Glossary

APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY
AFIS

Automated fingerprint identification system. Biometric database with image
storage and search capabilities. This system may or may not be part of the national
integrated system (IAFIS).

analyst/examiner

Laboratory personnel whose primary responsibilities are the analysis of physical
evidence, review and reporting of analytical results and providing expert testimony.

analyst/examiner
entry-level

See analyst/examiner. No professional experience necessary to qualify for hiring at
this level.

analyst/examiner
intermediate/senior-level

See analyst/examiner. Professional experience necessary to qualify for hiring at this
level. Includes all levels of above entry-level.

analyst/examiner
senior-level

See analyst/examiner. The highest level of analyst/examiner at the laboratory.

arrestee sample

A DNA reference sample from an arrestee collected and analyzed for inclusion into
a database.

audit trail

Automatically generated data/time stamped records that track all operator entries
and record all actions that create, change or delete information.

authorized FTE

The organization that has administrative control of the laboratory has approved a
position, but has not necessarily supplied funds to hire.

backlog reports

Reports that inform on the evidence analysis backlog; either discipline specific or
laboratory-wide.

backlogged case

A case that has been submitted to a crime laboratory and remains unreported for a
period of 30 days or longer.

backlogged request

A request that has been submitted to a disciplinary area of the crime laboratory and
remains unreported for a period of 30 days or longer.

case

All physical evidence from a single criminal investigation submitted for crime
laboratory analysis

case outcomes

Current status of a criminal investigation for which physical evidence has been
submitted to the laboratory and the final case disposition.

case tracking

Time and/or date information regarding case submission, analysis, and reporting to
the submitting agency. Individual cases are provided with a unique identifier.

chain of custody

Documentation that tracks the possession and location of evidence from collection
through analysis, possible court presentation and long term storage.

chemical unknown

Microscopic and/or instrumental analysis of evidence to determine chemical
composition of substances that do not fit into the criteria of other trace
subdisciplines.

clerical/administrative support

Laboratory personnel whose primary responsibility is to provide support to other
laboratory personnel through the performance of organizational/admin duties.

controlled substances

The identification of drugs and other substances whose possession or use, either in
pure, legal or illicit dosages, is restricted by the government.

convicted offender sample

A DNA reference sample from a convicted offender collected and analyzed for the
inclusion into a database.

B1

crime laboratory

A scientific laboratory with at least one full time natural scientist that examines
physical evidence in criminal matters, provides reports and opinion testimony with
respect to such physical evidence in courts of law. This definition does not include
operations that engage exclusively in fingerprint recovery, development, and
examination, crime scene investigation, computer crime inquiries and photography.

crime scene

Forensic discipline that conducts the identification, documentation, collection
and/or interpretation of physical evidence at a location external to a laboratory
facility and where a suspected crime has occurred.

crime scene technician

Laboratory personnel whose primary responsibility is to respond to crime scenes,
record and collect evidence, and submit that evidence to a laboratory for analysis.
Duties at the senior level may include crime scene reconstruction and blood spatter
analysis.

digital & multimedia evidence

The analysis of evidence stored or transmitted in the binary form; and
Analog or digital media, including, but not limited to, film, tape, magnetic and
optical media, and/or information contained therein.

equipment

Nonexpendable items purchased that have a useful life of more than two years and
cost more than $5,000.

explosives analysis

Microscopic and/or instrumental analysis of physical evidence and devices rendered
safe for the quantitative/qualitative chemical analysis of low and/or high explosives
and/or explosives residue.

fiber examination

Microscopic and/or instrumental examination of fibers. This analysis may identify
the fiber type and other class characteristics by observation of physical, chemical
and optical properties.

fire debris analysis

Instrumental analysis of physical evidence in order to detect the presence of
possible ignitable liquid residues foreign to the substrate.

firearms/toolmarks

Examination and comparison of evidence resulting from discharge and/or use of
firearms; comparison of marks made by various tools.

forensic biology

The location, screening, identification and characterizations of physiological fluids
and DNA analysis of biological evidence. This category combines the "biology
screening" and "DNA analysis" categories used in the 2002 and 2005 Census of
Publicly Funded Crime Labs.

fringe benefits

Costs incurred by the laboratory to provide non-wage benefits to employees. These
costs include, but are not limited to, insurance, taxes, vacation, unemployment and
retirement.

FTE

Full Time Equivalent. An employee is considered full time if they are expected to
work 40 hours per week. If a part time employee works 20 hours a week he or she
should be counted as 0.5 FTE.

funded FTE

The organization that has administrative control of the laboratory has approved a
position and funds have been appropriated to support one full time equivalent.

furlough

FTE hours spent without duties and pay because of lack of work, funds or other
non-disciplinary reasons.

gunshot residue testing

Microscopic and/or instrumental analysis of evidence in order to detect any
particulates expelled from any and all openings of a firearm during firing. This
definition does not include weapon-to-target distance determination.

hair examination

Microscopic examination of the structural characteristics of hair to determine
characteristics of the hair source or for comparison with a set of known exemplars.

B2

hard sources

Repeated and dependable sources of funding including, but not limited to, funds
provided from the city, county, state or federal government.

impressions

Identification, documentation, collection, and interpretation of two-dimensional and
three dimensional impressions and imprints found at crime scenes. Two
subcategories are specified in the survey: footwear and tire tread.

instrument tracking

The tracking of all usage, maintenance and calibration data for laboratory
instrumentation.

laboratory system

An organization containing at least two physically separate laboratory facilities that
are independently managed under the control of a single manager in an
organizational chart.

laser microdissection

Visualization, isolation and recovery of specific cells from samples mounted on
slides using laser illumination. Frequently abbreviated LMD.

latent prints

Development and/or comparison of fingerprint impressions on physical evidence or
other substrates.

LC-MS/MS

Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Used for the qualitative
and quantitative analysis of drugs and other compounds. The tandem MS capability
allows analysis of many compounds in a single sample injection.

LIMS

Laboratory Information Management System. Any software based system that
records information about items submitted and analyzed by the laboratory.

managerial FTE

Laboratory personnel whose primary responsibility is the management or
supervision of other employees.

NIBIN

National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. Repository of digital images of
the markings made on spent ammunition recovered from a crime scene or a crime
gun test fire.

outsource

Physical evidence from the jurisdiction served is sent to another laboratory, public
or private, for analysis. This does not refer to physical evidence sent to other
laboratories in the same multiple laboratory system.

paint analysis

Microscopic and/or instrumental analysis of paint and coating evidence to
determine chemical and physical characteristics that can indicate a specific source
type (automotive, architectural, etc.) or be compared to submitted exemplars.

PDQ

Paint Data Query. PDQ contains information on the chemical composition of paint
from most domestic and foreign car manufacturers and the majority of vehicles
marketed in North America after 1973. This database is maintained by the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

pending request

A request that has been submitted to a disciplinary area of a crime laboratory, but
has not yet been examined and reported to the submitting agency. A pending
request will become a backlogged request after it remains unreported for a period of
30 days.

performance expectation

The expected number of requests, analyzed and reported, for one full time examiner
in one year. This number is a managerial expectation and may be higher or lower
than the actual number of requests completed for 2009.

personnel

Total amount budgeted for annual salaries and fringe benefits of all employees
within a laboratory. Fringe benefits include, but are not limited to, insurance, taxes,
vacation, unemployment and retirement.

B3

polynomial texture mapping

Images taken from a fixed point of view with lighting at multiple angles are
combined to create an image with increased photorealism. Forensic applications
include imaging of impression evidence. Frequently abbreviated "PTM".

quality assurance document management

Secure storage and version control of controlled documents including all SOPs and
QA documents.

questioned documents

Examination of printed, typed or written material for the purpose of identifying the
source, determining alterations or other means of gaining information about the
item or the circumstances surrounding its production.

reconstruction

Determining past events that address questions of investigative importance from the
record of physical evidence that has resulted from those events.

report generation

Automatic and/or customizable report creation including but not limited to
certificates of analysis and workload reports.

request

Submissions of one or more items of physical evidence from the same case to a
single disciplinary area of a crime laboratory. Multiple submissions of new
evidence over time from the same case to one or more disciplinary sections of the
laboratory would may as a new request.

sample tracking

Individual items provided with a unique identifying number are tracked with
reference to location and progress of analysis. Unit of entry may be date and/or
time.

scientist

A person with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a natural science who employs
the scientific method in the examination and interpretation of evidence in a crime
laboratory.

sexual assault evidence

Any physical evidence submitted from the commission of a sexual assault. This
category includes, but is not limited to, items referred to as sexual assault kits,
victim physical evidence kits and rape kits.

soft sources

One-time or unpredictable sources of funding including but not limited to grants
and awards.

supplies

Any materials that are expendabl e and consumed during the course of the year,
including but not limited to: office supplies, postage, training materials, copying
paper and expendable equipment costing less than $5000.

technical support FTE

A FTE whose primary responsibility is to provide support to analysts/examiners via
the performance of laboratory-based tasks such as sample preparation, reagent
preparation and analytical instrumentation maintenance.

toxicology

Analysis of biological materials for the presence of drugs and other potentially toxic
materials.

trace

Microscopic, chemical and/or instrumental analysis of transferable evidence and
other materials not specifically covered in other disciplines including, but not
limited to, gunshot residue, fire debris, explosives, paint, glass, hair, fibers, tape and
other varieties of trace and/or transferable evidence.

turnaround time

The time from evidence assignment to report generation.

UPLC

Ultra performance liquid chromatography. This technology can be used with the
same sample types as traditional HPLC; drugs and other compounds that degrade at
high temperatures. Stationary phase packing particles are smaller than 2.5
micrometers allowing for increased separation efficiency at higher flow rates
without significant losses in resolution.

Y-STR

Analysis of short tandem repeat loci on the Y chromosome.

B4