Friction Ridge Subcommittee

The Friction Ridge Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the forensic examination of friction ridge detail from the hands and feet.

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

Officers

Henry Swofford, Subcommittee Chair, HJS Consulting, LLC

Joshua Connelly, Subcommittee Vice Chair, Douglas County Sheriff's Office (Nebraska)

Carey Hall, Subcommittee Executive Secretary, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Members

Standards

Tier 1: On the OSAC Registry

• None currently.

Tier 2: Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO)

• None currently.

Tier 3: Sent to an SDO

All documents listed below are completed work products of the OSAC Friction Ridge Subcommittee and have passed a rigorous technical and quality review by the subcommittee. The subcommittee encourages the forensic science community to implement these proposed standards.

• Best Practice Recommendation for Articulating a Source Identification in Friction Ridge Examination. 
• Standard for Friction Ridge Examination Conclusions.
• Standard for Friction Ridge Examination Training Program.
• Standard for Examining Friction Ridge Impressions. 
• Best Practice Recommendation for the Resolution of Conflicts in Friction Ridge Examination.
• Best Practice Recommendations for Technical Review in Friction Ridge Identification.
• Best Practice Recommendations for the Verification Component in Friction Ridge Examination.
• Standard for Consultation During Friction Ridge Examination. 
• Standard for Reporting Results from Friction Ridge Examinations.
• Best Practice Recommendation for Analysis of Friction Ridge Impressions.
• Best Practice Recommendation for Comparison and Evaluation of Friction Ridge Impressions.
• Best Practice Recommendation for Testimony Monitoring.

Tier 4: Under Development

• Automated Biometric Identification Systems Best Practices.
• Terminology Related to Friction Ridge Examination.
• Standard for Friction Ridge Examination Proficiency Testing Program.
• Method Validation.
• Performance Checks.
• Best Practice Recommendation for Limited Examinations.
• Standard for Feature Selection.
• Recruiting/Selection Requirements for Pattern Recognition.
• Detection of Friction Ridge Impressions.

Other Work Products

Process Maps

• Friction Ridge Process Map (December 2019).

Reference Documents

• OSAC Friction Ridge Subcommittee's Response to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology's (PCAST) Request for Additional References - Submitted December 14, 2016.
• OSAC Friction Ridge Subcommittee's Response to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology's (PCAST) Request for Information – Submitted December 2015.

Research & Development Needs

• See the research and development needs identified by the Friction Ridge Subcommittee.

Standards Development Maps

• Roadmap of Documents.

Webinars, Presentations & Training Videos

• Friction Ridge Subcommittee, SAC Physics/Pattern Updates at the International Association for Identification Conference (August 2019).
• OSAC Friction Ridge Subcommittee at OFIA-TPS Conference (May 30, 2019).
• Friction Ridge Subcommittee, SAC Physics/Pattern Update - Habeas Assistance and Training Counsel Project, Eighth National Seminar on Forensic Evidence and the Criminal Law “Fingerprint Evidence" (April 27, 2019).
• OSAC Friction Ridge Subcommittee at the International Association for Identification Conference (August 2018).

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies and Bibliographic References 

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents, are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

• SWGFAST Position Statement on the Role of AFIS Ranks and Scores and the ACE-V Process.
• SWGFAST Guideline for the Articulation of the Decision-Making Process for the Individualization in Friction Ridge Examination (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard Friction Ridge Automation Training (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Application of Blind Verification of Friction Ridge Examinations (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Recommendations for Competency Testing of Noncertified Latent Print Examiners (Latent) Position Statement.
• SWGFAST Standard for Consultation (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standards for Examining Friction Ridge Impressions and Resulting Conclusions (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standards for Examining Friction Ridge Impressions and Resulting Conclusions (Latent/Tenprint) Draft for Comment.
• SWGFAST A Model Policy for Friction Ridge Examiner Professional Conduct (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standards for Minimum Qualifications and Training to Competency for Friction Ridge Examiner Trainees (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for a Quality Assurance Program in Friction Ridge Examinations (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Definition and Measurement of Rates of Errors and Non-Consensus Decisions in Friction Ridge Examination (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for Simultaneous Impression Examination (Latent).
• SWGFAST Standard for Friction Ridge Impression Digital Imaging (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for Reporting Friction Ridge Examinations (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Documentation of Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification (ACE-V) (Latent).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Documentation of Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification (ACE-V) in Tenprint Operations (Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for Friction Ridge Comparison Proficiency Testing Program (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Review of Testimony of Friction Ridge Examiners (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard Terminology of Friction Ridge Examination (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Technical Review of Friction Ridge Examinations (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Uniform Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Feature Symbols Position Statement (Latent/Tenprint).
• SWGFAST Standard for the Validation and Performance Review of Friction Ridge Impression Development and Examination Techniques (Latent/Tenprint).