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 May 6, 2024, on whether the following SDO published standard should be included on the Registry:

• ANSI/ASB Standard 128, Standard for the Preservation and Examination of Liquid Soaked Documents. 2022.  1st. Ed.  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 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 drafts are 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 send to comments [at] nist.gov (comments[at]nist[dot]gov) by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 6, 2024.  

• OSAC 2024-N-0007, Managing Head Coverings, Accessories, and Make-up (HCAM) for Booking Photographs
• OSAC 2024-N-0011, Standard Guide for Forensic Digital Image Management

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

Academy Standards Board (ASB)

The Academy Standards Board (ASB) is currently soliciting public comments on the following forensic science standards. 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 081, Standard for Training in the Use of Statistics in Interpretation of Forensic DNA Evidence. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline April 18, 2024.
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 039, Standard for Internal Validation of Human Short Tandem Repeat Profiling on Capillary Electrophoresis Platforms. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline May 13, 2024.
• Recirculation* -  ASB Best Practice Recommendation 129, Best Practice Recommendations for Internal Validation of Human Short Tandem Repeat Profiling on Capillary Electrophoresis Platforms. 202x. 1st Ed. Comment deadline May 13, 2024.

Medicolegal Death Investigation/Disaster Victim Identification

• ASB Best Practice Recommendation 007, Postmortem Impression Submission Strategy for Comprehensive Searches of Essential Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Databases. 202x. 2nd Ed. (revision of ANSI/ASB 007-2018). Comment deadline May 13, 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 

ASTM is currently soliciting public comments on the following forensic science standard. 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 E1459-202x, Guide for Physical Evidence Labeling and Related Documentation (revision of ANSI/ASTM E1459-13 (2018)). Comment deadline April 15, 2024. 
• ASTM WK88696-202x, Guide for Printing Method Effects on Facial Comparisons (new standard). Comment deadline May 20, 2024. 
• ASTM WK88697-202x, Standard Guide for Scanning of Facial Images (new standard). Comment deadline May 20, 2024.
• ASTM E3148-202x, Guide for Postmortem Facial Image Capture (revision of ANSI/ASTM E3148-2018). Comment deadline May 20, 2024.

FISWG

The Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) is accepting comments on the following draft documents until May 17, 2024. Visit the FISWG website to view the documents, comment submission instructions, and comment template. 

• Principles for Responsible Use of Facial Recognition Technology.
• Image Processing Techniques for Facial Image Comparison.
• Minimum Training Criteria When Using Facial Recognition Systems.
• Facial image Comparison Feature List for Morphological Analysis.
• Standard Guide for Postmortem Facial Image Capture.

SWGDE

The Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) has released the following drafts for public comment. To provide comments, complete and submit this form by May 11, 2024. 

• 2024-03-08 SWGDE Legal and Scientific Support Related to the Admissibility of Image Examinations (23-I-001-1.0)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Video and Audio Redaction Guidelines (18-M-001-2.2)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Technical Overview of Digital Video Files (17-V-001-1.3)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Guidelines for the Use of Macro Photography in Forensic Science (24-P-001-1.0)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Considerations for Release of Synopsis Videos for Public Review (21-V-002-1.2)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Best Practices for Drone Forensics (21-F-002-1.2)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Best Practices for Digital Video Authentication (23-V-001-1.2)
• 2024-03-07 SWGDE Best Practice for Photo Documentation of Scars, Marks, and Tattoos (24-P-002-1.0)