OSAC Lexicon

A friction ridge image from the palm (side and underside) of the hand. A full palm printincludes the area from the wrist to the tips of the fingers.

Acronym for Palm print Acquisition Profile. It is a series of sets of progressively morestringent parameters and requirements relevant to palm print acquisition.

The imprint of a paper fiber in the ribbon substrate. (SWGDOC E11)

A writing movement sweeping over or under a signature in a stylistic manner, and is considered to be a part of the signature.

Credit: Academy Standards Board

person or organization that implements or operates under the rules and procedures (5.2) of a conformity assessment system (4.8) or scheme (4.9) without being involved in their development, revision or approval

particles which exhibit properties that are also commonly found in environmental particles from numerous sources. 

Discussion—These particles have limited value in examinations for pGSR but can assist with the interpretation of a population of particles or the likelihood that the population is pGSR when present in addition to particles that are characteristic of pGSR or consistent with pGSR, or both.
 

The deposition of a clear polymer coating on a document(s) within a vacuum chamber to strengthen and stabilize the document(s). (ANSI/ASB Std 127)

a FR search of a probe image against a database to generate a candidate list.

A trained final response given by the canine that requires an inactive behavior such as sitting, staring or lying down. These types of behaviors are typically trained so as not to disturb the environment and/or forensic evidence. (See passive response, response.)

Any component of a building or structure that provides protection from fire or smoke without any type of system activation or movement. [3, 2018]

A type of response that the canine displays/indicates in a manner that does not disturb the environment (i.e., sit, stand, lie quietly, or focus/stare after the detector canine has detected a trained odor). (See passive alert.)

Returning to a portion of the writing for the retouching of a stroke, letter, or character.

Skeletal abnormality resulting from disease processes.

Skeletal abnormality resulting from disease processes.

The study of disease processes and anomalies as they affect the human skeleton.

A region of friction ridge skin in which minutiae were forced to form due to pattern type and existing ridge fields during friction ridge formation. As these minutiae form more predictably, their configurations are more common and less random. 

NOTE For example, in the outflow of a loop, many ridges converged during formation, which forced many ridge endings to form as space ran out.

An optional device on a check writer that perforates or shreds a pattern above the numeric impression region for the purpose of protecting the payee entry from alteration. (SWGDOC E07)

Pulse Code Modulation. Refers to a method of representing an analog audio waveform with a series of quantizeddigital sample values.

A version of the WAV file format which saves the data as uncompressed linear PCM samples with a standard RIFFheader.

An additive for optimizing the specificity and yield of a PCR reaction.

Any substance that interferes with or prevents the synthesis of DNA during the amplification process.

Any substance that interferes with or prevents the synthesis of DNA during the amplification process.

The maximum Y-axis value obtained for a data peak, measured in relative fluorescence units.

The visual images of an allele or nucleotide in a DNA sequence as represented on an electropherogram by relative fluorescent units.

A family tree or a structure depicting relatedness and position of known and unknownpersons.

assessment of a body against specified requirements (5.1) by representatives of other bodies in, or candidates for, an agreement group (9.10)
Note 1 to entry: “Candidates” are included for the situation where a new group is being formed, at which time there would be no bodies in the group.
Note 2 to entry: The term “peer assessment” is sometimes referred to as “peer evaluation”.
 

An independent evaluation of a scientific, professional, or academic manuscript or publication by one or more qualified parties to evaluate the claims, methods, interpretations, and conclusions.

Also referenced in ANSI/ASB Technical Report 025, Crime Scene/Death Investigation - Dogs and Sensors - Terms and Definitions, ASTM E2916-13 Standard Terminology for Digital and Multimedia Evidence Examination.

The distribution of projectile impacts from multiple projectiles fired from a shot cartridge or shotshell. 

NOTE Pellet patterns can be used to estimate the muzzle-to-target distance and/or angle of incidence.

The direction the pen moves to produce a character, connection, or signature. (NIST HF)

The act of forcing the pen against the paper surface with increased pressure. When the pen point has flexibility, this emphasis produces shading; but with more rigid writing points such as ball point pens, heavy pen emphasis can occur without any evidence of shading.

An interruption in a stroke caused by removing the writing instrument from the writing surface.

The writing portion of a dip pen or fountain pen.

The relationship of the writing instrument to the writing surface.

The force with which the writing instrument contacts the paper. (SWGDOC T01)

Projectile damage where the projectile entered and did not exit a target.

Projectile damage where the projectile entered and exited a target.

A small hole or a group of small holes punched in a sheet of paper.

A quality assurance measure to assess the functionality of laboratory instruments, reagents and equipment that affect the accuracy and/or validity of forensic sample analysis.

A quality assurance measure to assess the functionality of laboratory instruments and equipment that affect the accuracy or validity of forensic sample analysis.