U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

LABORATORY PROFICIENCY TESTING PROGRAM - REPORT NO 10 PAINT EXAMINATION

NCJ Number
47531
Author(s)
ANON
Date Published
1976
Length
36 pages
Annotation
ANALYSES OF PAINT SAMPLES PERFORMED BY 110 FORENSIC LABORATORIES AS PART OF A PROFICIENCY SURVEY ARE DOCUMENTED.
Abstract
EACH LABORATORY RECEIVED THREE PAINT SAMPLES, TOGETHER WITH THE INDICATION THAT SAMPLE B HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE DOOR JAMB OF A BURGLARIZED BUILDING AND THAT SAMPLES A AND C HAD BEEN FOUND ON THE CLOTHING OF TWO DIFFERENT SUSPECTS. THE LABORATORIES WERE TO DETERMINE WHETHER A AND/OR C COULD HAVE COME FROM THE SAME SOURCE AS B AND TO DESCRIBE IN DETAIL THE METHODS USED TO MAKE THE DETERMINATION. IN REALITY, THE THREE PAINT SAMPLES ALL HAD DIFFERENT ORIGINS. OF THE RESPONDING LABORATORIES, 78.2 PERCENT REPORTED THAT A AND B WERE NOT THE SAME, 63.6 PERCENT REPORTED THAT B AND C WERE NOT THE SAME, AND 48.2 PERCENT REPORTED THAT NEITHER A NOR C WAS THE SAME AS B. DETAILS OF TEST FINDINGS AND ANALYTICAL METHODS ARE PRESENTED IN SEVEN TABLES, INCLUDING ITEM-BY-ITEM BREAKDOWNS OF RESPONSES FROM INDIVIDUAL LABORATORIES. AN EXPLANATION OF SURVEY METHODS AND A COPY OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE ARE INCLUDED. OTHER PROFICIENCY TESTS INVOLVING PAINT ANALYSIS ARE DOCUMENTED IN NCJ-47526 AND 47537. OTHER TESTS ARE REPORTED IN NCJ 47522-47525, 47527-47530, 47532-47536, AND 47538-47542. (LKM)