Guidance
Development of evaluative opinions
Sets out a standardised approach to formulating evaluative opinions used by forensic scientists in the criminal justice system.
Documents
Details
This appendix has been prepared to:
- promote improvement and standardisation in the development of evaluative opinions
- improve alignment between disciplines
- encourage development of better data sets to inform interpretation
- encourage better design and use of proficiency trials to calibrate expert performance
- enhance the transparency and understanding of opinion evidence in the courts
It considers the Casework Assessment and Interpretation (CAI) model and in particular addresses issues around:
- formulating hypotheses at the appropriate level
- how to proceed in the event of a ‘No Comment’ defence
- interpretation where there is limited or no data