One of the important aspects of being an accredited crime lab is peer review. Apparently, a supervisor either wasn’t reviewing cases, or didn’t review to the satisfaction of the lab director.
One of those disciplined is Dirk Janssen, the chemistry supervisor at the state crime lab.
In an August reprimand, lab Director Jana Champion accused Janssen of failing to get peer reviews on 27 toxicology cases involving drug analysis between April and June. Champion said she performed a peer review on all the cases and found only five met lab standards. The other 22 cases had to go back for more review and oversight. Eleven required corrections, which Janssen should have spotted during an administrative review, Champion wrote.
Justice Department Executive Assistant Dean Stensberg said Janssen’s shortcomings delayed the case reports by a matter of days but had no other effect on them. Still, Champion chastised Janssen, writing that his conduct could “severely diminish the public’s confidence and respect for the Department of Justice.”
Read the article on TH Online.com.
