Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced appointments to a newly created National Commission on Forensic Science. IACP Forensic Committee members Nelson Santos, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Forensic Sciences at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Ted Hunt, Chief Trial Attorney, Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Kansas City, Missouri, were named to the Commission. Santos will serve as Vice Chair of the Commission alongside John Butler, Special Assistant to the NIST Director for Forensic Science.

The Commission, co-chaired by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Patrick D. Gallagher, is comprised of federal, state and local forensic science service providers; research scientists and academics; law enforcement officials; prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges; and other stakeholders from across the country. This breadth of experience and expertise reflects the many different entities that contribute to forensic science practice in the United States and will ensure these broad perspectives are represented on the Commission and in its work.

Members of the Commission will work to improve the practice of forensic science by developing guidance concerning the intersections between forensic science and the criminal justice system. The Commission also will work to develop policy recommendations for the U.S. Attorney General, including uniform codes for professional responsibility and requirements for formal training and certification.

For more information about the IACP’s Forensic Science Committee, please contact Stephanie Stoiloff, Committee Co-Chair and Senior Police Bureau Commander, Forensic Services Bureau, Miami-Dade Police Department at [email protected].