The
SWGGUN met in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for
their semi-annual meeting from April 12-15,
2010. Eighteen members of the Board and the
current AFTE President, James Krylo, were
present. Three Board members were absent.
Topics and
issues covered during this meeting are
listed below.
The SWGGUN
Chair reported the following contacts and
actions since the last meeting:
-
SWGGUN was
provided an update on the National
Science & Technology Council,
Sub-Committee on Forensic Science’s
mission in responding to recommendations
in the 2009 NAS Report. In this update,
work by the Research, Development
Testing & Evaluation (RDT&E) Interagency
Working Group (IWG) was emphasized as it
corresponds to the mission of the
SWGGUN’s Science Committee.
-
The SWGGUN
continues to receive numerous inquiries
regarding the Admissibility Resource Kit
(ARK); especially, from Federal, state
and county prosecutors. Views in the ARK
website over the past two years have
increased from approximately 350 to over
1400 per month.
The following
personnel matters were approved by the Board
during this meeting:
The following
three new committees were formed since the
Fall 2009 meeting:
-
The ASTM
Standards Committee, chaired by Mr. T.L.
Price, will research the cost and
professional benefits of submitting
SWGGUN’s work products to ASTM and be
incorporated under their E30 standard.
-
The
International Liaison Committee, chaired
by Mr. Ed Wallace, will establish
contacts with international forensic
professional organizations to better
coordinate proposed and ongoing research
programs/topics in the discipline.
Additionally, this Committee will seek
to link the various technical reference
and data repositories.
-
The Report
Writing Committee, chaired by Mr. John
Ward, will review existing report
writing verbiage and terminologies used
in the Firearms & Toolmark ID discipline
and provide guidelines on more
standardized reporting formats.
The ARK
Maintenance Committee presented the
following report and updates to the Board:
-
Three new
admissibility court ruling citations
were added to the ARK since the last
meeting.
-
Three new
validity study publications were added
under the testability category since the
last meeting.
-
Some
additions and revisions to the text of
the ARK were approved by the Board.
The Document
Committee presented formatting procedures
for numerous documents. This formatting
procedure was approved by the Board.
The Archive
Committee submitted an internal SOP on the
most advantageous method for formatting
SWGGUN documents and correspondence for
future preservation. This SOP was adopted by
the Board.
The Science
Committee continues to work on a report
draft in response to the 2009 NAS Report
regarding the scientific foundational issues
in the Firearms and Toolmark Identification
discipline. Proposed thematic changes were
presented to the Board for discussion. The
Committee stated that a reviewable draft
version of this report will be available to
the Board shortly after the Association of
Firearm and Tool Mark Examiner (AFTE)
meeting in June.
The
Admissibility Training Committee continues
to develop a structured program in providing
training in evidence admissibility hearing
testimony.
The Firearms
Function Committee submitted a manuscript on
proposed standard elements that should be
included in firearm examination notes. The
Board reviewed this manuscript and voted
that it be posted as a
draft for public
review.
The Gunshot
Residue (GSR) Committee continues work on
developing an initial guideline draft
version.
The
Admissibility Training Committee delivered
an eight hour evidence admissibility
training program at the Louisiana State
Crime Laboratory in Baton Rouge.
Approximately 23 examiners and forensic
scientists from the Louisiana Association of
Forensic Scientists participated in this
training program.
The Board was
provided a plant tour of the Red Jacket
Firearms Company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
These
committees are working to develop a product
that can be posted on the SWGGUN website for
review and comments from the forensic
community. SWGGUN continues to operate its
own website at
www.swggun.org and solicits valuable
input from the discipline through a number
of different mechanisms during the
development stages of the guidelines which
we produce. These guideline/documents are
then posted on the website for your review
and we encourage peer review of these
materials. Feel free to contact a Board
member with your comments/concerns or visit
us at the “Feedback Forum” tab above.
Thank you for
allowing us to serve you. Board member
information can be found under the “Members”
tab. We look forward to hearing from you and
encourage your continued participation in
these ongoing projects that ultimately
affect our work product.
Gregory S.
Klees- Chair, SWGGUN
