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Forensic and Investigative Sciences Research Priorities

NIJ develops its forensic research, development and evaluation priorities with input from three forensic science Technology Working Groups: one on general forensics, one on electronic crime, and one on DNA. The Technology Working Groups help NIJ ensure that current and future technologies meet practitioners' needs.

High-Priority Needs

Within the investigative and forensic sciences, NIJ has identified the following high-priority research, development and evaluation needs of the field:

• Improved capability to expand the information that can be extracted from traditional types of forensic evidence and to quantify its evidentiary value, including:
  • Identification or characterization of:
    • Biological markers that may reveal more information about the source of biological evidence.
    • New substances or chemical constituents of forensic importance.
  • Improved tools for examining aged, degraded, limited, damaged, inhibited or otherwise compromised DNA evidence.
  • Tools to expand the utility of Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA.
  • Tools that provide a quantitative measure/statistical evaluation of forensic comparisons, including:
    • Impression evidence.
  • Physical separation of cells or components in mixtures from two or more individuals
    or sources, including:
    • Sperm.
• Improved capability to use and process digital evidence, including:
  • Tools to investigate the use of peer-to-peer technologies used to facilitate criminal activity, such as distribution of contraband, that address decentralized and unstructured peer-to-peer network protocols.
  • Tools that can recover system files, operating system information, applications, deleted files and unallocated space from small-scale mobile devices, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants.
  • Full data imaging solutions for networks and network-attached devices addressing:
    • Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID).
    • Wireless network devices, including routers, gateways, network interface cards, repeaters, switches, hubs and wirelessly connected external digital media.
    • Network data storage devices that are either directly connected or connected by a computer to the network.
• Develop reliable and widely applicable tools and technologies that allow faster, cheaper and less labor-intensive identification, collection, preservation and analysis of forensic evidence of all kinds and the reduction of existing case backlogs, including:
  • Improved laboratory information management systems.
  • Improved automated forensic analysis and quality assurance processes.
  • Improved screening methods for use at crime scenes and in the laboratory to rapidly and accurately determine the evidentiary value of biological materials.
  • Improved methods to rapidly identify and collect biological evidentiary samples at a crime scene.
  • Improved tools for preserving biological evidence.
  • Improved methods for DNA extraction.
  • Improved solutions to address the need for increased data storage capacity to archive large-volume data sets generated in computer forensic examinations.
  • Improved solutions for extracting specific data subsets that correspond to specific files from larger data sets during analysis of unallocated space on a digital media device.
  • Improved solutions to automatically determine that related entries in multiple databases that contain varying or inexact details are attributable to the same person.

These priorities inform decisions about the scope of future work and the dissemination of NIJ-sponsored knowledge and technologies. At the same time, NIJ maintains the flexibility to respond to emerging needs and to consider the merits of individual projects that may contribute to other worthwhile goals.

Meeting the Top Priorities

To meet these high-priority needs, NIJ provides funding to:

• Develop tools and technologies.  Demand exceeds capacity at most crime laboratories. NIJ develops innovative tools and technologies that will save time and money.
• Better understanding the impact of forensic science. NIJ has initiated several evaluations to assess the impact of forensic science on the criminal justice system.
• Provide technology assistance and training. Through the Forensic Resource Network and the Forensic Science Technology Center of Excellence, NIJ provides assistance with quality assurance, evaluation, and implementation of new technologies. It has developed several interactive trainings and field guidance documents.
• Enhance laboratory capabilities and capacity. NIJ provides funding to help laboratories streamline their operations, recruit qualified staff and process more cases faster, with greater accuracy.