NCJ Number
225103
Date Published
July 2008
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper briefly describes the development and implementation of the Polyethylene Repository and Information Database for Evidence (PRIDE) a repository of sample polyethylene bags as well as information on the physical characteristics, distributor, and manufacturer.
Abstract
Plastic bags, or polyethylene film products, are often used in a variety of crimes and each plastic bag may provide clues to its origin or manufacturing source. Examiners of polyethylene film must evaluate numerous possible characteristics when determining whether the bag found at a crime scene was attached at one time to a bag of known origin or to another questioned bag from another crime scene. Difficulty arises when a sole questioned bag is collected and the field investigator is interested in the type of bag, its manufacturer, and any other information specific to the bag. In 2004, the FBI Laboratory’s Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) initiated a research project involving plastic bags and their characteristics. The resulting database was the Polyethylene Repository and Information Database for Evidence (PRIDE). Developed by the Center for Innovative Technology in Virginia, the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, and the FBI Laboratory, the PRIDE assists law enforcement by providing timely information on the origin of evidentiary plastic bags. It contains information on the attributes, manufacturer, and retailers for each bag, as well as a repository of sample bags.