NACDL

National Academy of Sciences Reports 'Serious Deficiencies' in Nation's Crime Labs

By Jack King and Ivan Dominguez

The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine has finally released its long-awaited report on the state of forensic science in the United States. Finding an inconsistent system rife with “serious deficiencies,” lacking practitioner and laboratory independence, standards, oversight, and certification, the NRC called for major reforms, including the establishment of a wholly independent federal agency, the National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS), to address the manifold problems with the current science and system.

The report’s release was the subject of a sedate news conference Feb. 18 at the National Academies in Washington, D.C. “The forensic science community is plagued by fragmentation and inconsistent practices in federal, state, and local law enforcement jurisdictions,” said Judge Harry T. Edwards, who summarized the r