Perceptions of blind proficiency testing among latent print examiners

Gardner, Brett O.; Neuman, Maddisen

Perceptions of blind proficiency testing among latent print examiners

File

2023-Gardner-PerceptionsBlindManuscript.pdf (315.69 KB)

Date

2023-03

Authors

Gardner, Brett O.

Neuman, Maddisen

Publisher

Abstract

In recent years, scholars have levied multiple criticisms against traditional proficiency testing procedures in forensic laboratories. Consequently, on several occasions, authorities have formally recommended that laboratories implement blind proficiency testing procedures. Implementation has been slow, but laboratory management has increasingly expressed interest in initiating blind testing in at least some forensic disciplines, with some laboratories conducting blind testing in almost all disciplines. However, little is known about how a key population perceives blind proficiency testing, i.e., forensic examiners. We surveyed active latent print examiners (N = 338) to explore perceptions of blind proficiency testing and determine whether beliefs varied between examiners who work for laboratories with and without blind proficiency testing. Results suggest that examiners do not hold particularly strong beliefs about such procedures, but that examiners who work in laboratories with blind proficiency testing procedures view them significantly more positively than those who do not. Further, examiner responses provide insight into potential obstacles to continued implementation.

Academic or Administrative Unit

Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence

Type

article

Comments

This is a manuscript of an article published as Gardner, Brett O., and Maddisen Neuman. "Perceptions of blind proficiency testing among latent print examiners." Science & Justice 63, no. 2 (2023): 200-205. doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2022.12.005. Posted with permission of CSAFE.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.