On Friday, April 3, the ASCLD Board of Director’s met and voted to accept the list of candidates presented as new members. Although this may seem a little out of the ordinary, the new members are usually voted on by the Board during a meeting that takes place prior to the annual symposium. We felt that this was an appropriate step to take. The list of candidates was sent to all members previously and has been posted in the CLM and online for all to review. Having received no negative comments about any of the proposed members, I am pleased to announce that ASCLD has 1 new Emeritus member, 3 new retired members, and 52 new Regular members. Welcome to all of our new members!
As a reminder – the list can be found on the ASCLD website in the Manager’s Toolkit section in the 2020 Executive Digest.
COVID-19 has presented all of us with unique challenges. We are having to look for ways to move forward that we never anticipated. At our Board meeting, we discussed the next steps that ASCLD would need to take to move forward. We are planning to conduct a virtual annual meeting. As soon as we know the date and time of the meeting, we will provide a 60-day notice, as required by the by-laws. At this meeting, we will present the Board candidates via a video that they will be preparing and allow for the opportunity to vote on these candidates (and any nominations from the floor), vote on the 2019 Business meeting minutes, and present other pertinent information about the past year of the organization. Your participation is important to ASCLD.
As we continue to try to navigate through all the challenges and obstacles that this year may present, please know that your Board is committed to this organization and we are navigating carefully.
Make sure you are checking the “Funding Opportunities” section of the CLM. Solicitations for grants are being posted for your convenience. Many of the grants have not changed their deadlines and those deadlines are coming up quickly – don’t miss out.
Some positive news – this past year there was a record number of submissions to Project FORESIGHT. Paul Speaker evaluated all of the submissions that arrived prior to the symposium deadline and the attached list indicates the Maximus award winners who would have been announced at the symposium:
FORESIGHT Maximus Performers
Acadiana Crime Lab, New Iberia, LA
Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, Little Rock, AR
Bexar County Criminal Investigation Laboratory, San Antonio, TX
Broward County Sheriff's Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Chandler Police Department Forensic Service Section, Chandler, AZ
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Charlotte, NC
City of Tulsa Police Department Forensic Laboratory, Tulsa, OK
Denver Police Department Crime Laboratory, Denver, CO
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tampa, FL
Fort Worth Police Crime Laboratory Forth Worth, TX
Fort Worth Police Department - Digital Forensic Lab, Fort Worth, TX
Idaho State Police, Meridian, ID
Midwest Regional Forensic Laboratory, Andover, MN
Utah Department of Public Safety Bureau of Forensic Services, Taylorsville, UT
Great job to all
of the participating labs!
Everyone please stay safe, stay positive, stay healthy.
Brooke
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Weekly News and Resources
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Community Research, Newsletters, and Surveys
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Message from the Trauma & Stress Working Group:
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SWGDRUG Would like your Input
The Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG) has posted two DRAFT revised documents for review by the forensic science community. To ensure the document addresses the needs of the community, SWGDRUG invites your comments and suggestions.
The two documents are available on the SWGDRUG website
http://www.swgdrug.org/pending.htm
. Please provide your comments on this proposed document using the provided survey links.
Responses from the community will be collected until May 10, 2020. Thank you for taking part in the recommendation process. SWGDRUG appreciates your efforts in helping to build consensus within the community.
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Survey for Forensic Lubricant Analysis
Recently, the Forensic Working Group on Sexual Lubricants was established to discuss and standardize forensic lubricant analysis in operational settings. To better support the community of laboratories that conduct this type of analysis, we want to learn about your interest or current procedures for analyzing lubricants used in sexual assault. We invite you to participate in our brief survey that can be completed in approximately 5-7 minutes.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to address them to the Forensic Working Group at [email protected].
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Laboratory managers and supervisors may be interested in getting their laboratory involved in this very important study. See attached for announcement from NIST and Noblis.
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The goal of the Laboratories and Educators Alliance Program (LEAP) is to facilitate collaborative research between academia and forensic science laboratories. This joint effort between the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD) and the Council of Forensic Science Educators (COFSE) identifies forensic science needs and provides a platform for laboratories, researchers, and students to seek projects aligning with their mutual research capabilities.
Read more...
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Important notice: deadlines for NIJ solicitations are unchanged (with a couple of 3/2020 exceptions), applications are due by the 4/20/2020 deadline.
Solicitation Reminder and Notice:
NIJ's Drugs and Crime Research Program supports rigorous applied research on
evidence-based tools, protocols, and policies for state, tribal, and local law
enforcement and other criminal justice agencies that address drug trafficking,
drug markets, and drug-related violence. The focus of this research solicitation is
narcotics-related criminal investigation, prosecution, intelligence, and community
surveillance relevant to law enforcement and medicolegal death investigation activities.
The FY2020 solicitation's drug priorities are: methamphetamine and other
stimulants, including diverted pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and their analogues.
Notice: Under the circumstances surrounding the pandemic, NIJ will accept
applications without signed written agreements if proposed research partners are
unable to fully execute those by April 20, but applicants selected for funding must
produce those by January 1, 2021; see solicitation update.
A new solicitation from NIJ for FY2020 entitled "
NIJ’s National Center on Forensics"
has just been released. The solicitation was posted April 6, 2020, and will be closing 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 5, 2020.
See below for more details.
W
ith this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals from qualified applicants to establish
and operate the NIJ National Center on Forensics to:
Facilitate a partnership amongst:
- A full-service State department of forensic science with a medical examiner function;
- An accredited university of higher education with affiliate medical and law schools; and
- A statewide district attorneys association.
For the purpose of:
- Providing medico-legal learning opportunities for medical students to train as deputy medical examiners/coroners in underserved rural areas;
- Providing forensic science and legal training to district attorneys, judges, and law enforcement; and
- Developing opportunities, as appropriate, amongst the designated partners to benefit current and future practitioners in the field.
All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 5, 2020.
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Two NIJ FY2020 Forensic Research, Development, and Evaluation solicitations were posted yesterday, both closing 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 18, 2020.
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Please see below info for the next iteration of the BJA opioid-related funding opportunity, which has expanded to include stimulants and other substances of abuse. While not specifically called out in the FY2020 solicitation, forensic laboratories and medical examiner/coroner offices should consider this funding opportunity, and encourage participation in the webinar scheduled for next Wednesday, March 25. Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 21, 2020. Thanks!
BJA Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP)
Date/Time: March 25, 2020, 3:30 p.m. ET
This webinar will provide an overview of the FY 2020 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) funding opportunity.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is seeking applications to develop, implement, or expand comprehensive programs in response to illicit opioids, stimulants, or other substances of abuse. This program furthers the Department’s mission by providing resources to support state, local, tribal, and territorial efforts to reduce violent crime and drug abuse and enhance public safety while supporting victims.
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FY 2020 Academic-based Drug Field Testing and Training Initiative
Applications are due May 8, 2020
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FY20 NIJ Research and Evaluation on Policing funding opportunity, closes April 13, 2020; relevant forensic science aspects highlighted below.
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OSAC AND ASCLD would like your input on the following two standards up for comment:
IMPORTANT ----YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED BY
APRIL 3, 2020
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Click
HERE to review standards available for comment.
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March 2020 OSAC Standards Bulletin now available, click
HERE
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JusticeTrax 2020 UGM
August 16
th
to August 21
st
, 2020
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9th Annual Forensic Science Symposium
June 2-4, 2020
Miami, Florida
Join more than 200 forensic science colleagues and aspiring scientists from Florida and beyond at the 9th Annual Forensic Science Symposium at the beautiful Florida International University Modesto A. Maidique Campus in Miami. The symposium will be held June 2-4, 2020.
The 2020 symposium will showcase topics like DNA, chemistry, toxicology, digital forensics and latent prints, and include expanded criminal justice subjects beyond the laboratory. Workshops and a poster session will be included. Registration will be $30 and free for students. Group registration for agencies is also available.
We are looking for innovative topics and dynamic speakers to share their expertise. A call for abstracts will be released soon.
Questions about attending, sponsoring or presenting at the symposium? Email
[email protected]
.
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ANAB - Upcoming training events
April 28-May 1, 2020, San Antonio, TX
June 16-19, 2020, Minneapolis, MN
September 15-18, 2020, Washington, D.C.
November 3-6, 2020, Rancho Cordova, CA
April 28-May 1, 2020, New York, NY
May 12-15, 2020, San Francisco, CA
June 9-12, 2020, Milwaukee, WI
June 23-26, 2020, Towson, MD
November 16-19, 2020 Fort Worth, TX
June 23-26, 2020 (2-4pm ET)
June 24-26, 2020 (11am-1pm ET)
April 7-9, 2020, Washington, D.C.
May 5-8, 2020, Washington, D.C.
August 4-7, 2020, St. Louis
May 19, 2020, Cary, NC
May 20-21, 2020, Cary, NC
April 8-9, 2020, Springfield, VA
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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A2LA WorkPlace Training (A2LA WPT) is a nonprofit organization established with a vision of being the leading management systems, conformity assessment, and measurement training company in the world. Our mission is to provide independent, world-class training programs that inspire confidence in the quality of service and acceptance of results from organizations.
Be a leader in your industry by building confidence and consistency in your product through A2LA WPT’s broad spectrum of instructor-led and online e-learning training courses. Move ahead of your competition by learning best practices on international standards, quality systems, technical tools, and soft skill
s.
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Donations to ASCLD can now be made online! This is a great way to honor the memory of a forensic colleague, to commemorate a life event for that person who has everything, or to otherwise assist in supporting the tireless efforts of the ASCLD organization in the pursuit of excellence in forensic science management. The donation page can be accessed by clicking
HERE
or by visiting the ASCLD website and clicking on "Donate to ASCLD" under the "Member Site" tab (this donation page is accessible even to non-members). Please consider donating and do share this information with anyone you think might be interested.
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The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
65 Glen Road, Suite 123
Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.773.2044
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