Title

P179 – Trace Analysis Collaborative Exercise (TrACE) – Experiences and Results

11:01

Thursday August 20^th

Station 04

Duration: 12 minutes

05. STR typing

Prof. Dr. Marielle Vennemann

TrACE (=Trace Analysis Collaborative Exercise) is the official proficiency test of the German Stain Commission; TrACE succeeded GEDNAP in this capacity.

TrACE comprises basic and advanced modules. Basic modules cover all traditional aspects of a proficiency test with STR typing of single source and mixed samples, body fluid identification and binary likelihood calculations. Advanced modules focus on highly challenging aspects of forensic casework. They include low-level DNA samples, difficult-to-identify stains on items, inhibited and/or highly complex DNA traces.

Between 80 and 90 participants took part in the last two years of proficiency testing (namely 2024 and 2025). This presentation will cover the main outcomes of two rounds of proficiency tests. For the basic modules, the most common mistakes will be presented, while for the advanced modules we will discuss the lessons learned.

Authors

Marielle Vennemann (Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany)
Hannah Bauer (Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany)
Walther Parson (Institute of Legal Medicine, Austria)
Stefanie Grethe (State Criminal Police Office of Rhineland Palatinate, Germany)
Martin Eckert (Federal Criminal Police Office, Germany)
Marta Diepenbroek (Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany)
Jan Fleckhaus (Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany)
Katja Anslinger (Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany)
TrACE Team (Institute of Legal Medicine, Germany)

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P179 – Trace Analysis Collaborative Exercise (TrACE) – Experiences and Results

Authors

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