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Public safety

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Stopping Fentanyl at the Border: Can Chemical Detectors Help?

November 21, 2019

Large quantities of the synthetic drug fentanyl flow into the country at ports of entry along the Southwest border, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. As...

A Solution to a Hairy Problem in Forensic Science

November 5, 2019

In an effort to make hair comparison a more useful technique for investigating crimes, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)...

A Safer Way for Police to Test Drug Evidence

September 17, 2019

Scientists have demonstrated a way for police to quickly and safely test whether a baggie or other package contains illegal drugs without having to handle any...

Woman in safety goggles operates an instrument housed in an aluminum briefcase

Sniffing Out Corpses and Other Signs of Trouble

September 10, 2019

Science stinks. So thought Megan Harries as she measured drops of putrescine and cadaverine — the chemicals that give decomposing corpses their distinctive...

Assessing the Next-Generation Backing Materials for Body Armor Testing

March 28, 2019

A framework of rheological techniques was developed to evaluate a candidate ballistic witness material developed by the U.S. Army.

Two vials, one with heroin and one with an equivalent dose of fentanyl, which is a much smaller amount.

New Protocol for Measuring Background Levels of Drugs in Crime Labs

September 25, 2018

When crime lab chemists handle evidence that contains illegal drugs, trace amounts of those drugs are inevitably released into the laboratory environment. When...

illustration with boat on water. Under the water there are fish. Some have green checkmarks and some have red question marks. All but one of the red question mark fish are caught in a net

Database of Software “Fingerprints” Expands to Include Computer Games

September 10, 2018

One of the largest software libraries in the world just grew larger. The National Software Reference Library (NSRL), which archives copies of the world’s most...

NIST Builds Statistical Foundation for Next-Generation Forensic DNA Profiling

July 23, 2018

DNA is often considered the most reliable form of forensic evidence, and this reputation is based on the way DNA experts use statistics. When they compare...

Data-Sharing Website May Speed Response to New Illegal Drugs

July 5, 2018

The drug overdose epidemic currently gripping the nation is so tenacious in part because it’s being driven by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that comes in many...

Drone Forensics Gets a Boost With New Data on NIST Website

June 5, 2018

Aerial drones might someday deliver online purchases to your home. But in some prisons, drone delivery is already a thing. Drones have been spotted flying drugs...

A graph with vertical lines showing the mass spectrum of fentanyl

Free Software Can Help Spot New Forms of Fentanyl and Other Illegal Drugs

March 7, 2018

Fentanyl, the synthetic drug that is driving a nationwide overdose epidemic, is not only a killer. It’s also a shape shifter. Illicit chemists are constantly...

Scientists Automate Key Step in Forensic Fingerprint Analysis

August 14, 2017

The first big case involving fingerprint evidence in the United States was the murder trial of Thomas Jennings in Chicago in 1911. Jennings had broken into a...

Scientists Lay the Groundwork for a Reliable Marijuana Breathalyzer

July 5, 2017

Marijuana is now legal for recreational or medicinal use in at least 28 states and the District of Columbia. But driving under the influence of marijuana is...

Do You Have What It Takes to be a Forensic Fingerprint Examiner?

May 18, 2017

Being a forensic examiner seems glamorous on TV. But working in a crime lab requires long hours of intense focus that are anything but action-packed. This is...

Fentanyl Can Sicken First Responders. Here’s a Possible Solution.

May 9, 2017

Dan Kallen, a detective in southern New Jersey, was searching a home with fellow officers in August 2015, when they found a bag of white powder. Kallen removed...

Database of Software “Fingerprints” Expands to Include Mobile Apps

December 15, 2016

A group of computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been working for more than 15 years on an impossible task: to...

NIST Research Enables Enhanced DNA “Fingerprints”

December 15, 2016

As the new year approaches, forensic labs across the country are gearing up for a big change in the way they generate DNA profiles, the genetic fingerprints so...

The box cover for Asteroids for the Atari 7800 gaming system

Digital Forensics Rescues Retro Video Games and Software

September 12, 2016

Starting in the mid-1980s, a young man named Stephen Cabrinety filled his home with video games and software. He piled unopened boxes to the ceilings—everything...

NIST engineer Ben Posthuma demonstrates the use of NIST's Rapidly Deployable Public Safety Research Platform

NIST’s Rolling Wireless Net Helps Improve First-Responder Communications

August 10, 2016

First responders often have trouble communicating with each other in emergencies. They may use different types of radios, or they may be working in rural areas...

Joint OSAC FSSB and NIST Statement on ASTM E2329-14

July 5, 2016

On Jan. 11, 2016, the OSAC Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) voted to elevate ASTM Standard E2329-14 "Standard Practice for Identification of Seized Drugs...

Department of Justice and National Institute of Standards and Technology Name Two Experts as New Members of National Commission on Forensic Science

June 16, 2016

DOJ Contact: Office of Public Affairs, 202-514-2007 WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Commerce's National Institute of...

Portable NIST Kit Can Recover Traces of Chemical Evidence

January 7, 2016

A chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a portable version of his method for recovering trace chemicals such as...

Who, What, WHEN: Determining the Age of Fingerprints

August 24, 2015

Watch the imprint of a tire track in soft mud, and it will slowly blur, the ridges of the pattern gradually flowing into the valleys. Researchers at the...

OSAC Opens Public Comment Period for Five Existing Standards for Potential Inclusion on the OSAC Registry of Approved Standards

August 13, 2015

Forensic science service providers need access to a uniform set of standards that support scientifically sound and statistically valid test results, laboratory...

OSAC Opens Public Comment Period for Five Existing Standards for Potential Inclusion on the OSAC Registry of Approved Standards

August 13, 2015

Forensic science service providers need access to a uniform set of standards that support scientifically sound and statistically valid test results, laboratory...

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