Improving Investigations:

National Forensic Science Institute: In partnership with BJA, the National Forensic Science Institute (NFSI) provides forensic and crime scene training, technical assistance, and alumni support to law enforcement personnel throughout the United States. NFSI conducts a 10-week National Forensic Academy (NFA) at the University of Tennessee. The NFA program is offered in-residence and uses curriculum developed by leading forensic practitioners from across the United States. NFSI offers forensic training to host agencies around the country through the delivery of 1-week courses such as "Bloodstain Pattern Analysis," "Death Investigation," and "Digital Crime Scene Photography."

National Forensic Science Technology Center: In partnership with BJA, the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) provides hands-on training and technical assistance to a broad community of stakeholders, including law enforcement and investigators, on a variety of forensic science applications. The NFSTC (with support from the National Association of Medical Examiners) developed a 40-hour workshop to provide Forensic Pathology Fellows with knowledge of the scope and application of the forensic sciences within the Criminal Justice System. This workshop includes crime scene processing, toxicology, serology/DNA, firearm and toolmark identification, trace evidence analysis, fire debris analysis, controlled substances analysis, latent fingerprints processing, forensic odontology, forensic entomology, forensic anthropology, explosives and explosive device identification, and courtroom testimony.

National Forensics Training Center: In partnership BJA, the Mississippi State University's National Forensics Training Center (NFTC) provides no-cost training to law enforcement officers to fight cyber crime. With the growing level of cyber crime today, it is critical that law enforcement officers have the ability to handle and examine digital evidence. The NFTC seeks to solve this issue by offering training in a broad range of cyber crime areas. The training that is offered by the NFTC is free of charge for all law enforcement personnel.

Major Case Investigation Teams: This project, a partnership among BJA and the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, the National Forensic Science Technology Center, and Fox Valley Technical College, provides training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies interested in developing regional investigative response consortiums to respond to homicides or other high-profile cases. This program, which is based on the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad, will provide a wide range of technical assistance that includes response protocol development, investigative training sessions, and forensic capacity assessments. In the coming months, BJA expects to form up to six regional consortiums.

Adjudication and Corrections:

Crime Scene Management in Correctional Facilities: Derived from the University of Tennessee's National Forensic Academy curriculum, NFSI's 40-hour, specialized courses in various topics are available on a limited basis throughout the year, at both onsite and offsite locations nationwide. The "Crime Scene Management in Correctional Facilities" course is a 5-day, 40-hour, hands-on training program offering correctional investigators and security officers access to forensic evidence identification, documentation, collection, and preservation procedures. The introductory-level course, developed in partnership with BJA, blends facilitated learning and lecture periods with mock crime scenes and provides a safe and effective training environment for correctional personnel.

Capital Case Litigation Initiative: Under BJA's Capital Case Litigation Initiative, the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law (NCSTL) developed and is delivering two forensic trainings for prosecutors and defense attorneys who may try capital cases. BJA and NCSTL, in consultation with practicing death penalty prosecutors, designed the 1 -day curriculum using existing NCSTL sessions. The training focuses on teaching litigators about scientific evidence and expert witnesses, researching forensic sources, and specific forensic topical areas. The sessions also discuss the evidence necessary for trial, what needs to be sent to the laboratory for analysis, and judicial perceptions.

Understanding the "CSI effect": A number of hypotheses loosely referred to as the CSI effect suggest that the television program and its spin-offs, which wildly exaggerate and glorify forensic science, affect the public, and in turn affect trials either by burdening the prosecution by creating greater expectations about forensic science than can be delivered, or by burdening the defense by creating exaggerated faith in the capabilities and reliability of the forensic sciences. BJA, in partnership with Justice Management Institute (JMI), is exploring the CSI effect with the goal of increasing the understanding of how the CSI effect plays out in juror and prosecutorial decision-making. In addition, JMI will provide onsite technical assistance on policies and procedures for dealing with a real or perceived CSI effect.

Grant Awards:

Contact Information:
Cornelia Sorensen Sigworth
Policy Advisor
Bureau of Justice Assistance
810 Seventh Street NW.
Washington, DC 20531
Phone: (202) 305-9776
Fax: (202) 307-0036
E-mail: Cornelia.Sigworth@usdoj.gov