Communicating Forensic Findings: Current Practices and Future Directions

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will convene a workshop on June 25^th and 26^th to examine how forensic findings are communicated in reports and testimony. This is a free event but limited to first come first serve registration to meet facility occupancy restrictions (registration coming soon). 

The first day of the workshop will explore how forensic findings are currently presented in the US. From the presentations and discussions, we are looking to examine the range of approaches currently in use or under development, with a focus on likelihood ratios and verbal scales; how comprehensible forensic findings are for end users, best practices for communicating scientific information to diverse audiences, and any knowledge gaps that may impact an end user’s understanding of the findings. On the second day, we will hear from European colleague’s on how they approach forensic reporting and testimony and engage in small group discussions to capture a variety of perspectives on how the forensic science community can improve communication of forensic findings. NIST plans to use the insights gained from the presentations and discussions to inform an upcoming Foundation Review. This event is intended for those actively engaged in communicating forensic findings, end users of the information being reported (e.g., legal community), and those who are working to improve the communication of scientific information with data analysis and research.

Credit: Sanne Aalbers