[Download] "Forensic Science, No Consensus (Forum)" by Issues in Science and Technology * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Forensic Science, No Consensus (Forum)
- Author : Issues in Science and Technology
- Release Date : January 01, 2004
- Genre: Engineering,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 152 KB
Description
In "A House with No Foundation" (Issues, Fall 2003), Michael Risinger and Michael Saks raise what they perceive to be serious questions regarding the reliability of forensic science research conducted by law enforcement organizations and, in particular, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Laboratory. They make sweeping unsupported statements about scientists' bias, manufactured data, and overstated interpretations. Although it is not possible to address each of these ill-founded remarks in this brief response, it is apparent that the authors are unaware of, or at least misinformed about, the FBI Laboratory R & D programs, which support an environment contradictory to that portrayed by the authors. I appreciate this opportunity to inform your readers about the strong foundation that forensic science research provides for the scientific community. The FBI Laboratory's Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit (CTFSRU) is responsible for the R & D within the FBI Laboratory and provides technical leadership in counterterrorism and forensic science for federal, state, and local laboratories. The CTFSRU focuses its research activities on the development and delivery of new technologies and methodologies that advance forensic science and fight terrorism. Our R & D efforts range from fundamental studies of microbial genomes to the development of an automated microfluidic system that provides sample-to-answer short tandem repeat DNA analysis, and from addressing Daubert admissibility criteria for forensic examinations to developing databases for determining the source of agents that might be used in chemical and biological terrorist attacks. The CTFSRU achieves this goal through both internal R & D performed by its research scientists and by coordinating outsourced research efforts with well-respected independent contractors, who are selected in compliance with federal acquisition regulations requiring for full and open competition.