Forensic Labs Need Overhaul

I found this article in the New York Times citing a need for funding and oversight to the government forensics laboratories.

The February article discusses a study published by the National Academy of Sciences in early 2009. 80 percent of the forensics laboratories were found to be understaffed and this correlated to an average increase of 24% in delays in analysis since 2002.

The study recommended that a federal agency be created to oversee the laboratories and to fund them. There is great need to standardize the techniques used in much of evidence analysis due to a lack of scrutiny from the general scientific community. The agency should manage the laboratories as completely separate entities from the police departments and other law enforcement offices. This would help to eliminate bias and promote a standardization of analysis.

Moore, Solomon. February 18, 2009. New York Times. “Study calls for Oversight of Forensics in Crime Labs.”