CSAFE Forensic Learning Opportunities
Harness tools and training that will help improve your accuracy, objectivity and communication as a forensic scientist or stakeholder.
In a joint collaboration between CSAFE researchers and forensic scientists, we develop and facilitate publicly available programs that amplify existing knowledge or build new competencies in the statistical analysis and interpretation of forensic evidence. These programs include short courses, webinars, workshops, and research updates that touch on a variety of topics relevant to the diverse forensic and applied forensic science communities. CSAFE believes that training and education can enhance technical innovation through alignment of measurement science with emerging and innovative fields of research. Check back regularly for new programs, and please contact us with any interest in educational collaborations or with questions.
Upcoming Events
Registration is now open for these events.
Webinar: Algorithms in Forensic Science: Challenges, Considerations, and a Path Forward
Tuesday, May 25 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CDTCSAFE All Hands Meeting
Tuesday, June 1 at 1:00 pm - Wednesday, June 2 at 4:30 pm CDTCSAFE 2021 Field Update
Monday, June 14 at 11:00 am - 4:00 pm CDTAvailable Courses
STATISICAL THINKING FOR FORENSIC PROFESSIONALS
Session 1: March 26, 2021 — 12-2 p.m. CST
Session 2: April 9, 2021 — 12-2 p.m. CST
Session 3: April 23, 2021 — 12-2 p.m. CST
Stay Tuned
CSAFE is constantly developing programs to share with the student community. Watch here for news of upcoming events and other programs.
Available Resources
for Forensic Science Professionals
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Assessing Footwear Examiner Performance
Type: Webinar Research Area(s): Footwear
This CSAFE webinar was held on May 13, 2021. Presenter: Corey Katz Graduate Researcher, University of California, Irvine Presentation Description: There has recently been increased attention on the reliability and validity of methods used in the analysis of forensic evidence.…
Statistical Thinking for Forensic Practitioners Short Course – Session 3
Type: Short Courses Research Area(s):
Session 3 of this three-part CSAFE short course was held on April 23, 2021. Presenter: Hal Stern Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, Chancellor's Professor, University of California, Irvine CSAFE Co-Director Presentation Description: The National Academies report in 2009 and the…
Statistical Thinking for Forensic Practitioners Short Course – Session 2
Type: Short Courses Research Area(s):
Session 2 of this three-part CSAFE short course was held on April 9, 2021. Presenter: Alicia Carriquiry Distinguished Professor in the Department of Statistics, CSAFE Director Presentation Description: Statistical ideas such as sampling, point and interval estimation of population quantities,…
IRT for Forensics
Type: Webinar Research Area(s): Handwriting
This CSAFE webinar was held on April 8, 2021. Presenter: Amanda Luby Assistant Professor of Statistics, Swarthmore College Presentation Description: In this webinar, Amanda Luby explored how Item Response Theory (IRT), a class of statistical methods used prominently in educational…
Judges and forensic science education: A national survey
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Implementation and Practice
Published: 2021 | By: Brandon L. Garrett
In criminal cases, forensic science reports and expert testimony play an increasingly important role in adjudication. More states now follow a federal reliability standard, which calls upon judges to assess the reliability and validity of scientific evidence. Little is known…
Statistical Thinking for Forensic Practitioners Short Course – Session 1
Type: Short Courses Research Area(s):
Session 1 of this three-part CSAFE short course was held on March 26, 2021. Presenter: Hal Stern Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Statistics, CSAFE Co-Director Presentation Description: Probability Concepts and their Relevance to Forensic Science is the first session…
Latent print comparison and examiner conclusions: A field analysis of case processing in one crime laboratory
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Latent Print
Published: 2021 | By: Brett O. Gardner
Scholarship on the latent print comparison process has expanded in recent years, responsive to the call for rigorous research by scholarly groups (e.g., National Academy of Sciences, 2009; President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2016). Important to the…
Source Code on Trial
Type: Webinar Research Area(s): Handwriting
This CSAFE symposium was held on March 12, 2021. Presenter: Professor Edward Imwinkelried Edward L. Barrett, Jr. Professor of Law Emeritus, University of California - Davis School of Law Panelists: Professor Ric Simmons, The Ohio State University, Moritz College of…
Handwriting Analysis at CSAFE
Type: Webinar Research Area(s): Handwriting
This CSAFE webinar was held on March 11, 2021. Presenter: Alicia Carriquiry Distinguished Professor and President's Chair in Statistics, CSAFE Director Presentation Description: Forensic handwriting analysis relies on the principle of individuality: no two writers produce identical writing, and given…
A clustering method for graphical handwriting components and statistical writership analysis
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Handwriting
Published: 2020 | By: Amy M. Crawford
Handwritten documents can be characterized by their content or by the shape of the written characters. We focus on the problem of comparing a person's handwriting to a document of unknown provenance using the shape of the writing, as is…
Treatment of Inconclusive Results in Error Rates of Firearm Studies
Type: Webinar Research Area(s): Firearms and Toolmarks
This CSAFE webinar was held on February 10, 2021. Presenters: Heike Hofmann Professor and Kingland Faculty Fellow, Iowa State University Susan VanderPlas Research Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska, Lincoln Alicia Carriquiry Distinguished Professor and President's Chair in Statistics, CSAFE Director…
Statistical Methods for the Forensic Analysis of User-Event Data
Type: Dissertation,Publication Research Area(s): Digital
Published: 2020 | By: Christopher Galbraith
A common question in forensic analysis is whether two observed data sets originate from the same source or from different sources. Statistical approaches to addressing this question have been widely adopted within the forensics community, particularly for DNA evidence, providing…
Psychometric analysis of forensic examiner behavior
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Latent Print
Published: 2020 | By: Amanda Luby
Forensic science often involves the comparison of crime-scene evidence to a known-source sample to determine if the evidence and the reference sample came from the same source. Even as forensic analysis tools become increasingly objective and automated, final source identifications…
Juror appraisals of forensic evidence: Effects of blind proficiency and cross-examination
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Implementation and Practice
Published: 2020 | By: William E. Crozier
Forensic testimony plays a crucial role in many criminal cases, with requests to crime laboratories steadily increasing. As part of efforts to improve the reliability of forensic evidence, scientific and policy groups increasingly recommend routine and blind proficiency tests of…
Statistical Methods for the Forensic Analysis of Geolocated Event Data
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Digital
Published: 2020 | By: Christopher Galbraith
A common question in forensic analysis is whether two observed data sets originated from the same source or from different sources. Statistical approaches to addressing this question have been widely adopted within the forensics community, particularly for DNA evidence. Here…
Implementing blind proficiency testing in forensic laboratories: Motivation, obstacles, and recommendations
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Latent Print
Published: 2020 | By: Robin Meija
Regular proficiency testing of forensic examiners is required at accredited laboratories and widely accepted as an important component of a functioning quality assurance program. Yet, unlike in other testing industries, the majority of forensic laboratories testing programs rely entirely on…
Statistical models to predict exposure settings using two different iPhone camera apps
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Digital
Published: 2020 | By: Kurt Michael Kabriel
The StegoAppDB [Newman, J. (2019)] is a digital image database containing camera data from Android and iPhone mobile phones and developed for forensic purposes. Taken with a custom-designed camera app called Cameraw rather than the camera app native to the…
Statistical methods for digital image forensics: Algorithm mismatch for blind spatial steganalysis and score-based likelihood ratios for camera device identification
Type: Dissertation,Publication Research Area(s): Digital
Published: 2020 | By: Stephanie Reinders
Forensic science currently faces a variety of challenges. Statistically suitable reference databases need to be developed and maintained. Subjective methods that can introduce bias need to be replaced by objective methods. Highly technical forensic methods need to be clearly and…
Bayesian hierarchical modeling for the forensic evaluation of handwritten documents
Type: Dissertation,Publication Research Area(s): Handwriting
Published: 2020 | By: Amy Crawford
The analysis of handwritten evidence has been used widely in courts in the United States since the 1930s (Osborn, 1946). Traditional evaluations are conducted by trained forensic examiners. More recently, there has been a movement toward objective and probability-based evaluation…
Mock Jurors’ Evaluation of Firearm Examiner Testimony
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Implementation and Practice
Published: 2020 | By: Brandon L. Garrett
Objectives: Firearms experts traditionally have testified that a weapon leaves “unique” toolmarks, so bullets or cartridge casings can be visually examined and conclusively matched to a particular firearm. Recently, due to scientific critiques, Department of Justice policy, and judges’ rulings,…
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