DC Forensic Lab regains accreditation
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WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The District’s Forensic Science Laboratory was partially reaccredited after nearly three years.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board said that the lab now fulfills the requirements for forensic testing and calibration within its Biology and Seized Drugs disciplines.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is pleased that DFS has regained its ANAB accreditation in two forensic science units, a critical first step in rebuilding the lab,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in an emailed statement to DC News Now on Tuesday.
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ANSI suspended the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) forensic testing accreditation in April 2021 due to multiple errors and issues. The lab’s leadership was noted as a root cause of such issues. In its lab assessment report, SNA International said that leadership failed to establish the required levels of oversight and accountability for forensic operations and its staff did not have “sufficient expertise to perform their duties.”
Since the lab’s inception in 2012, its accreditation has been suspended twice – once in 2015 due to flaws in lab processes and in 2021 for a variety of issues. An audit released in Dec. 2022 explained that – at the time – the agencies that relied on the lab lost trust in its ability to address complaints.
One of the agencies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said on Tuesday that DFS will prioritize working in the Forensic Biology Unit to resolve the significant CODIS backlog. The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is a DNA database maintained by the FBI that allows states to compare DNA information with one another.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, crime labs need to maintain accreditation for prosecutors to process forensic evidence there.
Since losing its accreditation in 2021, the lab also has not been able to test drugs, Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a public safety summit in May 2023.
“The District lost the ability to confirm that a substance law enforcement suspected was a drug, was in fact a drug, which meant that we lost the ability to charge almost all drug cases,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
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In 2022, only 33% of cases were charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
That’s since increased to about 58%, but only between July and September of 2023 once outside lab testing was secured.
On Tuesday, Bowser released a statement about the reaccreditation, saying:
“I am pleased to announce that the Department of Forensic Sciences’ (DFS) application for reaccreditation of its Forensic Biology and Forensic Chemistry Units has been approved. Responsible for testing and analyzing biological substances, including DNA, controlled substances and drugs, these reaccredited units will support MPD investigations and will add to our existing network of outside labs as well as those accessible by the U.S. Attorney. We remain focused on reducing crime and that means ensuring all parts of our public safety and justice ecosystem are working at full capacity. Reaccreditation is a critical step in supporting case closure and affording us another tool to advance justice for victims. I want to especially acknowledge the dedication and experienced leadership of Dr. Diaz and the continued hard work of the DFS scientists and staff.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
Now as an accredited lab, DFS will also be able to hire experts and staff, enhance its quality assurance system and work toward ensuring experts will be qualified for testing in criminal cases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“Accreditation is an important mile marker in the journey towards having testifying experts again. We look forward to DFS completing the journey in the coming years, and we are prepared to provide whatever support we can in these efforts,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau visited the crime lab in October, learning first then that the department applied for accreditation.
“Being able to prosecute higher level drug offenses like the sale of drugs, the intent to sell, the people higher up who are pushing these drugs to our street, to our residents who are becoming addicted to them. That’s huge,” Nadeau said.
She still has some concerns, however, including the lab not taking advice from the Science Advisory Board, which was an issue raised in the December 2022 audit.
“I met last week with members of the Science Advisory Board, one of whom is still on the board and one of whom has left because of his concerns with the way that the leadership at the lab is not taking into account the advice of the Scientific Advisory Board,” Nadeau said. “The forensic science lab should be based on science, not politics.”
Nadeau said the accreditation of the two labs is a step in the right direction to get crime under control.
“Now the challenge is really pushing forward to figuring out if they’re going to go ahead with that ballistics lab, which is one of the key pieces of addressing the crimes that we’re seeing still here in the District of Columbia,” Nadeau said.
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