2007 Highlights of the NFSI and NFA
Now that 2007 is behind us and we are in the throws of 2008, we would like to give you a brief update regarding what has been done and what will be going on with the National Forensic Science Institute (NFSI) and the National Forensic Academy (NFA).
During 2007 we conducted sessions XVII, XVIII and XIX of the NFA. At the completion of these sessions, the total number of NFA Alumni rose to 297, including a graduate from Maine, a state not formerly represented by an alumnus. We now have graduates from 44 states and the District of Columbia. Currently, our upcoming sessions are fully enrolled into 2009 and will include New Hampshire and Wyoming as two new states.
2007 saw the development of a new course at the NFSI. Crime Scene Management in a Correctional Institution was developed through numerous partnerships and funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Three pilot courses were offered around the country that met with tremendous success. Nearly 75 people were trained during these courses and because of the need for this training, combined with careful fiscal management, we will be able to offer a fourth pilot during 2008.
The NFSI has continued its long-standing commitment to bring quality, forensic training to host agencies around the country through the delivery of several courses on the topics of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Death Investigation and Digital Crime Scene Photography. These courses were offered in Nevada, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, West Virginia, and New Jersey. An additional 267 people were trained during these courses.
Beyond the extensive training that we have offered over this past year, we have also partnered with the UT Anthropology Department to work on a Missing and Unidentified Persons Initiative. Through this initiative, we are supporting the work being done by the Anthropology Department to apply modern morphological heuristics that have been developed through their own research, to identify remains currently housed within the department. They are doing this work in close cooperation with law enforcement agencies. We hope to have a web-based resource available to help in the identification of missing persons by mid 2008.
Finally, but certainly, not least important, is that construction has begun and is moving rapidly forward for the new facility to house the NFSI and NFA in Oak Ridge, TN. We are hopeful that we can hold Session XXI in this new space beginning in May, 2008. This new space will include several state-of-the-art instructional and resource areas and will allow for even more growth of all the programs offered by the NFSI.