Maintaining the integrity of case outcomes depends on understanding and effectively presenting all types of forensic evidence. The ability to accurately depict, and even reconstruct, case elements requires strong collaboration among allied professionals.

Multidisciplinary teams often include law enforcement officials, attorneys, advocates, medical personnel, and crime laboratory representatives who serve as a sounding board for one another. When working together, these team members can effectively determine how to best navigate a case from start to finish. Transparency through information sharing is ideal when cases are reviewed and evaluated through an ethical framework.

Since 2019, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has funded the Enhancing Conviction Integrity through Forensics series. Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, the incumbent of BJA’s National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Training and Technical Assistance (SAKI TTA) award, has led the effort in developing multiple resources tailored to forensic practitioners to enhance fair and substantiated outcomes in justice proceedings. Project partners, including representatives from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and AEquitas, play a pivotal role in the resource development process. Webinars, podcasts, and virtual regional trainings have been developed to advance the knowledge and tools for understanding and presenting forensic evidence in court. These resources directly impact outcomes for older, unresolved cases and death penalty cases and can assist in the reduction or elimination of wrongful convictions.

Webinars

The Enhancing Conviction Integrity through Forensics series includes webinars on a variety of topics. Ballistics, bloodstain pattern analysis, fingerprints, DNA methodologies, preservation and collection of evidence, and expert and eyewitness testimony are examples of foundational content. Each webinar features the exploration of fundamental elements by field-experienced practitioners. Continuing in 2022, webinars in the series will include information on effective presentation of forensic evidence at trial and how to collaborate with forensic practitioners for effective testimony presentation at trial. These webinars are focused on providing training material to practitioners on all types of violent crimes, unresolved and current cases, and adult and juvenile cases.

Podcasts

During the summer of 2022, the series will launch a four-part podcast to discuss key concepts with listeners. Professionals from AEquitas, the IACP, and RTI International will discuss conviction integrity, the incorporation of advocacy into prosecution and how it enhances victims’ interactions with criminal justice professionals, the law enforcement perspective on how to maintain case integrity, and how agencies and organizations can implement best practices and create sustainable change. The candid conversations held in each episode provide viewpoints from highly respected practitioners within their respective fields. This series of podcasts has been recorded and is scheduled to launch in July as part of the Just Science podcast.

Regional Trainings

Since the Enhancing Conviction Integrity through Forensics series began, virtual regional trainings have been held on an annual basis to explore larger themes that surfaced during webinars. To cap off 2020, the virtual regional training featured a presentation on the multidisciplinary team approach and a panel discussion facilitated by AEquitas colleagues with subject matter experts from each of the topic-specific webinars throughout the year. Participants learned about key concepts from the fields of ballistics, fingerprints, expert testimony, and DNA testing and analysis.

In December 2021, the virtual regional training featured information on the implementation of a case review process, a role-play mock case review session, and a presentation on considerations for advocacy during prosecution. The interactive nature of the regional training allowed attendees and viewers to obtain real-time feedback from subject matter experts on processes and strategies used by their respective agencies.

The next virtual regional training is planned for late summer this year.

Accessing Resources

To broaden the availability of critical information to the field, practitioners of all disciplines can access recordings of these events and additional information at sakitta.org/conviction-integrity. As a key project partner, the IACP routinely posts notifications of upcoming events to www.theiacp.org/all-events to highlight educational, professional development, and networking opportunities for attendees. For more information about the resources presented in this article, please reach out to the SAKI TTA Team at sakitta@rti.org.d