Citation

Bradley MJ, Keagy RL, Lowe PC, Rickenbach MP, Wright DM, Lebeau MA. J. Forensic Sci. 2006; 51(3): 504-508.

Affiliation

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Laboratory Division, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA. Maureen.Bradley@ic.fbi.gov

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00106.x

PMID

16696697

Abstract

Fracture matches are considered to be the strongest association achievable in forensic examinations of glass, metal, wood, plastic, paint, tape, and other trace evidence. Despite being fairly routine examinations, few publications exist to support their admissibility in court. This study was designed, using duct tape as the fractured medium, to determine the validity and error rate associated with conducting end match (fracture match) examinations on this material. Five test designs, which varied either the source roll of tape or manner of separation (torn or cut) from the roll, were administered to four analysts with instructions to examine the assigned test sets for end matches. If an end match was not identified by the initial analyst, the entire test set was independently evaluated by the remaining three analysts. Results indicated that while tape grade did not hinder end match identification, the manner of separation could affect results.

Language: en