In September, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a new report titled “Strategic Opportunities to Advance Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward Through Research and Standards.”
Following an extensive literature review and input from researchers, forensic practitioners and others, NIST identified four “grand challenges” facing the forensic science community. The report outlined strategies designed to tackle these challenges through focused research and development and the adoption of standards.
The four challenges highlighted in the report are:
- Accuracy and reliability of complex methods and techniques for analysis of forensic evidence.
Quantify and establish statistically rigorous measures of accuracy and reliability of complex methods and techniques for forensic evidence analysis that clearly demonstrate their validity when applied to evidence of varying quality. - New methods and techniques for analysis of forensic evidence.
Develop new methods and techniques for forensic evidence analysis, including those that leverage the benefits of algorithms and next-generation technologies, such as AI, to provide rapid analyses of forensic evidence and produce new analytical insights from complex forensic evidence. - Science-based standards and guidelines for forensic science practices.
Develop rigorous science-based standards, conformity assessment schemes, and guidelines across forensic science disciplines to support consistent and comparable results from forensic analyses among laboratories and jurisdictions. - Adoption and use of advanced forensic analysis methods, techniques, standards and guidelines.
Promote the adoption and use of advances in forensic science standards, guidelines, methods, and techniques aimed at improving the validity, reliability, and consistency of forensic science practices.
NIST emphasized the importance of these efforts in a news release, stating, “By addressing these shared challenges, the forensic science community will strengthen the foundations of our criminal justice system, ensuring fairness and impartiality while also preserving public safety and public trust.”