Management and disclosure of quality issues in forensic science: A survey of current practice in Australia and New Zealand

The investigation of quality issues detected within the forensic process is a critical feature in robust quality management systems to provide assurance of the validity of reported results and inform strategies for continuous improvement and innovation. A survey was conducted to gain insight into the current state of practice in the management and handling of quality issues amongst the government service provider agencies of Australia and New Zealand. The results demonstrate the value of standardised quality system structures for the recording and management of quality issues, but also areas where inconsistent reporting increases the risk of overlooking important data to inform continuous improvement. With new international changes requiring mandatory reporting of quality issues, this highlights compliance challenges that agencies will face. This study reinforces the need for further research into the standardisation of systems underpinning the management of quality issues in forensic science to support transparent and reliable justice outcomes

Single-Tube Protocol for the Extraction of DNA or RNA from Paraffin-Embedded Tissues Using a Starch-Based Adhesive

We describe a method using an inexpenive craft glue to routinely isolate specific areas of tissue as small as 1 mm2 from paraffin sections. The tissue may be digested to release nucleic acid suitable for PCR or reverse transcription PCR. The use of this procedure obviates the requirement for manual microdissection or ultraviolet light irradiation. Tissue remaining on the slide can be stained and analyzed, allowing the precision of the extraction to be determined. The slide can be stored as a permanent record of the material taken for analysis

Australian population data for the twenty Promega PowerPlex 21 short tandem repeat loci

<div><p>This paper describes the analysis of population data typed using the Promega PowerPlex 21 multiplex for the three major sub populations within Australia. Samples from 1427 declared Australian Aboriginal, 546 Pure Aboriginals from the Northern Territory, 990 Asian, and 1707 Caucasian individuals representing were analysed. Departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and linkage equilibrium (LE) were assessed using exact tests. The Aboriginal populations were shown to display significant departures from equilibrium. All four subpopulation databases are of suitable size for the purpose of estimating allele frequencies.</p></div