Forensic Science Labs in Indiana Face Same Shortcomings as Those Identified in National Report

Forensic science laboratories in Indiana face the same problems, shortcomings and issues that were identified in a national report, said a leading forensic science expert at IUPUI.

Jay A. Siegel, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and director of the Forensic and Investigative Sciences program in the Purdue School of Science at IUPUI, is a member of the National Research Council committee that issued the report February 18, 2009 that calls for broad changes in the nation’s forensic science system.

Siegel said he agrees with the report’s recommendation that strong leadership is needed to adopt and promote an aggressive, long-term agenda to strengthen forensic science. To achieve this end, Siegel said the report strongly urges Congress to establish a new, independent National Institute of Forensic Science to lead research efforts, establish and enforce standards for forensic science professionals and laboratories, and oversee education standards.

Among the report’s criticisms:

• Rigorous and mandatory certification programs for forensic scientists are currently lacking, as are strong standards and protocols for analyzing and reporting on evidence.
• A dearth of peer-reviewed, published studies establishing the scientific bases and reliability of many forensic methods.
• Many forensic science labs are underfunded, understaffed, and have no effective oversight.

According to the report, with the exception of nuclear DNA analysis, no forensic method has been rigorously shown able to consistently, and with a high degree of certainty, demonstrate a connection between evidence and a specific individual or source. Non-DNA forensic disciplines have important roles, but many need substantial research to validate basic premises and techniques, assess limitations, and discern the sources and magnitude of error, said the committee that wrote the report.

Part of the answer to the problems confronting forensic science is academic forensic and investigative sciences programs like the one at IUPUI, Siegel said.

“We are educating the next generation of forensic scientists,” he said. “What we do is not only teach students the science of forensic science but ethics, certification of scientists and labs and accreditation, so that these students are ready to confront and help solve the kinds of issues identified in the report when they graduate and go into the field.”

The report offers no judgment about past convictions or pending cases, and it offers no view as to whether the courts should reassess cases that already have been tried. Rather, the report describes and analyzes the current situation in the forensic science community and makes recommendations for the future.

For more information, visit: http://nationalacademies.org/morenews/20090218.html