To introduce this issue that focuses on bias and human factors in handwriting identifications, the Editor interviewed Bryan Found, Chief Forensic Scientist for one of the largest forensic science laboratories in the world located in Victoria, Australia. Dr. Found leads much of the current direction of the laboratory to address bias and human factors in forensic science, areas that are part of the growing science of cognitive forensics. Dr. Found has been an adamant proponent of the science of handwriting identification since starting his training as a Questioned Document Examiner in 1987. He realized early on that context information that is irrelevant to casework should be restricted. However, it was not until the 2009 National Academy of Science report on strengthening forensic sciences that the stage was set to make the issue of bias and human factors central to the training and work of Forensic Handwriting Examiners (FHEs). Six years after the NAS report, the National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST) held the first national seminar in the United States on human factors in July 2015. The NIST conference addressed fields of forensic science expertise that involve pattern recognition where human factors are more likely to surface. Dr. Found was invited to be one of the plenary speakers for the conference and continues to participate on the NIST Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Handwriting Examination Committee.
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