MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Welcome to 2025.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the honor of serving as your President for the year 2025. I sincerely appreciate the trust you have placed in me to lead this esteemed Association in the upcoming year. Throughout my six-year tenure as Secretary, I have had the privilege of getting to know each of you, and it has truly been a gratifying experience.
As we move forward, I aspire to ensure a successful year characterized by interesting training meetings, and I anticipate that our annual training conference will provide valuable insights and knowledge that will benefit our forensic communities.
Once again, thank you for your trust and confidence in my ability to serve as your President.
Yours Respectfully,
Denell Payne
EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES
THIS WEEK ON FORENSIC ARTICLES
03.25.2025 | Toward better AFIS practice and process in the forensic fingerprint environment by Caroline Gibb and John Reimen.
“A Close Non-Match (CNM) refers to two friction-ridge impressions that share similar features, making it difficult to distinguish the two impressions [33]. An increasing number of biometric databases contribute to an increased likelihood of shared coincidental similarity between the two impressions [34,35].
There can be a high level of correspondence between the questioned mark and the suggested biometric candidate on the AFIS, leading to potential errors. In this scenario, the potential for error increases because of the complexity of the comparison and the close resemblance of the features.
This emphasises the importance of providing examiners with training to recognise high-risk scenarios and to offer them guidance on how to best document and evaluate these situations [36].
Furthermore, training opportunities for examiners working under difficult conditions could include the use of statistical tools to inform judgments and help express the degree of association when source-level identification or exclusion cannot be determined. “
See full presentation here .
Bi-monthly Training Meetings
Mark Your Calendars
Be sure to check the website for updates and important information. Please note, the dates below are subject to change pending on venue availability.
2025 Training Dates
– FEBRUARY 1ST
– APRIL 12TH
– JUNE 7TH
– AUGUST 2ND
– OCTOBER 1ST – 3RD (Annual Conference)
– DECEMBER 6TH
The recently concluded 33rd annual conference in Hotel Paseo, Palm Desert, CA was a success, thanks to the cooperation of every single board member, a team that ensures excellence in ways I admire. I am also thankful for the participation of our speakers, sponsors and vendors.
To the entire membership in attendance, I hope you all had a fantastic time, learnt a thing or two, created good memories and connected with colleagues. For those who could not attend this year, know that you were missed.
Lastly, I know how important keeping SCAFO a well-respected organization is and I couldn’t be prouder to serve a body that honours that. I encourage us to keep it up for as long as time avails!
Warmest wishes,
Josie Mejia, 2024 SCAFO President
Listen to some interesting crime stories or forensic-related updates…
