Repeatability and Reproducibility of Decisions by Latent Fingerprint Examiners
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 12 March 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 7 (3), e32800
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032800
Abstract
The interpretation of forensic fingerprint evidence relies on the expertise of latent print examiners. We tested latent print examiners on the extent to which they reached consistent decisions. This study assessed intra-examiner repeatability by retesting 72 examiners on comparisons of latent and exemplar fingerprints, after an interval of approximately seven months; each examiner was reassigned 25 image pairs for comparison, out of total pool of 744 image pairs. We compare these repeatability results with reproducibility (inter-examiner) results derived from our previous study. Examiners repeated 89.1% of their individualization decisions, and 90.1% of their exclusion decisions; most of the changed decisions resulted in inconclusive decisions. Repeatability of comparison decisions (individualization, exclusion, inconclusive) was 90.0% for mated pairs, and 85.9% for nonmated pairs. Repeatability and reproducibility were notably lower for comparisons assessed by the examiners as “difficult” than for “easy” or “moderate” comparisons, indicating that examiners' assessments of difficulty may be useful for quality assurance. No false positive errors were repeated (n = 4); 30% of false negative errors were repeated. One percent of latent value decisions were completely reversed (no value even for exclusion vs. of value for individualization). Most of the inter- and intra-examiner variability concerned whether the examiners considered the information available to be sufficient to reach a conclusion; this variability was concentrated on specific image pairs such that repeatability and reproducibility were very high on some comparisons and very low on others. Much of the variability appears to be due to making categorical decisions in borderline cases.This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cognitive issues in fingerprint analysis: Inter- and intra-expert consistency and the effect of a ‘target’ comparisonForensic Science International, 2011
- Accuracy and reliability of forensic latent fingerprint decisionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011
- Testing for Potential Contextual Bias Effects During the Verification Stage of the ACE‐V Methodology when Conducting Fingerprint Comparisons*Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2009
- Contextual information renders experts vulnerable to making erroneous identificationsForensic Science International, 2006
- The Daubert/Kumho Implications of Observer Effects in Forensic Science: Hidden Problems of Expectation and SuggestionCalifornia Law Review, 2002
- Reliability Measures for Qualitative Data: Theory and ImplicationsJournal of Marketing Research, 1994
- Modeling Approaches for the Analysis of Observer AgreementInvestigative Radiology, 1992
- Reliability of Nominal Data Based on Qualitative JudgmentsJournal of Marketing Research, 1989
- Coefficient Kappa: Some Uses, Misuses, and AlternativesEducational and Psychological Measurement, 1981
- Measuring nominal scale agreement among many raters.Psychological Bulletin, 1971