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Science: At Issue: DNA Delayed is Justice Denied. In a case of life not imitating art, television programs featuring crime-scene investigations have exposed the shortcomings of real-life laboratory DNA evidence testing. On TV, DNA results come back very quickly, the case is solved, the innocent absolved and the perpetrator locked up. In real life, DNA on a case could take months or even years to be tested and the results returned. By one estimate, as many as 250,000 untested rape kits are sitting on shelves in the United States. digitalcommunities, 2011

Technology: Law Enforcement and Social Media. This report is based on the activities of the Digital Communities program, a network of public- and private-sector IT professionals who are working to improve local governments’ delivery of public service through the use of digital technology. The program — a partnership between Government Technology and e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government — consists of task forces that meet online and in person to exchange information on important issues local government IT professionals face. Government Technology, 2011

Law: FBI Releases 2010 Crime Statistics. FBI Update, 2011

Featured forensics-related word ... Low copy number DNA

(low-co•py-num•ber-DNA; [lō kä-pē nəm-bər dē-en-ā]. Generally refers to any situation where: 1) the amount of DNA available for amplification is limited due to small sample size or other factors (e.g., DNA degradation, PCR inhibition), and 2) interpreting the resulting DNA profile may require more considerations than interpreting single-source or mixed DNA profiles generated using higher amounts of DNA due to the potential for incomplete DNA profiles.