Standards Open for Comment

Standards open for comment at OSAC

SDO Published Standards Under Consideration for the OSAC Registry 

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 August 5, 2024, on whether the following SDO published standards should be included on the Registry:

• ASTM E1386-23 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire Debris Samples by Solvent Extraction. Submit your comments here.
• ASTM E3391-24 Standard Terminology Relating to Gunshot Residue Analysis. Submit your comments here.

NOTE: IN JANUARY 2022, OSAC’S FORENSIC SCIENCE STANDARDS BOARD (FSSB) APPROVED THAT THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN OSAC-MANAGED COMMENT PERIOD FOR REGISTRY APPROVAL OF SDO PUBLISHED STANDARDS CAN BE MET DURING THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON A STANDARD DURING ITS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THIS CHANGE ALLOWS COMMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED DURING THE SDO DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, PRIOR TO PUBLICATION, ENABLING UPGRADES TO BE DIRECTLY INCORPORATED INTO THE STANDARD RATHER THAN RECEIVING THE COMMENTS AFTER THE STANDARD IS PUBLISHED. IN CASES WHERE OSAC CAN DOCUMENT THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY, OSAC WILL NOT EXECUTE A SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD DURING ITS REGISTRY APPROVAL PROCESS. SEE THE SDO UPDATES BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON THE STANDARDS CURRENTLY OPEN FOR COMMENT AT SDOS.

OSAC Proposed Standards Under Consideration for the OSAC Registry

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 draft OSAC Proposed Standard is 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. 

• There are no OSAC Proposed Standards being considered for the Registry at this time.

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

Academy Standards Board (ASB)

The Academy Standards Board (ASB) encourages all interested parties to provide comments on documents in progress. The following documents are open for public comment. To provide comments, download the comment template and return it to asb [at] aafs.org (asb[at]aafs[dot]org) by the deadline.    

Biology/DNA:

• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 136, Forensic Laboratory Standard for Prevention, Monitoring, and Mitigation of Human DNA Contamination. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline September 9, 2024.

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis:

• ASB Standard 203, Standard for the Development of a Bloodstain Pattern Analyst Certification Program. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline August 19, 2024.
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2022-N-0010, Standards for the Development of an Accredited Bloodstain Pattern Analyst Certification Program, currently on the OSAC Registry. 

Firearms & Toolmarks:

• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 102, Standard for Verification of Source Conclusions in Toolmark Examinations. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline September 9, 2024.
• ASB Standard 105, Minimum Education Requirements for Firearm and Toolmark Examiner Trainees. 202x. 2nd Ed. Comment deadline August 19, 2024.

Footwear & Tire:

• ASB Best Practice Recommendation 021, Best Practice Recommendation for the Preparation of Test Impressions from Footwear and Tires. 20xx. 2nd Ed. Comment deadline September 2, 2024. 
  • NOTE: This is a revision of ANSI/ASB 021-19, currently on the OSAC Registry. 

Forensic Odontology:

• ASB Technical Report 194, Terminology for a Suspected Pattern of Dental Origin. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline September 9, 2024.
  • NOTE: This is OSAC 2021-N-0030, Terminology for a Suspected Pattern of Dental Origin, currently on the OSAC Registry.

Forensic Toxicology:

• *Recirculation - ASB Standard 017, Standard for Metrological Traceability in Forensic Toxicology. 202x. 2nd Ed. Comment deadline August 19, 2024.
  • NOTE: This is a revision of ANSI/ASB 017-18, currently on the OSAC Registry.
• *Recirculation - ASB Standard 056, Standard for Evaluation of Measurement Uncertainty in Forensic Toxicology. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline August 19, 2024.
• ASB Technical Report 208, Forensic Toxicology: Terms and Definitions. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline September 2, 2024.

Friction Ridge:

• *Recirculation - ASB Technical Report 012, Technical Report on the Articulation of the Reasoning and Foundational Principles Behind Friction Ridge Examinations. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline August 26, 2024.

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

ASTM 

The following ASTM standards are currently open for public comment through ANSI. To obtain an electronic copy of the document, email accreditation [at] astm.org (accreditation[at]astm[dot]org). Please submit your comments to accreditation [at] astm.org (accreditation[at]astm[dot]org) (copy psa [at] ansi.org (psa[at]ansi[dot]org)) by the comment deadline. 

• ASTM E3149-202x, Guide for Facial Image Comparison Feature List for Morphological Analysis. Comment deadline September 9, 2024.
  • NOTE: This is a renewal of E3149-18, currently on the OSAC Registry.

Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE):

SWGDE has released the following draft documents for comment by all interested parties. Suggestions for modifications are welcome and must adhere to the requirements as stated in SWGDE's Disclaimer and Redistribution policies, which are attached to the front of every document. Visit the SWGDE website to access the drafts and submit your comments by September 15, 2024 using the Electronic Requests for Modifications form. 

• 16-I-002-1.1 Guidelines for Forensic Image Analysis (2024-07-15)
• 17-V-002-1.3 Best Practices for Data Acquisition from Digital Video Recorders (2024-07-03)
• 23-F-004-1.0 Best Practices for Digital Evidence Acquisition, Preservation, and Analysis from Cloud Service Providers (2024-07-03)
• 18-I-001-2.0 Best Practices for Image Authentication (2024-07-03)
• 23-F-003-1.0 Best Practices for Internet of Things (IoT) Seizure and Analysis (2024-07-03)
• 12-F-004-3.2 Best Practices for Vehicle Infotainment and Telematics Systems (2024-07-03)
• 12-F-006-2.0 Core Competencies for Digital Forensics (2024-07-03)
• 18-P-001-2.0 Guidelines for Evidence Photography in a Controlled Setting (2024-07-03)
• 17-F-001-3.0 Recommendations for Historical Cell Site Analysis (2024-07-03)
• 23-F-006-1.1 Tech Notes on Cryptocurrency (2024-07-03)