The D.C. Council is considering a bill that would take away control of its crime laboratory from the police, creating a new government department of forensics that would report directly to the mayor. Councilman Phil Mendelson said the change, which is modeled after Virginia’s forensics department, would create higher standards, fewer errors and more reliable findings. “[The Metropolitan Police Department] should not run the forensic lab,” Mendelson said. “Police are collecting evidence, then analyze it and then testify. It’s more credible if police collect the evidence, give it to scientist and then have the scientist testify.”
The city’s current criminal forensics facilities are minimal and much of the analysis is outsourced.
The quest to build a new crime laboratory to the District has dragged on for years. Originally set to open in 2009, the $220 million facility now has a scheduled an opening for this December. Two directors have been removed from the project, including a top forensic scientist who was transferred by police brass after fighting to make the lab independent from the police department.
And there have been numerous allegations about missing evidence and inaccurate findings.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment about the proposal.
A recent two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences found that the forensic evidence presented by prosecutors in courtrooms around the country was often scientifically faulty. Forensic analysts sometimes face pressure or incentive to alter evidence to help the prosecution.
“What we are talking about is adding a culture of ‘science’ to the forensic science community. From what I have seen, we have a long way to go,” said Chief Judge Emeritus Harry T. Edwards of the D.C. Court of Appeals. Edwards was the co-chairman of the study.
In August, the Department of Justice inspector general found that the D.C. police department could not find evidence in more than 200 backlogged DNA rape cases. Lanier disputed the report.
Also, a police officer hired by the District to run the DUI testing program complained last year about the accuracy of the breath tester machine and said it hadn’t been calibrated in nearly a decade. Police also dispute that claim.
“When MPD administers its own equipment, it has a tough time defending its credibility when it’s questioned,” Mendelson said.
Mendelson said he’ll hold a public hearing on the bill and hopes to get it passed before the council starts considering the budget for fiscal 2012.
Staff Writer Freeman Klopott contributed to this report. [email protected]
