REFLECTIVE FORENSICS

Nicole Osborn is an IAI Certified Latent Print Examiner with nineteen years of experience as a Forensic Print Specialist with the Los Angeles Police Department. As the technical lead within the Latent Print Unit’s training detail, she is responsible for educating employees about the unit’s policies and procedures as well as best practices within the field of latent prints. She has played a pivotal part in developing training and testing materials in her unit to increase technical expertise and knowledge. In doing so, she has trained over 40 individuals to competency in latent print comparisons. 

 

Nicole is an active member of her discipline and her communities. She is currently serving as President of the California State Division of the International Association for Identification. She has given several presentations on latent prints for the purposes of educating college students, other forensic specialists, and the general public. Currently, she is collecting data on the criteria examiners use to determine the value of latent print impressions. By pursuing research opportunities, she hopes to further the discipline’s understanding of the processes involved during fingerprint comparisons.