We invite the various forensic science organizations to engage with their membership and the public during the 10th annual National Forensic Science Week (September 18–24, 2022) in recognition of the contributions forensic science makes to the criminal justice system. This is an opportunity to celebrate academic progress, scientific research, and forensic professionals across the umbrella of disciplines that make up forensic sciences. We recommend establishing internal ad hoc groups within your organization that can lead the coordination. Listed below are some ideas for membership and public engagement activities.
1. Social Media – “Roll Call”
Mostly designed for Twitter, individuals quote tweet a call to introduce themselves and their work/research, tag the parent account, and use the NSFW hashtags. Parent account can be a unified NSFW account or many accounts from the different participating organizations using the same hashtags.
2. Social Media – “Meet a Scientist”
Unlike the “Roll Call” where individual members introduce themselves, an organization/institution introduces one of their members or a group of members in “Meet a Scientist” (e.g., meet the current president of AAFS; meet AAFS Jurisprudence Section member Jane Doe). We recommend one post for each day of Forensic Science Week.
3. Social Media – “Discipline Match-up”
Designed for social media where polling/voting is a feature (i.e., FB, IG, Twitter). Each day sets of disciplines are presented together and garner votes in a poll (e.g., Odontology vs. Anthropology). The next day, the winners from each pair from the previous day are pitted against each other, and so on in a quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals format. Each post can contain facts and tidbits about the disciplines being matched up.
4. Open-access webinars on various topics, organized by different organizations of interest
5. Virtual student research poster session, organized by different organizations of interest
6. Official declarations by organizations recognizing NFSW (see sample declaration)
**Possible hashtags for social media use include but are not limited to #NFSW2022 #NationalForensicScienceWeek #ForensicScienceWeek and a hashtag or handle specific to your organization.
These are some of the organizations of interest that we encourage to participate in NFSW:
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)
- American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD)
- Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL)
- Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES)
- Defense Cyber Crime Center (DCCC)
- Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC)
- Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
- International Association for Identification (IAI)
- International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners (IACME)
- International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS)
- International Forensic Research Institute (IFRI)
- National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME)
- National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC)
- National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
- Society of Forensic Anthropologists (SOFA)
- Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT)
- Various state medical examiner and coroner associations
In addition to organizations, we invite the various conformity assessment boards to participate in NFSW, including but not limited to:
- American Board of Criminalistics (ABC)
- American Board of Forensic Anthropology (ABFA)
- American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO)
- American Board of Forensic Toxicology (ABFT)
- American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE)
- American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI)
- American Board of Pathology (ABP)
- Board of Forensic Document Examiners (BFDE)
- International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)
- International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS)
- International Board of Forensic Engineering Sciences (IBFES)