A survey on the evidential value of fibres and on the interpretation of the findings in fibre transfer cases. Part 1 - fibre frequencies

Recently, practitioners of forensic textile fibre examinations have been fo rced to consider how they can improve the service that they can offer to la w enforcement agencies. The focus so far has been largely on assessing whic h examinations are likely to provide the most worthwhile information to the customer and to prioritise examinations within a case. The use of new anal ytical equipment may help to completely revise the traditional sequence of examinations used in casework, resulting in greater speed and efficiency. T he ultimate end product of a case for the forensic scientist is his/her rep ort produced to assist the court in reaching a verdict after considering th e evidence. To be effective, scientific evidence must be correctly interpre ted and properly presented. If this is not done, increasing the effectivene ss of case work in laboratories is largely wasted. Irrespective of whether a Bayesian approach is used, a key factor involved in the interpretation of fibres evidence is that of estimating fibre frequency. A survey was carrie d out among fibre examiners in laboratories represented in the European Fib res Group and in the fibre section of the Scientific Working Group for Mate rials in the United States. Part 1 of the results reports on their current perception of fibre frequencies and factors influencing them. In the light of the results, the author has tried to identify diversity, evaluate compet ence and to derive some recommendations.