Recent activities in the United States involving the National Commission on Forensic Science and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science

Abstract

In 2013, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an interagency initiative to strengthen forensic science: the establishment of a National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) and development of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). The role of NCFS is to advise DOJ on matters of policy. NCFS exists in two-year renewable terms and has held 11 meetings in Washington, DC between February 2014 and September 2016. More than 30 work products have been approved following discussion and development within seven NCFS subcommittees that have been informed by public comment. The role of OSAC is to improve forensic practices by facilitating the development and promulgation of technically sound consensus-based documentary standards that can be used by accrediting bodies in future audits of forensic laboratories. OSAC is a NIST-organised effort and it is intended to be ongoing. Since the first in-person meeting in January 2015, OSAC has grown to involve a Forensic Science Standards Board, three resource committees, five SACs, 25 subcommittees, and >200 task groups involving hundreds of people from the forensic science and research communities. This article reviews recent activities, challenges and progress of NCFS and OSAC.