Forensic Laboratory Accreditation and Quality Systems Notes

Forensic Laboratory Accreditation and Quality Systems

Introduction

  • The vast majority of professional activities following graduation will require adhering to one or more Quality Systems, especially in government or commercial forensic organizations.

Contact Information for Associate Professor Carney Matheson

  • Email: c.matheson@griffith.edu.au
  • Phone: (07) 373 58537
  • Appointments can be made via email, including name, student number, and course details.
  • Discussions about employment, career opportunities are also possible.

The Essence of Quality

  • Quality should be integral to every process, test, and interpretation within forensic practice.
  • Quality is most noticeable when it is absent.

Group Exercise: Quality Measures

  • Examples from professional cooking:
    • Quality Assurance measures.
    • Quality Control measures.

Key Elements of Testing

  • Scope of testing.
  • Accommodation and environmental conditions.
  • Procedures/test methods.
  • Validation.
  • Competent personnel/trainers.
  • Equipment and reagents.
  • Handling of test items.
  • Testing.
  • Peer review (prior to and after the release of results).
  • Inter-laboratory comparison/Proficiency testing.

What is Quality?

  • Achieving a 99% level of quality implies accepting a 1% error rate.
  • In France, a 1% error rate could mean:
    • 14 minutes without water or electricity daily.
    • 50,000 parcels lost by postal services.
    • 22 newborns falling from midwives' hands.
    • 600,000 lunches contaminated by bacteria.
    • 3 bad landings at Orly Paris airport.

Hypothetical Case: Daniel Morcombe

  • Daniel Morcombe, 13, disappeared on December 7, 2003, while waiting for a bus.
  • October 13, 2010: A coronial inquest begins, adjourning on April 6, 2011.
  • August 13, 2011: Brett Peter Cowan, 41, is arrested and charged.
  • Over the next two months, shoes and human bones are discovered, later confirmed to belong to Daniel Morcombe via DNA results.
  • November 26, 2012: Cowan's committal hearing begins.
  • December 7, 2012: Morcombe's funeral takes place.
  • February 7, 2013: Cowan is ordered to stand trial for murder, indecent treatment of a child, and interfering with a corpse.
  • February 10, 2014: Cowan's trial begins.
  • March 13, 2014: Cowan is found guilty on all charges.
  • March 14, 2014: Cowan is sentenced to life in jail with a minimum non‐parole period of 20 years.
Hypothetical Scenario: Without Quality in the Morcombe Case
  • If the remains couldn't be linked to Daniel, or the DNA results were mixed up, the verdict could have been different.

Hypothetical Case: Allison Baden-Clay

  • April 20, 2012: Gerard Baden-Clay reports his wife, Allison, missing.
  • April 30, 2012: A woman's body is found under the Kholo Creek Bridge.
  • May 1, 2012: The body is confirmed to be Allison Baden-Clay, and the case is treated as a murder investigation.
  • June 13, 2012: Gerard Baden-Clay is arrested and charged with murder and interfering with a corpse.
Hypothetical Scenario: Without Quality in the Baden-Clay Case
  • If DNA, scratch, and botanical evidence were discredited, the jury's verdict could have been different.
  • Examples of potential issues:
    • Corrupted digital images of scratches.
    • Notes on sketches being inconsistent.
    • Delayed note-taking by the botanist.
    • Unapproved DNA testing procedures and unvalidated software.

Important Definitions of Quality

  • Quality Assurance: Maintaining a desired level of quality through attention to every stage of a process.
  • Quality Management: Directing, controlling, and coordinating activities related to quality to ensure products/services meet requirements.
  • Quality Control: Checking and reviewing work through inspections, tests, and random sampling.

DNA Debacle: The Case of Farah Jama

  • Farah Jama was wrongfully convicted in 2008 for rape based solely on DNA evidence.
  • The DNA profile was obtained due to contamination at the collection stage.
  • Jama was exonerated after 16 months in jail.

Washington State Patrol Crime Lab Incident

  • In 2002, a crime lab scientist verbally released incorrect DNA results, leading to a suspect's extradition.
  • The statement was retracted 11 days later due to an error in interpretation during peer review.

Fort Worth Police Crime Lab Issues

  • Scientists used an unvalidated method to identify red phosphorus, a component in methamphetamine manufacturing.
  • Prosecutors found three cases where this method provided the sole evidence.
  • A firearms analyst was also conducting peer reviews on Blood Alcohol Level cases for the Chemistry section.

Madrid Train Bombing Case

  • In 2004, a misidentified fingerprint led to the arrest of Brandon Mayfield, who was later exonerated.
  • FBI examiners were subject to "confirmation bias" and performed incomplete checks due to the high-profile nature of the case.

Forensic Evidence: Contribute to Wrongful Convictions

  • The percentage of exoneration cases are:
    • Eyewitness Misidentification (77%).
    • Unvalidated/Improper Forensics (52%).
    • False Confessions/Admissions (23%).
    • Informants/Snitches (16%).

The Importance of Quality

  • Quality must be integrated into each step of the process.
  • Without quality:
    • Results may not be accurate.
    • Interpretation may be flawed.
    • Claims in court may not be sound.
    • Evidence may lead to false exonerations/convictions.
    • Inaccurate information may be entered into databases.

Standards for Forensic Laboratories

  • Requirements to ensure appropriate standards in forensic labs:
    • ISO17025 Testing and Calibration.
    • Forensic FAD.
    • ILAC-G19 Guidelines for Forensic Science Laboratories.
    • Technical Note 17 Guidelines for Validation and Verification of Quantitative and Qualitative Test Methods.

Costs of Quality

  • Prevention costs.
  • Appraisal costs.
  • Internal failure costs.
  • External failure costs.
  • Opportunity costs.

Key Definitions of Forensic Results

  • Accurate and Precise.
  • Reproducible.
  • Free from errors.
  • Able to withstand legal scrutiny.
  • Type I errors:
    • False Positives - Falsely incriminates an individual in a crime.
  • Type II errors:
    • False Negatives - Falsely exonerates an individual for a crime they actually committed.

Consequences of Compromised Quality

  • Poor laboratory reputation.
  • Wrongful convictions.
  • Evidence thrown out of court.
  • Increased turnaround times and delays.
  • Low staff morale.
  • Improper use or waste of resources.
  • Incorrect results (Type I or Type II errors).
  • Loss or suspension of Laboratory Accreditation.
  • Increased costs due to inefficiency, re-works and more frequent accreditation audits.

Important Points

  • Quality is most noticeable when it is absent.
  • It is part of everything you do.
  • There are a set of standards that forensic facilities must adhere to.
  • Quality Assurance is proactive (e.g., procedures, audits).
  • Quality Control is reactive (e.g., ensuring controls are in range).

Accreditation Body

  • National regulations often exist for accreditation bodies in each country.
  • Cooperation between accreditation bodies occurs in international organizations, such as:
    • Europe: European Accreditation Cooperation (EA).
    • Worldwide: International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

Accrediting Bodies

  • Organizations with the authority to accredit or certify compliance with international standards.
  • NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities) operates via peer review.

NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia)

  • Provides independent assurance of technical competence.
  • Recognized by the Commonwealth Government as the sole national accreditation body for competent laboratory practice.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

  • Creates documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently.
  • There are 2267722677 International Standards.
  • ISO 17025 applies to all organizations performing tests and/or calibrations, regardless of size.

ISO/IEC 17025

  • International Standard specifying general requirements for the competence to carry out tests and/or calibrations.
  • Includes 15 management requirements and 10 technical requirements.
Key Sections of ISO/IEC 17025
  1. Scope
  2. Normative References
  3. Terms and Definitions
  4. General Requirements
    • Impartiality.
    • Confidentiality.
  5. Structural Requirements
  6. Resource Requirements
    • General.
    • Personnel.
    • Facilities and environmental conditions.
    • Equipment.
    • Metrological traceability.
    • Externally provided products and services.
  7. Process Requirements
    • Review of requests, tenders, and contracts.
    • Selection, verification, and validation of methods.
    • Sampling.
    • Handling of test or calibration items.
    • Technical records.
    • Evaluation of measurement uncertainty.
    • Assuring the validity of results.
    • Reporting of results.
    • Complaints.
    • Nonconforming work.
    • Control of data and information management.
  8. Management System Requirements
    • Options A and B.
    • Documentation, control of documents, control of records.
    • Actions to address risks and opportunities.
    • Improvement, corrective action, internal audits, management reviews.

ISO9001 Certification

  • Formal acknowledgment that an organization meets the intent of a standard (e.g., Quality Management Systems).
  • Not mandatory but includes requirements relating to Quality Management System, Management Responsibility, Resource Management, Product Realisation, Measurement, Analysis and Improvement.

Benefits of Quality Management Systems Certification

  • Competitive edge.
  • Consistency (documented processes).
  • Improved employee morale.
  • Reduced costs.
  • Better business awareness.
  • Improved supplier relationships.

ISO17025 vs ISO9001

  • ISO 17025 focuses on technical competence, while ISO 9001 focuses on quality management systems.

Benefits of ISO Standards in Forensics

  • Confidence in results.
  • Improved laboratory image.
  • Continual data quality improvement.
  • Effective marketing tool.
  • Benchmark of performance.

17025 Forensic FAD & SAD

  • Supplementary requirements for accreditation for forensic science laboratories.
  • Explain the application of ISO/IEC 17025 for Forensic Science facilities.
  • Facilities must comply with this document, all relevant clauses of ISO/IEC 17025, the NATA Rules and relevant statutory requirements.

Guides and Codes

  • ANZFSS Code of Ethics.
  • Technical Note 17 - Guidelines for the Validation and Verification of Quantitative and Qualitative Test Methods.
  • AS/NZS 4308-2008 Procedures for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs of abuse in urine.

Improvements in DNA Practice

  1. NIFS required NATA Accreditation of all Australian forensic DNA laboratories.
  2. Complete and accurate documentation.
  3. Appropriate records retained and available.
  4. Deviations recorded!
  5. Exhibit storage and transport.
  6. Separation of Reference and Casework samples.
  7. Follow the rules of expert testimony.

Compliance vs Accreditation

  • Accreditation is formal, independent recognition of technical competence.
  • Compliance is an outcome of meeting obligations, including laws, regulatory and organizational requirements.