Who tests the Tools that the Tool guy uses ?

I've read a few posts in this section and looked at a bit over the net...and there's alot of talk about the tools of the trade and how to use them, what to look for and how to access it...but not alot on the validity of the tools themselves...

so in my travels I came across these little tidbits...and the most interesting thing to me was the involvement of our RCMP with the U.S. Department of Justice...

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/sciencetech/cftt.htm
National Institute of Justice - Computer Forensic Tool Testing Project

http://www.cftt.nist.gov/
GENERAL INFORMATION

This puts me in mind of the classic defense for beating speeding tickets - be sure to summon the officer to court - get him on the stand and ask the following:

1. When was your radar unit last calibrated? (by law at the start of each shift)
2. Who calibrated it? (usually the officer using it)
3. Were they certified to calibrate it? (they all have to be in order to use the radar)
4. What instrument did they use to calibrate the radar unit? (a tuning fork)
5. Who calibrated the instrument used and when was it last calibrated? (by law it has to be a manufacturing company or technician certified for this particular job, and must be done at a minimum of once per quarter. In reality it never happens - they buy the fork and forget it, so unless you have the misfortune of a cop with a brand new tuning fork who can prove it's brand new, you've beaten the ticket.)

"Your Honor, I submit that the instrument used to calibrate the radar unit was out of calibration, and therefore the radar unit itself, although calibrated according to regulations, was out of calibration. This means that the reading it gave was false, and the speeding ticket issued is invalid." - case dismissed.

Hi l3lacklce,

That possibility did cross my mind as I came across these sites...but I was, as said, most intrigued by the RCMP involvement...in Canada they perform virtually every duty...from regular police work to the equivalent of the FBI and CIA put together...very busy little beavers!

Eg ;)

Simply put, NIST is the group responsible for testing and approving tools in the US.



The RCMP and US gov...well the US uses the RCMP for their expertise in the Macintosh type Filesystems(HFS,HFS+ etc), and the RCMP uses the US gov for virtually everything else.

|3lack|ce, also be sure to ask about the last time the road was speed surveyed. Even if they measured your speed accurately, that needs to fall in the context of what is appropriate for the road. ;)

cheers,

catch

although that is their job,we as the civilian have the right to question what they do,don't we?
sometimes i hate the government because they don't take into account the mass opinion