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School of Human Biosciences
Forensic
Expertise Profiling Laboratory
Brief
history of the Forensic Expertise Profiling Laboratory, School of Human Biosciences,
La Trobe University In
1989 Bryan Found commenced graduate study part-time in the Graduate Diploma in
Neurosciences program at La Trobe University. At this time Bryan was employed
as a Forensic scientist (Document
Examination) at the (now) Victoria Police
Forensic Science Centre (VFSC). Bryan's academic interest was
in the relationship between forensic handwriting identification expertise
and the fields of neuropsychology and motor control. In 1990 Bryan met Dr Doug
Rogers (during a tricky brain dissection), a Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences,
and so commenced their long term research collaboration. In 1993 Bryan, then Head
of the General Crime Section of the Document Examination Branch at the VFSC, was
awarded a national scholarship to commence a PhD, within the Handwriting Analysis
& Research Laboratory, in the field of theoretical and analytical approaches
to forensic handwriting examination (click here
for a list of Bryan's PhD chapters).
One of the research lines involved the development of techniques to investigate
and characterise handwriting expertise using studies of Document Examiners' behaviour
on blind trials. These validation trials were specifically tailored to investigate
expertise associated with realistic decision making processes encountered in routine
casework. In addition, unlike the small number and size of proficiency tests carried
out in Australia and New Zealand, up to this point the trials generated pools
of thousands of opinions regarding examiner skills in regard to handwriting identification,
writer elimination, simulation behaviour, auto-simulation behaviour and disguise
behaviour. Commencing in 1994 these trials were originally voluntary. Workshops
funded by the National Institute of Forensic Science provided Mr Found with a
forum to encourage Document examiners to participate in the program. Australian
and New Zealand Document Examiners (through the support of the Senior Managers
of Australian and New Zealand Forensic Laboratories) embraced the approach. It
was found that at this time an error rate existed for many
examiners, that some aspects of accepted theory were not empirically supportable,
and that there was a difference in skill between individuals and between different
laboratories. The early results focussed the design of the trials that were to
follow.
By 1997 the worth of these trials was recognised by the participating individuals,
laboratories, special advisory groups and the National Institute of Forensic Science.
The Forensic Expertise Profiling Laboratory was formed, headed by Dr Bryan Found,
as a component of the Handwriting Analysis & Research Laboratory. The research
was originally jointly funded by the National Institute of Forensic Science and
the participating forensic laboratories. In 1999 the success of the trials and
the realisation of the potential impact on the results to the judicial system
was recognised at a meeting of the Senior Managers of Australian and New Zealand
Forensic Science Laboratories. It was decided at that meeting that the testing
should be ongoing and routinely administered to Document Examiners (2 trials per
year). The representatives decided that the funding for the laboratory should
no longer be a responsibility of the National Institute of Forensic Science and
that the users would fund the trials into the future.
Since that time a series of skill trials (handwriting
and signature examinations) and proficiency tests (photocopy and typewriting examinations)
have been successfully delivered. To date over 50000
opinions have been expressed by the examiners in the six participating laboratories
Australian and New Zealand laboratories.
The skill validation trials, now provide regular information regarding individual
skill, laboratory skill and skill characteristics associated with different categories
of questioned writing types.
Since the year 2000, FDEs from the following countries have participated in the
skill testing program.
| Australia | Canada | Germany | Hong
Kong | Italy | | New
Zealand | Sweeden | The
Netherlands | United Kingdom | USA |
Should you
wish to join the program you may email
Dr Doug Rogers Return
to FEPL homepage
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