The Statistical Interpretation of Forensic Glass Evidence

Abstract

When examining a sample of glass fragments recovered from a suspect in a forensic case, many questions arise: "Did this man break that window?", "Are these fragments from the crime scene source?", "Do the fragments recovered from the suspect come from more than one source?", "How common is it to find glass on someone unrelated with crime?" etc. Such questions are usually answered with the help of statistical methods. This paper reviews some of the statistical solutions and problems encountered in the interpretation and evaluation of forensic glass evidence.