of DNA, Proper collection procedures for DNA evidence, Interpretation of DNA analysis and findings, When and why an expert is needed, Development of case theory in a DNA-based prosecution or in a case where there should be DNA evidence, Legal issues for pretrial and trial in cases with DNA evidence.

In a mass fatality incident, correct victim identification is essential to satisfy humanitarian considerations, meet civil and criminal investigative needs, and identify victim perpetrators. This Special Report provides medical examiners/coroners with guidelines for preparing the portion of the disaster plan concerned with victim identification and summarizes the victim identification process for other first responders. It discusses the integration of the medical examiner/coroner into the initial response process, and presents the roles of various forensic disciplines (including forensic anthropology, radiology, odontology, fingerprinting, and DNA analysis) in victim identification. This guide represents the experience of dozens of Federal, State, international, and private forensic experts who took part in the Technical Working Group for Mass Fatality Forensic Identification.