OSAC Standards Bulletin

The OSAC Registry is a repository of high-quality, technically sound published and proposed standards for forensic science. These written documents define minimum requirements, best practices, standard protocols, and other guidance to help ensure that the results of forensic analyses are reliable and reproducible.

All the standards on the OSAC Registry have passed a rigorous technical and quality review by OSAC members, including forensic science practitioners, research scientists, statisticians, and legal experts. 

New Standard Added to the OSAC Registry

SDO Published Standard (added February 1, 2022):

• ASTM E2808-21a Standard Guide for Microspectrophotometry in Forensic Paint Analysis.

Standards Open for Comment for OSAC Registry Approval

SDO Published Standards

The OSAC Registry approval process for published standards is used to review existing SDO published standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. Please submit your comments by 11:59 p.m. ET on February 28, 2022 on whether the following SDO published standards should be included on the Registry.

Academy Standards Board (ASB):

• ANSI/ASB Standard 054, Standard for a Quality Control Program in Forensic Toxicology Laboratories, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 119, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Medicolegal Death Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 120, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Impaired Driving Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 121, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic Toxicological Testing of Urine in Drug-Facilitated Crime Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.
• ANSI/ASB Standard 152, Standard for the Minimum Content Requirements of Forensic Toxicology Procedures, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.

OSAC Proposed Standards

The OSAC Registry approval process for OSAC Proposed Standards is used to review OSAC drafted standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. The following OSAC draft proposed standards are being considered for submission to an SDO. The final draft provided to the SDO will be available on the OSAC Registry as an “OSAC Proposed Standard.” OSAC welcomes comments on whether the current draft is suitable for release to the SDO as well as suggestions for improvements in content and wording. To be considered, comments must be placed in the OSAC Comment Form and sent to comments [at] nist.gov (comments[at]nist[dot]gov) by 11:59 p.m. ET on February 28, 2022.

• OSAC 2022-S-0023, Standard Practice for the Forensic Analysis of Explosives by Polarized Light Microscopy.
• OSAC 2022-N-0026, Medicolegal Death Investigation: Terms and Definitions. 
• OSAC 2022-N-0028, Human Abuse Recognition and Documentation by Dental Professionals. 

NOTE: OSAC RESOURCE TASK GROUP (RTG) MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO COMMENT ON THESE STANDARDS BY DOWNLOADING THE RTG COMMENT TABLE AND SUBMITTING IT TO forensics [at] nist.gov (FORENSICS[at]NIST[dot]GOV) IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REGISTRY APPROVAL PROCESS. 

Visit the OSAC website to see all the standards under consideration for the OSAC Registry, along with their status in the Registry approval process.

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

For the full list of forensic science standards that are currently open for comment at SDOs (9) and how to submit your feedback, visit OSAC’s Standards Open for Comment webpage. This page consolidates and tracks comment deadlines for you and will be updated on a weekly basis.

Other Forensic Science News, Events & Training

OSAC at AAFS

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) 74th Annual Scientific Conference will be held February 21-25 in Seattle, WA. AAFS 2022 will be a hybrid event, offering both in-person and virtual attendance options. Mark your calendar for these OSAC and standards-related presentations, workshops, and seminars. 

Forensic Toxicology Webinar

Shimadzu is hosting a webinar, Validating a Postmortem Forensic Volatile Analysis Method by HS-GS-FID to ANSI/ASB Standard 036 on February 9, 2022. A standard on the OSAC Registry, ANSI/ASB 036, Standard Practices for Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology, delineates minimum standards of practice for validating analytical methods in forensic toxicology that target specific analytes or analyte classes. 

Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence

Upcoming CSAFE events:

• WEBINAR: Improving Forensic Decision Making: A Human-Cognitive Perspective | February 17, 2022 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CST
• WEBINAR: Modeling and iNventory of Tread Impression System (MANTIS): The Development, Deployment and Application of an Active Footwear Data Collection System | March 24, 2022 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT
• WEBINAR: Shining a Light on Black Box Studies | April 22, 2022 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT 
• WEBINAR: Extracting Case-specific Information from Validation Studies | May 10, 2022 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT
• SHORT COURSE: Sampling for Forensic Practitioners. This three-part short course focuses on populations, sampling frames, sampling methods and geometric sampling. The course will meet on March 25, April 1 and April 8 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. central time. 

Forensic Technology Center of Excellence

Upcoming FTCoE events:

• WEBINAR: A Unique Approach to a Crime Gun Intelligence Center with the Inclusion and Support of SD Virtual Comparisons | February 10, 2022 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. EST
• WEBINAR: U.S. National Footwear Database System Feasibility Study | February 15, 2022 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST
• VIRTUAL EVENT: 2022 NIJ Forensic Science R&D Symposium | March 1-2, 2022 | 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST

National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) forensic list provides email alerts on the latest NIJ awards, solicitations, events, and publications.