Accurate and reliable decision-making in the criminal justice system depends on accurate expert reporting and on the correct interpretation of evidence by the judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers. The present study aims to gain insight into the judiciary's capability to assess the accuracy and reliability …

Highlights • Mandates standardised protocols for the publication of DNA transfer and recovery data to ensure consistency • Requires open-sharing of non-allelic experimental and casework data in accessible formats to build a databank. • Specifies use of fully continuous probabilistic genotyping and NIST …

Self-injurious behavior in forensic mental health care populations happens frequently and affects not only the individuals involved but also other patients and treatment staff. Moreover, it is linked to violent behavior toward others and is a predictor of suicide. There is still a limited understanding …

Residential burglaries often go unsolved, as collected DNA traces and fingermarks frequently originate from residents rather than the offender. It is therefore important to know how to target sampling locations that specifically relate to the burglary event. However, data that aid in assessing the likelihood …

Digital forensic scientists primarily rely on individual internal reasoning and categorical conclusions when evaluating evidence in casework. This can make it difficult to maintain structured reasoning that is logically sound, balanced, robust, and transparent. Trojan horse defense cases exemplify these …

The escalating plastic waste crisis has increased the need for sustainable alternatives. Biodegradable plastics have emerged as a promising solution and are now frequently encountered at crime scenes. Although many studies have been published on the development of fingermarks on conventional plastics, …

We are concerned that EA-4/23 INF:2025 The Assessment and Accreditation of Opinions and Interpretations using ISO/IEC 17025:2017 provides inappropriate guidance on how to conduct forensic interpretation and on how to report forensic opinions. Following this guidance would result in misleading statements …

A large, recently published, inter-laboratory study by the ReAct group has shown that there is considerable variability in DNA recovery that exists between forensic laboratories. The presence of this inter-laboratory variability presents issues when one laboratory wishes to carry out an evaluation and …

Decisions made during forensic investigations are commonly based on personal knowledge, experiences and assumptions. However, forensic professionals generally do not receive feedback on the outcomes of their decisions, resulting in a deficient learning system. An imperfect individual knowledge base can …

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