Examination of Firearms Review: 2007 to 2010 - Interpol

The Report poses two very important questions that it states, should
underlie the law’s admission of and reliance upon forensic evidence in
criminal trials: (1) the extent to which a particular forensic discipline is
founded on a reliable scientific methodology that gives it the capacity to
accurately analyze evidence and report findings and (2) the extent to which
practitioners in a particular forensic discipline rely on human interpretation
that could be tainted by error, the threat of bias, or the absence of sound
operational procedures and robust performance standards39.
The Report states that digital evidence has undergone a rapid maturation
process. This discipline did not start in forensic laboratories. Instead,
computers taken as evidence were studied by police officers and
detectives who had some interest or expertise in computers. Over the past
10 years, this process has become more routine and subject to the rigors
and expectations of other fields of forensic science. Three holdover
challenges remain: (1) the digital evidence community does not have an
agreed certification program or list of qualifications for digital forensic
examiners; (2) some agencies still treat the examination of digital evidence
as an investigative rather than a forensic activity; and (3) there is wide
variability in and uncertainty about the education, experience, and training
of those practicing this discipline. (40)
3 Laboratory Accreditation and Standards
3.1 Practitioner training
While examining existing resources to ensure the availability of both the
skills and equipment necessary for effective forensic science facilities, the
United Nations continue to receive a range of requests for advice and
assistance concerning the training of staff and the selection of appropriate
equipment and reference material (41). The United Nations developed the
Staff Skill Requirements and Equipment Recommendations for Forensic
Science Laboratories Manual in response to these requests and aims to
provide practical assistance for the establishment or upgrading of national
forensic science infrastructure general forensic science facilities and law
enforcement technical departments. The Digital and Multimedia Evidence
(42) discipline for example, while gradually moving in the same direction,
continues to be performed largely by investigative personnel or
investigative personnel re-assigned to the forensic laboratory environment.
Only recently have advanced education programs and certification
programs emerged specifically for this discipline, as well as the
development of external proficiency testing providers. The manual has
identified an array of requisite skills commensurate with the growth in
diversity in the digital forensic discipline. These skills include:
• Knowledge to recognize non-traditional operating systems and
proprietary software applications, password protected files, and
encryption
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