Lectures

The Wealthy Forensic Scientist  - Forensic scientists work hard every day to help others. Since you are here to improve your professional skills, take an hour to also invest in yourself and your family’s future. This lecture provides a simple financial framework anyone can use. Learn how to maximize your hard-earned money through government-provided investment accounts and work toward becoming "the wealthy forensic scientist.”

Real Transparency in Latent Print Testimony - For years, an often-overused reason for making changes in the field of latent print identification has been, “It’s more transparent”. If something is more transparent but also harder for a jury to understand, is it truly better? This lecture will demonstrate an efficient and practical way to be transparent and helpful in court with every latent print examination.

The 6 Rules of Courtroom Testimony - This lecture outlines the six fundamental rules of courtroom testimony for all forensic scientists. Stop spending your career worrying about court; understanding these essential rules will empower any forensic expert to be a more confident and effective witness.

Workshops

Lectures

Press Play - Physical activity is a boost for your brain and body, so come start your day on a different and fun note. In this window of time, you’ll be guided through gentle stretching, movement, and breath.  Join Danica Scales to prime your mind, energize your body, and "press play" to your day.  Please wear comfortable clothing to move in. We will also be on the floor for some segments, you may bring a yoga mat, blanket, or towel for your comfort. 

Bloodstain Pattern Classification (Interactive Lecture) - This is an interactive lecture on bloodstain pattern classification. A BPA decision-making flowchart will be used as a tool (Bevel and Gardener, 2021.) BPA terminology (ASB, 2017) will also be used. Students will practice their skills by analyzing projected photographs; discussion will take place throughout the lecture. With the remaining time available, students may walk around the room and analyze laminated bloodstain patterns. An answer sheet for the laminated patterns will be provided to ensure correct analysis.

The Architecture You Can’t See: Arch Pattern Analysis - In arch pattern analysis, the most critical information often hides in plain sight. This lecture explores this overlooked and misunderstood outlier, examining the unique challenges and advantages of its identification.

How to Give a Presentation - Many people believe that being a confident public speaker is beyond their reach or that they simply lack the gift. However, public speaking is not a talent reserved for a select few; it is a skill that anyone can learn. Developing this essential life skill will allow you to help others while elevating your own career. This lecture provides actionable techniques that can be applied to any speaking opportunity.

Workshops

Basic Analysis & Comparison of Fingerprints (Limit TBD) - Ideal for the entry-level fingerprint technician, latent print trainee, crime scene specialist, officer and/or detective, this four (or eight) hour workshop provides an introductory understanding of analyzing encountered friction ridge detail; and eventually comparing analyzed fingerprints to known impressions. The analysis-phase of fingerprint examination is systematically introduced and applied via numerous challenging exercises. Comparison methodology and philosophy is eventually introduced, with numerous subsequent comparison exercises.

Required equipment: Magnifying glass

Crease Attribution  (Limit TBD) - Creases are durable morphological features that allow our friction ridge skin to flex, extend, or simply be pliable. All friction ridge skin analysts should be familiar with the position and variation of creases; when observed in either a latent print or known standard, they can significantly assist in establishing search parameters. Although this workshop does not promote their singular use for Source Identification, it does strongly support and utilize their role in our comparison process—to search and locate! Finger and palm print association exercises—lacking Level I and II (macro & micro) features, but numerous creases—are part of the practical tools used in this workshop. These exercises will provide the attendee with tangible experience, understanding and then attributing creases to a possible source. This three-hour workshop will also provide an international perspective of creases—from the North American philosophies to the European Expert Group perspective on ‘skin fold’ terminology, definition, and practical usage. This workshop is approved for credit toward both IAI Latent Print Certification and Recertification.

Required equipment: Magnifying glass

Revealing the Invisible: Specialized CS Photography (Limit: 24) - This workshop will provide attendees with a foundational understating of specialized crime scene photography and evidence enhancement techniques commonly used in forensic investigations. You will be introduced to a variety of search and enhancement methods used to visualize and document  and preserve evidence that may be difficult or impossible to observe under normal lighting conditions. 

Hands-on instructions will include application and photographic documentation using the following chemicals: Bluestar, Leuco Crystal Violet, and Small Particle Reagent, in conjunction with ALS technology. Attendees will also gain insight in how to properly document and ensure accurate preservation for analysis, reporting and courtroom presentation

Required equipment: Camera & tripod

Suggested equipment: Battle light

Lectures

Press Play - Physical activity is a boost for your brain and body, so come start your day on a different and fun note. In this window of time, you’ll be guided through gentle stretching, movement, and breath.  Join Danica Scales to prime your mind, energize your body, and "press play" to your day.  Please wear comfortable clothing to move in. We will also be on the floor for some segments, you may bring a yoga mat, blanket, or towel for your comfort. 

The Korean Case: Murder or Suicide? Bloodstain Pattern Analysis on a Decedent and Defendant's Bodies - This case involves a South Korean married couple; one deceased, the other arrested for murder. Do the bloodstain patterns on their bodies prove murder or suicide?

Workshops

An Understanding and the Comparison of Latent Palm Prints (Limit TBD) - Directly taken from Jon’s RS&A course Latent Print Search & Comparison Techniques, this four-hour workshop is dedicated to the friction ridge skin of the palms. Beginning with a lecture on the anatomical aspects of the palm, attendees will then be occupied in practical exercise. Initially becoming familiar with the key creases and regions of the palms, several different associative and comparison exercises will supplement the attendee’s knowledge and experience with palmar friction ridge impressions. 

Required equipment: Magnifying glass

Searching Smart: The Heuristics of Friction Ridge Comparison (Limit TBD) - Theory and practical implementation in one workshop! Searching smart techniques have routinely been shared to the new friction ridge trainee. Arches, loops, and whorls each have key characteristics that can help the analyst search more efficient and effective...but so do other areas of our friction ridge skin! This comprehensive, four-hour workshop will share many of the key searching heuristics, while also allowing the attendee to immediately utilize these strategies in practical comparison exercises. 

Required equipment: Magnifying glass

Fundamentals of Photography (Limit 20) - Photography is essential to crime scene documentation, and it is imperative for investigators to understand how to take the best photograph to capture the scene or the evidence. This is an introductory workshop to photography that covers understanding the camera, the exposure triangle, metering, depth of field, and using manual. Students will learn to use the different modes (Auto/Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, and Manual). This workshop sets the foundation for advanced photography skills such as night photography and flash photography.

Required equipment: Camera & tripod

Mastering Low Light Photography (Limit 20 - Evening 1800-2200HRS) - Understanding low light photography is essential to every crime scene investigator; however, mastering it can sometimes be tricky. This workshop will allow attendees to explore and practice the technical skills required for taking well exposed low light photographs. The workshop will cover camera settings using ambient light and artificial light sources. Attendees will learn painting with light techniques and some advanced low light techniques such as capturing laser trajectory. Whether you are a new CSI or have many years in the field, you will leave the workshop with a stronger grasp of low light photography techniques.

Required equipment: Camera & tripod

Lectures

Press Play - Physical activity is a boost for your brain and body, so come start your day on a different and fun note. In this window of time, you’ll be guided through gentle stretching, movement, and breath.  Join Danica Scales to prime your mind, energize your body, and "press play" to your day.  Please wear comfortable clothing to move in. We will also be on the floor for some segments, you may bring a yoga mat, blanket, or towel for your comfort. 

Workshops

Advanced Flash Photography (Limit 20) - Flash photography can feel intimidating, and many investigators either avoid using flash altogether or struggle to use it effectively in the field. In this workshop, I’ll break down the fundamentals of flash exposure, balancing ambient light, reducing harsh shadows and glare, and understanding how light impacts the documentation of evidence. I will also cover practical tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your flash. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a better understanding of how to use flash as a tool to improve the quality of your crime scene photography.

Fingertips: Comparing Extreme Distal Impressions  (Limit TBD) - Taken directly from the RS&A class Friction Ridge Symposium: Palms, Plantars, Tips and Toes, this three-hour workshop focuses on analyzing and comparing fingertip impressions—those tricky areas that are literately at the tip of our fingers! Practical exercises, visual demonstration, current research, and in-depth lectures will provide the attendee with a tangible experience and heuristic insight on how to effectively and efficiently compare routinely encountered fingertip impressions. This workshop is approved for credit toward both IAI Latent Print Certification and Recertification. Each attendee will need to bring a magnifying glass. Note: Attending Ten-print/Biometric analysts will need to have a firm understanding and a practical utilization of Level 2/Minutia features. Required equipment: Magnifying Glass

Scars: Their Feature Attributes and Comparison (Limit TBD) - Considered by many to be both discriminating and persistent, observed scars can assist in our analysis and comparison of friction ridge impressions. However, during a three-year period, 56% of participants attending Jon’s RS&A comparison class erroneously excluded a matching pair of fingerprints that involved a scar. There was no induced trickery, nor a concerted plan to deceive. Why then did so many fail to formulate an identification? This workshop is a practical setting for comparing friction ridge impressions having numerous and varying scarring scenarios, but it also dissects the previously mentioned error: exposing the ‘root cause’ of those who errored, and the reasoning behind the success of those who identified the matching pair. Pertinent for biometric and forensic analysts, this insight—along with numerous practical exercises and shared OSAC concepts—will educate participants to avoid such errors in their casework.

Lectures

The Child Skeleton in Crime Scene Search and Recovery - Child skeletal remains present unique challenges during crime scene searches and recoveries. Smaller bones, incomplete skeletal development, fragmentation, and environmental changes make juvenile remains more difficult to recognize, document, and recover than adult remains. Using case studies, this presentation will provide crime scene investigators with practical guidance for identifying and recovering juvenile skeletal remains in buried, burned, and surface scatter scenes. Attendees will learn how skeletal development affects scene recognition, search strategies, recovery techniques, and evidence interpretation. The session will also highlight common field challenges, including distinguishing juvenile remains from animal bone and recognizing how postmortem processes can alter skeletal appearance and distribution. This presentation is designed to give investigators practical, field-based knowledge that can improve scene processing and recovery outcomes in cases involving child remains.

Balancing Burnout - We have experienced or are teetering on the edge of it. The reality is our jobs are demanding mentally, physically, and emotionally, and sometimes we get stuck when trying to come back to ourselves. 

In this presentation and workshop, we will bring awareness to burnout and its effects, identify resources for regulation, and end with gentle movement for the body and mind. You will be left equipped with ways to identify burnout, integrate mindfulness into your daily life, and regulate your nervous system for your overall well-being, and to extend your longevity in your career.

Money, Bling, Sex and Murder: Six Degrees of Separation between Decedent, Defendants and Investigators - This case involves three young women ages 18-20, one murdered by the other two. There are unusual circumstances weaved throughout the case and trial that connect several law enforcement personnel, demonstrating the “six degrees of separation” theory.

Workshops

Coming soon