Eric and Glenn are back from a little summer break, prepping for the 2024 IAI Conference in Reno.  They do a final “Where in the Whorld?” game.  Then they jump into a recent paper on “Inconclusive” decisions (Swofford, et al. (2024)  “Inconclusive Decisions and Error Rates in Forensic Science”, Forensic Science International: Synergy (vol 8; 100472)) authored by several members of NIST.  The paper proposes a method for computing and communicating error rates when “inconclusive” decisions are made.  The paper also focuses on making clear distinctions between “method performance” versus “method conformance”.  The guys discuss their views on the method and the implications the paper may have for fingerprint examiners and their agencies.

Swofford, H. , Lund, S. , Iyer, H. , Butler, J. , Soons, J. , Thompson, R. , Desiderio, V. , Jones, J. and Ramotowski, R. (2024), Inconclusive Decisions and Error Rates in Forensic Science, Forensic Science International: Synergy, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2024.100472, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957335 (Accessed August 31, 2024)

Link to open source paper here:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2024.100472

Double Loop Podcast

Episode 274 - NIST Inconclusive Paper

Whether you're a practicing Latent Print Examiner or you're interested in forensics and true crime, the Double Loop Podcast is a weekly show featuring Glenn Langenburg and Eric Ray discussing latent print topics, current events in forensic science, the newest research articles, interesting guests, and analysis of notable cases from a forensic scientist perspective.