Standards Under Consideration

The following documents are under consideration for placement on the OSAC Registry, along with their status in the OSAC Registry approval processes.  

OSAC Registry Approval Process for SDO Published Standards

Open for Comment: During the open comment period, OSAC provides forensic science stakeholders an opportunity to offer their feedback on whether an SDO published standard should be placed on the Registry. For a list of standards currently open for comment, please see the Standards Open for Comment webpage. 

In Comment Adjudication: If any negative comments are received during the open comment period, OSAC committees will address them during the comment adjudication phase. The following SDO published standards are currently in this phase:

bloodstain pattern analysis

• ANSI/ASB Standard 031, Standard for Report Writing in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, First Edition, 2020.

digital evidence

• SWGDE 22-F-002-1.0 Best Practices for Chromebook Acquisition and Analysis.
• SWGDE 18-NOV-1.0 SWGDE Minimum Requirements for Testing Tools used in Digital and Multimedia Forensics.

dogs & sensors

• ANSI/ASB Standard 024, Standard for Training and Certification of Canine Detection of Humans: Location Check Using Pre-Scented Canines, First Edition, 2021.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 026, Standard for Training and Certification for Canine Detection of Humans: An Aged Trail Using Pre-Scented Canines, First Edition, 2021.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 027, Standard for Training and Certification of Canine Detection of Humans: Patrol Canine Team, First Edition, 2021.

firearms & Toolmarks

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 060, Guidelines for Barrel and Overall Length Measurements of Firearms, First Edition, 2021.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 096, Standard Method for the Examination and Documentation of Ammunition and Ammunition Components, First Edition, 2022.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 105, Minimum Education Requirements for Firearm and Toolmark Examiner Trainees, First Edition, 2021.

Footwear & Tire

• ANSI/ASB Technical Report 051, Scope of Work for a Footwear/Tire Examiner, First Edition, 2020. 
• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 052, Best Practice Recommendation for the Detection and Collection of Footwear and Tire Impression Evidence, First Edition, 2022.

forensic document examination

• ANSI/ASB Standard 044, Standard for Examination of Documents for Indentations, First Edition, 2019.

At the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) for Review to Add to Registry: After all comments have been addressed, the FSSB will have an opportunity to petition for a discretionary FSSB review. The following standards are currently at the FSSB for review:

• ANSI/ASB Standard 038, Standard for Internal Validation of Forensic DNA Analysis Methods, First Edition, 2020.  

Registry Approval Process for OSAC Proposed Standards

Open for Comment: OSAC provides forensic science stakeholders an opportunity to suggest revisions to a draft standard and offer their feedback on whether it should be included on the Registry as an "OSAC Proposed Standard". For a list of OSAC Proposed Standards currently open for comment, please see the Standards Open for Comment webpage. 

In Comment Adjudication: OSAC subcommittees will review and address any comments that were received during the open comment period. The following OSAC Proposed Standards are currently in the comment adjudication phase:

biology/dna

• OSAC 2021-S-0003, Standards for Setting Analytical and Stochastic Thresholds for Applications to Forensic DNA Casework Using Electrophoresis Platforms. 
• OSAC 2022-S-0024, Best Practice Recommendations for Evaluative Forensic DNA Testimony.

bloodstain pattern analysis

• OSAC 2021-S-0011, Standards for the Technical Review of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Reporting. 
• OSAC 2022-S-0030, Standard for Methodology in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis.

crime scene investigation & reconstruction

• OSAC 2021-N-0018, Standard for On-Scene Collection and Preservation of Physical Evidence. 
• OSAC 2022-N-0039, Collecting and Preserving Entomological Evidence from a Terrestrial Environment.
• OSAC 20220S-0036, Standard Method for the Chemical Testing of Copper and Lead from Suspected Projectile Impacts.

facial identification

• OSAC 2022-S-0008, Standard Guide for Minimum Facial Comparison Documentation.

footwear & tire

• OSAC 2022-S-0032, Best Practice Recommendation for the Chemical Processing of Footwear and Tire Impression Evidence.

forensic anthropology

• OSAC 2021-N-0010, Best Practice Recommendation for Skeletal Preparation and Sampling in Forensic Anthropology.

forensic document examination

• OSAC 2022-S-0034, Standard for the Expression of Conclusions in Forensic Document Examination.

forensic odontology

• OSAC 2022-N-0028, Human Abuse Recognition and Documentation by Dental Professionals.

friction ridge

• OSAC 2022-S-0038, Standard for Feature Selection in Friction Ridge Examination.

Ignitable liquids, explosives &gunshot residue

• OSAC 2022-S-0023, Standard Practice for the Forensic Analysis of Explosives by Polarized Light Microscopy.

medicolegal death investigation

• OSAC 2022-N-0021, Family Engagement Following a Mass Fatality Incident: Victim Information Center Best Practice Recommendations for Medicolegal Authority.
• OSAC 2022-S-0022, Standard for Disaster Victim Identification.

seized drugs

• OSAC 2022-S-0014, Building an Analytical Scheme for the Assessment of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Suspected Marijuana Plant Material Samples.

trace materials

• OSAC 2022-S-0017, Standard Guide for Microspectrophotometry in Forensic Fiber Analysis.
• OSAC 2022-S-0019, Standard Guide for Forensic Examination of Fibers.
• OSAC 2022-S-0029, Standard Guide for Interpretation and Reporting in Forensic Comparisons of Trace Materials. 
• OSAC 2023-N-0005, Standard Practice for Training a Forensic Glass Practitioner.

video/imaging technology & analysis

• OSAC 2021-S-0037, Standard Guide for Forensic Photogrammetry.
• OSAC 2022-S-0031, Standard Guide for Forensic Digital Video Examination Workflow.
• OSAC 2023-N-0001, Standard Practice for Training in the Areas of Video Analysis, Image Analysis, and Photography.

wildlife forensic biology

• OSAC 2021-S-0014, Standard for Reference Collections in Wildlife Forensic Biology: Genetics and Vertebrate Morphology.

At the FSSB for Review: After the subcommittee reviews and adjudicates the comments received during the open comment period, the FSSB has an opportunity to review and appeal adding an OSAC Proposed Standard to the Registry. The following standards are being reviewed by the FSSB:

• OSAC 2023-N-0004, Standard for Interactions Between Medical Examiner, Coroner and all other Medicolegal Death Investigation Agencies and Organ and Tissue Procurement Organizations and Eye Banks.