FSN: Forensic Science News » NAS report

Current State of Arizona Crime Labs

Forensics Guy — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:00:08 +0000

FGI-FSN —

An interesting article below regarding the state of police crime labs here in Arizona. It boils down to the standard debate/disagreement between academics vs practitioners in the field of forensic science.

Please note, Forensics Guy, Inc. is not only independent, but also certified.

Even though techniques for analyzing crime-scene evidence have grown more sophisticated

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Another Call to Make Crime Labs Independent

Forensics Guy — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:00:45 +0000

FGI-FSN —

Excellent article echoing a common theme here on Forensic Science News. Take the labs out of the police/prosecutors’ offices. Make them independent. Just like what the NAS report said.

Problems with crime labs follow a depressing pattern: a technician makes mistakes or deliberately fudges data. When the errors are eventually discovered, the

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Scathing Article About Houston PD Crime Lab

Forensics Guy — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:00:14 +0000

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A recent Houston Chronicle editorial blasts the Houston Crime Laboratory. The article starts off by stating:

On television, on the police drama CSI (for Crime Scene Investigation), the brilliant, dedicated completely professional staff of the Las Vegas Police Department solves every crime that comes into its hands through flawless forensic science and with

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Houston Chronicle on the Houston PD Crime Lab

Cops Fight to Keep Control of Crime Lab

Forensics Guy — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:00:06 +0000

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Even after the report by the National Academy of Sciences recommending that forensic labs be independent of police and prosecutor’s offices, those groups still fight to give not give up control (and thereby influence the results of forensic analysis) of crime labs.

D.C.‘s top forensic scientist has been transferred out of the police department

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Institutional Bias Examined

Forensics Guy — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:00:04 +0000

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Recently the NAS report described how institutional bias should be avoided by having crime labs removed from police/prosecutor’s agencies. The article quoted below ran in PoliceOne.com, and talks about how police officers can contribute to bias in forensic examination.

A police officer rushes up to the fingerprint examiner and pleads for help.

The suspect

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Houston Chronicle on the Houston PD Crime Lab

Forensics Guy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:11 +0000

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The Houston Chronicle published a op-ed over the weekend, calling for change in their police crime lab. Even going as far as suggesting it’s time to close it down, and open up a regional crime lab that works with, but is independent of law enforcement agencies.

According to the audit, HPD workers often

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Orange County California Looking at Independent Forensics Agency

Forensics Guy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:04 +0000

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Orange County California is picking up what I’ve been putting down. They are looking at either creating a new, or moving the current crime lab away from the police and prosecutor, and make them their own agency. This move would be in compliance with the NAS report’s suggestion as a way

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Bitemark Experts Agree, Bitemark Evidence Isn’t Reliable

Forensics Guy — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:58 +0000

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Admittedly that’s a bit over an overstatement for a article title, but it gets the readers attention. A recent study at the University of Buffalo have concluded that bitemark evidence can’t be linked back to a given individual. Bitemark evidence can certainly be used to exclude and include a suspect, but

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Congress Finally Has Hearings on the NAS Report

Forensics Guy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0000

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It would seem Congress has finally taken up hearings on the NAS report written months ago. Congress seemed to agree to allocate more funds for training, research in the field, and federal standards should be created for labs and analysts.

They didn’t agree on setting up a federal agency.

…the federal government shouldn’t “try

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NPR Report on the NAS Report

Forensics Guy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:27:36 +0000

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NPR authored an article pointing out that the push to form a national forensic oversight committee has stalled. Could it be that the government has more important things on their hands now days than the creation of a new bureaucratic body? The end result of which would undoubtedly the recommendation for

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National institute could fix crime-lab deficiencies

Forensics Guy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:00:37 +0000

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Original article can be found here:

Peter Neufield, co-director of the Innocence Project, points to the recent Supreme Court decision on requiring forensic scientists to testify, and Justice Scalia’s comment on “deficiencies” in crime labs, as further evidence of the necessity of a National Institute of Forensic Science.

Some of the reasons listed are

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National agency sought for forensic sciences

Forensics Guy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:31:12 +0000

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A federal inquisition has determined that crime labs across the country need to be overseen by the federal government. Was the report based on the investigators looking for their next job, or what they feel is actually what’s best for the criminal justice system?

I agree that crime labs need to be pried

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