Department of Forensic Sciences Science Advisory Board’s Statement with regard to the PCAST Report

Introduction

On September 20, 2016, the US President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) published a report on Forensic Science in Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of FeatureComparison Methods in response to the President’s question as to whether there are additional steps that could help ensure the validity of forensic evidence in the Nation’s legal system. As appropriate to the disciplines offered by the Department of Forensic Sciences, the Advisory Board will address the disciplines of Forensic Biology (DNA), Latent Fingerprint Analysis, and Firearms Analysis. The Board has decided to address these disciplines separately, beginning with Forensic Biology. The other disciplines will be addressed in the next few meetings.