WASHINGTON (AP) - A national accreditation board that governs DNA laboratories has ordered the District of Columbia’s new crime lab to suspend all DNA case work because its procedures are “insufficient and inadequate.”
The Washington Post (https://wapo.st/1FrdfzN) reported Monday that an audit by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board found the lab’s practices were not in compliance with FBI standards. In the audit published Friday, the board ordered the revalidation of test procedures, additional training and testing for staff and new interpretation guidelines for DNA mixture cases. The problems have centered on the lab’s analysis of evidence that includes DNA from more than one person.
The audit found the lab’s DNA analysts “were not competent and were using inadequate procedures.” The report gave the lab a minimum of 30 days to address the concerns.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the audit last month after the U.S. Attorney’s office found errors in some of the lab’s DNA analyses. Bowser said she was “very troubled” by the findings and that her office is working on a corrective plan.
“We have an obligation to look at everything with a fresh set of eyes,” she said.
On Monday, Bowser ordered a corrective action plan and said the lab risks losing its accreditation as a result of problematic practices. She appointed Deputy City Administrator Kevin Donahue to oversee the review.
“District residents spent $200 million to build a state-of-the-art facility and expect its work to be beyond reproach,” Bowser said.
The U.S. Attorney’s office commissioned a separate audit that found similar problems.
Lab Director Max Houck says his office is responding to the findings and takes them seriously. The suspension of DNA work will require various clients that use the lab, including D.C. police, U.S. Park Police, Capitol Police and the D.C. attorney general to contract out the DNA work to other labs, Houck said.
The same accreditation board audited the D.C. lab last year, and Houck said the lab passed the previous audit. The FBI also audited the lab.
Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said federal prosecutors are hopeful the lab will adopt the recommended changes so that they can resume using the lab for DNA tests.
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Information from: The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com
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