OSAC Standards Bulletin

The OSAC Registry is a repository of high-quality, technically sound published and proposed standards for forensic science. These written documents define minimum requirements, best practices, standard protocols, and other guidance to help ensure that the results of forensic analyses are reliable and reproducible.

Seven New Standards Added to the Registry

SDO Published Standards (added September 7, 2021):

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 009, Best Practice Recommendations for the Examination of Human Remains by Forensic Pathologists in the Disaster Victim Identification Context, First Edition, 2019.

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 049, Best Practice Recommendation for Lifting of Footwear and Tire Impressions, First Edition, 2020. 

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 089, Best Practice Recommendation for Facial Approximation in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2020. 

• *ASTM E1588-20 Standard Practice for Gunshot Residue Analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry. 

• *ASTM E3272-21 Standard Guide for Collection of Soils and Other Geological Evidence for Criminal Forensic Applications.

*criminal justice agencies can access the astm standards listed above by visiting osac's access to standards webpage.

OSAC Proposed Standards

• OSAC 2021-N-0015, Guiding Principles for Scene Investigation and Reconstruction. 
• OSAC 2021-N-0016, Standard for Initial Response at Scenes by Law Enforcement. 

Standards Open for Comment for OSAC Registry Approval

SDO Published Standards

The OSAC Registry approval process for published standards is used to review existing SDO published standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. Please submit your comments by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 4, 2021 on whether the following SDO published standards should be included on the Registry.

• NFPA 921-21 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation. Submit your comments here. 
• NFPA 1033-22 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigators. Submit your comments here. 

OSAC Proposed Standards

The OSAC Registry approval process for OSAC Proposed Standards is used to review OSAC drafted standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. The following OSAC draft proposed standards are being considered for submission to an SDO. The final draft provided to the SDO will be available on the OSAC Registry as an “OSAC Proposed Standard.” OSAC welcomes comments on whether the current draft is suitable for release to the SDO as well as suggestions for improvements in content and wording. To be considered, comments must be placed in the OSAC Comment Form and sent to comments [at] nist.gov (comments[at]nist[dot]gov) by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 4, 2021.

• OSAC 2021-S-0013, Standard Guide for Post Mortem Photography.
  • OSAC 2021-S-0013 STRP Report | Task group response to STRP report
• OSAC 2021-N-0030, Terminology for a Suspected Pattern of Dental Origin.
• OSAC 2021-N-0035, Standard Guide for Scanning Facial Images for Manual Comparison.
• OSAC 2021-N-0039, Standard for a Mentorship Program in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis.

note: OSAC Resource Task Group (RTG) members are encouraged to comment on these standards by downloading the RTG Comment Table and submitting it to forensics [at] nist.gov (forensics[at]nist[dot]gov) in accordance with the registry approval process. 

New SDO Published Standards

The following standards have recently been published by the Academy Standards Board (ASB):

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 008, Mass Fatality Scene Processing: Best Practice Recommendations for the Medicolegal Authority, First Edition, 2021. Initially drafted by OSAC’s Medicolegal Death Investigation Subcommittee and finalized by ASB’s Disaster Victim Identification Consensus Body, this document provides definitions, guidelines, and best practices for the detection, processing, and recovery of physical and contextual evidence associated with mass fatality disaster scenes to ensure that evidence is carefully and consistently documented and recovered in situ. This document focuses on terrestrial scenes that do not involve a significant hazardous materials component.
• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 050, Best Practice Recommendation for Photographic Documentation of Footwear and Tire Impression Evidence, First Edition, 2021. Initially drafted by OSAC’s Footwear & Tire Subcommittee and finalized by ASB’s Footwear and Tire Consensus Body, this document provides the best practice recommendations for personnel responsible for photographic documentation of footwear and tire impressions for future examinations. Deviations from this document may/may not preclude examination of captured images. The procedures included in this document may not cover all aspects of footwear and tire photography. This document is not intended as a substitute for training in the documentation and photography of footwear and tire track evidence. 
• ANSI/ASB Standard 119, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Medicolegal Death Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Initially drafted by OSAC’s Forensic Toxicology Subcommittee and finalized by ASB’s Toxicology Consensus Body, this standard delineates the minimum requirements for target analytes and analytical sensitivity for the forensic toxicological testing of blood specimens collected in medicolegal death investigations. This standard does not cover the analysis of urine, tissues, or other specimens that are commonly analyzed in medicolegal death investigations. 
• ANSI/ASB Standard 120, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Impaired Driving Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Initially drafted by OSAC’s Forensic Toxicology Subcommittee and finalized by ASB’s Toxicology Consensus Body, this standard delineates the minimum requirements for target analytes and analytical sensitivity for the forensic toxicological testing of blood specimens collected from drivers suspected of being impaired. This standard does not cover the analysis of breath, oral fluid, urine, or other specimen types collected in impaired driving investigations.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 131, Standard for Training in Forensic DNA Sequencing using Capillary Electrophoresis, First Edition, 2021. Initially drafted by OSAC’s Human Forensic Biology Subcommittee and finalized by ASB’s DNA Consensus Body, this standard provides the general requirements for a forensic DNA laboratory’s training program in forensic DNA sequencing using capillary electrophoresis. This standard applies to forensic human and wildlife mitochondrial DNA capillary electrophoresis sequencing, and wildlife nuclear DNA capillary electrophoresis sequencing.

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

ASB: For the ASB documents listed below, download the comment template and return it to asb [at] aafs.org (asb[at]aafs[dot]org) by the comment deadline. 

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 096, Standard Method for the Examination and Documentation of Ammunition and Ammunition Components, First Edition. This standard provides procedures for the examination and documentation of ammunition and/or ammunition components by forensic firearm and toolmark examiners or technicians. Following these procedures, an examiner or technician will be able to document and report the examination of ammunition and/or ammunition components. This document does not cover the microscopic comparison of toolmarks on ammunition components. Comment deadline September 20, 2021. 
• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 136, Forensic Laboratory Standard for Prevention, Monitoring, and Mitigation of Human DNA Contamination, First Edition. This standard provides requirements for limiting, detecting, assessing the source of, and mitigating the effect of DNA contamination as applied to PCR-based human DNA analysis conducted within a forensic laboratory (i.e., casework and DNA database). Comment deadline September 27, 2021.

• ASB Best Practice Recommendation 160, Best Practice Recommendation for Initial Response at Scenes by Law Enforcement Officers, First Edition. This best practice recommendation provides guidance for the initial response by law enforcement officers (LEOs) to scenes. The guidance includes: arrival procedure, safety considerations, medical intervention, assessing the scene, preventing scene contamination, scene containment and control, evidence identification and preservation, turning the scene over to investigators, and documenting actions and observations. It does not include guidance for a complete scene investigation. Comment deadline October 18, 2021.

*Comments on a re-circulation will only be accepted on revised sections of a document. Comments made to text not revised from the original comment period will not be accepted.

Work Proposals for New or Revised Standards

The following document is being initiated and is expected to result in a new or revised standard.

ASB:

• On August 20, 2021, a PINS was published on page two in the ANSI Standards Action. This will begin a 30-day period for public comment on the initiation of ASB’s work on the following document:
  • BSR/ASB 148, Standard for Personal Identification in Forensic Anthropology. This standard provides approaches for establishing a personal identification in forensic anthropology using both scientific identification methods and contributory anthropological findings. This standard does not address identification of living individuals.

Register to Attend OSAC's Annual Public Update Meeting

Want to know more about all the standards and other activities OSAC has been working on? Join us September 29, 2021 for OSAC’s Annual Public Update Meeting! This virtual event will feature presentations from the chairs of OSAC’s seven Scientific Area Committees and the Forensic Science Standards Board. Each presenter will describe their unit’s activities, including the standards they are working on, challenges being addressed, and priorities for the upcoming year. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions and share feedback. Learn more and register.

Other Forensic Science News, Events, & Training

AAFS Standards Board (ASB)

The ASB has published an updated Manual and Style Guide for ASB Standards, Guidelines, Best Practice Recommendations, and Technical Reports and also has an ASB Supplemental Style Guide as a companion document to this manual. There are some significant changes to this updated version, including more detailed descriptions of the ASB document types, standards and best practice recommendations, and the addition of an ASB Guideline document type. There are additional details on Normative References, Terminology, and Scope writing. The manual and supplemental style guide are available on the ASB website.

Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE)

CSAFE invites forensic science practitioners to participate in a survey on how they prefer to learn about new technologies, research studies, and statistics. The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete and will be open until September 30, 2021. Learn more and take the survey. 

CSAFE has announced the lineup for its fall 2021 webinar series, beginning September 22 and continuing through December 9. The following webinars are free and open to the public. Researchers and members of the forensics and statistics communities are encouraged to attend. Learn more and register.

• A Survey of Fingerprint Examiners’ Attitudes Towards Probabilistic Reporting | September 22 |11:00 a.m. – noon CDT
• Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Black Box Study | October 14 | 11:00 a.m. – noon CDT
• Using Mixture Models to Examine Group Differences: An Illustration Involving the Perceived Strength of Forensic Science Evidence | December 9 | 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CST

Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE)

NIJ’s FTCoE provides evidence-based resources about forensic technologies and emerging challenges. 

On September 30, Lesley Hammer, Vice Chair of OSAC’s Physics/Pattern Interpretation SAC, will be presenting at the upcoming FTCoE webinar, Footwear Evidence Conclusions: A Discussion of Standards, Recommendations, and Structure. This webinar will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the post-SWGTREAD considerations for articulating findings (interpretations, limitations, opinions, and results) as well as a platform to exchange thoughts, consider suggested conclusion structures, and observe examples related to articulating footwear evidence conclusions. Learn more and register. 

National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

Subscribe to NIJ’s forensic list (https://nij.ojp.gov/subscribe) to see the latest NIJ awards, solicitations, events, and publications.