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. 

Four New Standards Added to the OSAC Registry

SDO Published Standards (added July 5, 2022):

• ASTM E3196-21, Standard Terminology Relating to the Examination of Explosives.
• ASTM E3253-21, Standard Practice for Establishing an Examination Scheme for Intact Explosives.
• ASTM E3329-21, Standard Practice for Establishing an Examination Scheme for Explosive Residues.

OSAC Proposed Standard (added July 5, 2022):

• OSAC 2021-S-0027, Standard Guide for Laboratory Photography. 

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 August 1, 2022 on whether the following SDO published standards should be included on the Registry:

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 108, Forensic Odontology in Disaster Victim Identification: Best Practice Recommendations for the Medicolegal Authority, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here. 

• ANSI/ASB Standard 125, Organizational and Foundational Standard for Medicolegal Death Investigation, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here. 

NOTE: IN JANUARY 2022, OSAC’S FORENSIC SCIENCE STANDARDS BOARD (FSSB) APPROVED THAT THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN OSAC-MANAGED COMMENT PERIOD FOR REGISTRY APPROVAL OF SDO PUBLISHED STANDARDS CAN BE MET DURING THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON A STANDARD DURING ITS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. THIS CHANGE ALLOWS COMMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED DURING THE SDO DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, PRIOR TO PUBLICATION, ENABLING UPGRADES TO BE DIRECTLY INCORPORATED INTO THE STANDARD RATHER THAN RECEIVING THE COMMENTS AFTER THE STANDARD IS PUBLISHED. IN CASES WHERE OSAC CAN DOCUMENT THE SDO’S PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY, OSAC WILL NOT EXECUTE A SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD DURING ITS REGISTRY APPROVAL PROCESS. SEE THE SDO UPDATES BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON THE STANDARDS CURRENTLY OPEN FOR COMMENT AT SDOS.

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 draft OSAC 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 drafts are 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 August 1, 2022.

• OSAC 2022-N-0020, Standard for Mass Fatality Incident Management.

• OSAC 2022-S-0022, Standard for Disaster Victim Identification.  

Calling All Forensic Science Experts

The success of OSAC’s efforts to facilitate the development of technically sound forensic science standards and promote the adoption of those standards by the forensic science community depends on your participation. OSAC is currently seeking to fill member vacancies on its committees and subcommittees due to a number of membership terms that will be expiring this September.   

If you are one of the over 550 current members and are interested in seeking a second term, you will be considered for the vacancy. If you have previously applied, you do not have to submit a new application unless your contact information or other responses have changed since your original submission. 
 
If you are interested in becoming a member of OSAC, please complete and submit an application form in order to be eligible and considered for the positions opening in October.  

Please contact OSAC Project Manager, Donna Sirk (donna.sirk [at] nist.gov (donna[dot]sirk[at]nist[dot]gov)) for more information.

New SDO Published Standards

The AAFS Standards Board (ASB) published the following standard in June 2022: 

• ANSI/ASB Standard 149, Standard for Taphonomic Observations in Support of the Postmortem Interval, First Edition, 2022.

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

Stakeholders from the forensic science community are encouraged to provide input on standards as they are being developed at SDOs. For SDO published standards going through the OSAC Registry approval process, the public will have an opportunity to comment on a standard during the SDO’s public comment period but will not be given a second opportunity to comment through OSAC on whether the resulting standard should be placed on the Registry. 

Visit OSAC’s Standards Open for Comment webpage to see the full list of forensic science standards open for comment at SDOs and how to submit your feedback. This page consolidates and tracks comment deadlines for you and will be updated on a weekly basis. It currently includes:

• Nine standards open for comment at ASB or ASTM in bloodstain pattern analysis (1), crime scene investigation (1), forensic anthropology (1) forensic document examination (1), forensic toxicology (1), friction ridge (1), and trace evidence (3).

Now Available: AAFS Standards Fact Sheets!

As part of a cooperative agreement with NIST, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is developing training, tools, and resources to enhance implementation efforts and broaden awareness of forensic science standards among communities of interest. 

One of these resources, AAFS Standards Fact Sheets, provide a clear, concise, and easy way to understand the purpose of a specific standard, why it is needed, and the benefits of adoption. There are currently 12 AAFS Fact Sheets available for standards listed on the OSAC Registry in the following forensic science disciplines: DNA, fire investigation, firearms & toolmarks, ignitable liquids and explosives, seized drugs, toxicology, and trace evidence. The fact sheets, standards-related webinars, and future resources are available on the AAFS Standards Resources and Training site.  

ASB is Seeking Members for Consensus Bodies

The ASB is currently accepting applications for a new Forensic Odontology consensus body and for new members to the existing consensus bodies. Each CB consists of 7 to 25 members and creates and approves by consensus Forensic Standards, Best Practice Recommendations, Guidelines, and Technical Reports. The CBs also consider comments, views, and objections to ballots and resolve all comments received in connection with the development of documents. ASB CBs are open to all materially interested and affected individuals, companies, and organizations. All applications must be completed by July 22, 2022.

• Application for the ASB Forensic Odontology Consensus Body.
• Application for new members to existing ASB Consensus Bodies.

Webinar

• Standards: The Not-So-Missing Link. AAFS has created a new video to help address the need for training related to forensic science standards. This video is the basis for a webinar that will be held July 21, 2022.