ICSIA's E-Newsletter May 2013

ICSIA Examiner's Newsletter

ICSIA Examiner May 2013

From the Editor

We have some big news for you this issue! See below for details. We also have a good line up of info, on biological evidence in particular. The NIJ has just released some new guidelines and you can read about those as well as an article from Dick Warrington on Touch DNA below. We also have some info on Google's new technology- Google Glass. This may very well be the future of computing folks. Especially in law enforcement/military applications.

I'm in need of articles and photo's for future newsletters. So if you've ever thought about writing an article to share with your colleagues, this is your opportunity. If you have some neat photos about anything to do with crime scenes or law enforcement, please send them to me.

Daryl

Got comments/questions or want to submit an article for The Examiner? e-mail me: Daryl W. Clemens

President's Message

Greetings!

We have been busy! I am happy to announce that ICSIA will be having its first conference May 13-15, 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas! The details are being worked out now and the contract has just been signed with the hotel, the Riverfront Wyndham in North Little Rock. This is a major step for us. Information will be posted on the web site as we move forward. I fully expect good attendance including CSI’s from the Caribbean Division. Please plan on attending! It is a year away so you have plenty of time to plan for it!

We will need help at the conference so please let us know if you are coming and want to volunteer! We also need you to use your resources to help us make this a great conference. We need sponsors for the breaks, reception, hospitality rooms, and door prizes. We always accept donations too! Our membership fees are extremely low so we have very little money to spend. So all financial help is greatly appreciated.

We also need to have speakers at the conference. If you would like to give a presentation or a workshop please let us know.

Secondly we (ICSIA) will be at the IAI conference as a vendor. We will have a booth to help spread the word about us, membership and the conference next year. If you are going to the IAI conference in August in Providence, Rhode Island please stop by to say “Hi”! We will be at booth 539.

In the newsletter you will see a photo of the new head of the SOC Unit in Jamaica, Superintendent Craig Dewar. With him in the photo is our own Caribbean Director Christopher Andrews. SP Dewar has become a member of ICSIA. You will also see in the newsletter an article by Christopher about the SOC in Jamaica.

Stay safe!

Hayden B. Baldwin, Executive Director
International Crime Scene Investigators Association (ICSIA)
http://www.icsia.org
hbb@icsia.org

Scene of Crime Jamaica 2012

Christopher Anderson and Craig Dewar

Pictured above: Christopher Anderson on the left and on the right Superintendent Craig Dewar.

Crime Scene Vehicles

by Daryl Clemens

Did you know we have a page on the members site where we have pictures of different agencies crime scene vehicles? We do! The latest it from St. Louis County PD. You can find it Here You can find photos of a vehicle from Jamaica Here The page with the rest of the photos is Here

ICSIA’s CSI Conference

Education, Training and Technology, May 13-15, 2014, Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, North Little Rock, Arkansas

More details coming soon- Keep checking our Conference Page for the latest.

On the Web- Biological Evidence Guidlines from NIJ

By Daryl Clemens

The Biological Evidence Preservation Handbook: Best Practices for Evidence Handlers (NISTIR 7928) has just been released by the NIJ. This document provides guidance to both those collecting biological evidence at scenes, as well as storage guidelines for the property manager who has to maintain it until trial or case closure. The sections are: 1. Retaining Biological Evidence 2. Biological Evidence Safety and Handling 3. Packaging and Storing Biological Evidence 4. Tracking Biological Evidence Chain of Custody 5. Biological Evidence Disposition.

Most of what's in here is not a surprise for those of us who are active in the field, but it might be a very good idea to print out a copy for your property managers and for patrolmen or detectives who only gather this sort of evidence occasionally. And, I totally used a PR picture supplied by the NIJ- but don't do what they are showing, which is swabbing an unexploded pipe bomb in the lab...that's just a special kind of stupid folks.

NISTIR 7928 may be downloaded at http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2013/NIST.IR.7928.pdf.
Print copies are available upon request from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at https://www.ncjrs.gov.
Photo credit: Forensic Science Program, Penn State University

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Above photo by Justis

Touch DNA

By Dick Warrington

This article originally appeared inForensic Magazine® December 2010, Reprinted with Permission.

Given the continuing popularity of “CSI” and similar TV shows and movies, it’s not surprising that juries expect prosecutors to present DNA evidence for every case they bring to court. The reality, of course, is not that simple. In the 1980s, in order to perform DNA analysis on a crime scene or a victim, forensic investigators needed a blood sample or semen stain of about the size of a quarter. The sample size fell in the early 1990s to the size of a dime; by the end of the ’90s it became even smaller: If it is visible it can be analyzed. Recently, however, scientists have developed a new technique for processing DNA called “touch DNA.” With this technique, scientists can test for DNA without a sample from blood or bodily fluids. As we’ll see, this advance offers many advantages and opens up new opportunities for solving cases.

Above photo by Google

Cell Phones

Google Glass

By Daryl Clemens

One of the biggest recent announcements in cell phone related technology is Google's wearable heads-up computing display- Google Glass.

Google's official page is Here(warning, it's a bit bandwidth intensive with a fair amount of video).

Some more info on what it may be capable of can be found Here

And, given that the Google I/O conference is going on right now, there may be more news at anytime. Just run a search for Google Glass to see the latest, and stay tuned, this has the potential to be really cool. Facial recognition, license plate reading and easy photos from the Officer's point of view are all potential applications.

Daryl

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