CSAFE Forensic Learning Opportunities
Harness tools and training that will help improve your accuracy, objectivity and communication as a forensic scientist or stakeholder.
CSAFE provides educational and training programs on probability and statistics applied to forensic science disciplines. Designed specifically for forensic practitioners, our learning opportunities enhance your existing knowledge and build new competencies. These programs include short courses, webinars, workshops, and research updates that touch on a variety of topics relevant to the diverse forensic science communities. Check back regularly for new learning opportunities.
Ways to Learn
From self-paced online courses to instructor-led short courses, CSAFE offers flexible options to help deepen your understanding of specific forensics concepts.
- Single Topic Updates: One-off events covering important topics related to forensic science that help you stay up-to-date on the latest research and resources.
- Online Training: Short courses, full courses and workshops focusing on probability and statistics concepts and their use in forensic science.
- Classroom Training (on-site): We can provide personalized on-site training on topics selected by your organization.
Contact Us
Not sure which training path is right for you?
Let us help you find the best workshop option for your organization’s needs. Contact us to discuss collaboration opportunities and scheduling:
Anthony Greiter
Learning and Development Specialist
(515) 294-1561
agreiter@iastate.edu
Upcoming Events
Registration is now open for these events.
Webinar: Using Mixture Models to Examine Group Differences: An Illustration Involving the Perceived Strength of Forensic Science Evidence
Thursday, December 9 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am CSTWebinar: Improving Forensic Decision Making: a Human-Cognitive Perspective
Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CSTAvailable Courses
Short Courses
CSAFE’s online short courses are live, instructor-led courses ranging from 6–8 learning hours. Registration is free.
SAMPLING FOR FORENSIC PRACTITIONERS
Session 1: September 30, 2021 — 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. CDT
Session 2: October 7, 2021 — 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. CDT
STATISICAL THINKING FOR FORENSIC PRACTITIONERS
Session 1: October 22, 2021 — 10 a.m. – Noon CDT
Session 2: November 5, 2021 — 10 a.m. – Noon CDT
Session 3: November 19, 2021 — 10 a.m. – Noon CST
Long Courses
CSAFE offers self-paced online courses ranging from 20–30 learning hours. Cost per course varies. Contact us for individual and group rates.
Our newest course is available now:
STATISTICS FOR FORENSIC PRACTITIONERS
Statistics for Forensic Science Practitioners is a self-paced, online, continuing education course for forensic science practitioners. This course addresses the core concepts related to probability, statistics, and their application to today’s forensics issues.
Schedule a workshop
CSAFE provides workshops on topics related to probability and statistics as applied to forensic science disciplines. These free opportunities are offered on a range of topics and skill levels and are ideal for small or large groups. CSAFE can tailor any of its workshops to best meet the needs of your organization. Training can be scheduled on‑site or virtual. Contact us to discuss collaboration opportunities and scheduling.
One of our most popular workshops introduces quantitative tools to evaluate forensic evidence:
Survey of Quantitative Tools for
Forensic Evidence
This workshop will introduce you to the most often-suggested quantitative approaches: the two-stage approach and the likelihood ratio (Bayes factor) approach. You will discuss possible applications to different types of evidence.
90 Minutes | Cost: FREE
Available Resources
for Forensic Science Professionals
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Latent print quality in blind proficiency testing: Using quality metrics to examine laboratory performance
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Latent Print
Published: 2021 | By: Brett O. Gardner
Calls for blind proficiency testing in forensic science disciplines intensified following the 2009 National Academy of Sciences report and were echoed in the 2016 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Both practitioners and scholars have…
Using mixture models to examine group difference among jurors: an illustration involving the perceived strength of forensic science evidence
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Implementation and Practice
Published: 2021 | By: Naomi Kaplan-Damary
The way in which jurors perceive reports of forensic evidence is of critical importance, especially in cases of forensic identification evidence that require examiners to compare items and assess whether they originate from a common source. The current study discusses…
Battling to a draw: Defense expert rebuttal can neutralize prosecution fingerprint evidence
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Implementation and Practice
Published: 2021 | By: Gregory Mitchell
The present study examined whether a defense rebuttal expert can effectively educate jurors on the risk that the prosecution's fingerprint expert made an error. Using a sample of 1716 jury-eligible adults, we examined the impact of three types of rebuttal…
Recognition of Overlapping Elliptical Objects in a Binary Image
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Bloodstain
Published: 2021 | By: Tong Zou
Recognition of overlapping objects is required in many applications in the field of computer vision. Examples include cell segmentation, bubble detection and bloodstain pattern analysis. This paper presents a method to identify overlapping objects by approximating them with ellipses. The…
CSAFE 2021 Field Update
Type: Presentation Slides,Webinar Research Area(s): Bloodstain,Digital,Firearms and Toolmarks,Footwear,Forensic Statistics,Handwriting,Implementation and Practice,Latent Print,Training and Education
The 2021 Field Update was held June 14, 2021, and served as the closing to the first year of CSAFE 2.0. CSAFE brought together researchers, forensic science partners and interested community members to highlight the organization’s achievements, identify areas for…
Algorithms in Forensic Science: Challenges, Considerations, and a Path Forward
Type: Webinar Research Area(s): Digital,Implementation and Practice
This CSAFE webinar was held on May 25, 2021. Presenter: Henry Swofford Ph.D. Candidate – University of Lausanne Presentation Description: Over the years, scientific and legal scholars have called for the implementation of algorithms (e.g., statistical methods) in forensic science…
Mt. Everest—we are going to lose many: a survey of fingerprint examiners’ attitudes towards probabilistic reporting
Type: Publication Research Area(s): Latent Print
Published: 2021 | By: H. Swofford
Over the past decade, with increasing scientific scrutiny on forensic reporting practices, there have been several efforts to introduce statistical thinking and probabilistic reasoning into forensic practice. These efforts have been met with mixed reactions—a common one being scepticism, or…
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,…
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