The D.C. Council’s public safety committee unanimously backed a bill Tuesday that will create a separate forensics agency.
A new forensics lab is scheduled to open next year, but the District hasn’t yet created an administrative structure for putting it to use. The bill written by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, who heads the public safety committee, will create a forensics department led by a director and governed by a board.
The new agency will encompass much of the forensic work already performed by the police department. But by separating it from police work, Mendelson and experts say the District will be able to add greater credibility and scientific accuracy to its examination of crime scene evidence.
