The Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) has recently become a member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 272 (ISO TC 272).
Accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and led by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), the TAG represents U.S. interests in the development of forensic science standards.
As a member, CSAFE will participate in TAG activities, including attending meetings and commenting on drafts of standards and technical reports. Three individuals were selected to represent CSAFE. They are Alicia Carriquiry, CSAFE director and Distinguished Professor and President’s Chair in statistics at Iowa State University; Karen Kafadar, CSAFE co-director and professor and chair of statistics at the University of Virginia; and Jeff Salyards, a CSAFE research scientist.
“Joining this U.S. Technical Advisory Group is an important step for CSAFE. It allows us to strengthen our relationship with the operational forensic science community and influence the development of forensic science standards,” said Carriquiry. “We have already started attending meetings, and we are excited about this opportunity.”
ISO TC 272 was established to develop standards that pertain to laboratory and field-based forensic science techniques and methodology in areas such as the detection and collection of physical evidence, the subsequent analysis and interpretation of the evidence and the reporting of results and findings. Currently, there are 27 participating nation members and 18 observing members on the technical committee.
The committee is working on a series of forensic science standards, including terms and definitions and the requirements for recognition, collection and storage of evidence.
For more information about ISO TC 272, visit https://www.iso.org/committee/4395817.html.