The Briggs-White Award for Excellence through Leadership in Forensic Management was given to a very deserving individual at the ASCLD Symposium.
The following was prepared by Board of Director Jennifer McNair, as she introduced this year’s recipient:
“I am honored to present the Briggs White Award for Excellence through Leadership in Forensic Science Management and want to tell you how this year’s recipient exemplifies the qualities of those that have come before him. This will be the 25
th
year that ASCLD has recognized crime laboratory leaders who demonstrate the vision and direction to which we aspire, and that this awardee has demonstrated on a daily basis throughout his long career in forensic science.
I found in preparing these words that it was impossible to include all of his accomplishments within his laboratory, home state, and nationally.
First, he is an incredible mentor. He is not intimidated by others in his organization or anywhere else that show potential as leaders. He identifies them, trains them, and then helps them to fly. He has also done the same within ASCLD. He has mentored many former and current Board members including recruiting several who have served as President.
He is a visionary leader. He has written many of the ASCLD position statements and has been instrumental in seeing them accomplished. Serving on the Board of Directors and as President, he led the strategic planning initiatives that have resulted in many of the modern changes in the organization. ASCLD would not be in the leadership role it is currently in without the base that he helped establish. He has considerable influence everywhere within ASCLD. Particularly important has been his leadership in the Project FORESIGHT initiative and his heavy involvement in advocacy, which resulted in seeing ASCLD navigated into positions of influence including participation on the QIC and FSSB. He has been an Advocacy POC for many years and has strong political ties that help the organization in a number of ways. He never hesitates to make a phone call or make a connection when ASCLD needs something politically. He is a strategic thinker that did not stop helping ASCLD when he passed the Presidency torch but has continued to serve and is currently participating on the US TAG to TC 272 and on several forensic science committees.
He demonstrates this same leadership excellence in his home state – being one of two scientists who established the DNA program for the state in 1991, leading the laboratory to re-accreditation as the quality manager, establishing a state forensic scientist association, and as the lab director - encouraging and funding the staff’s certifications and professional memberships, leading the state’s sexual assault kit initiative, and securing funding and overseeing the construction of a new crime laboratory building. In addition, over his career he has worked in the areas of controlled substances, serology, DNA, and is currently a trained firearms examiner.
This recipient also has a high level of integrity. He is honest with his employer, stakeholders, and subordinates. He is often praised by these individuals because of his integrity. His own state legislature puts great trust in him to accomplish things that need to be done. He has a remarkable reputation as an ethical leader and bridge builder.
I am pleased to present this year’s Briggs White award to someone who has been a colleague, mentor, and friend to so many of us - Jay Henry.”
Have a great week,
Brooke Arnone
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Jay Henry receiving the Briggs White award
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The ASCLD reps on the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC) Quality Infrastructure Committee's (QIC) Impact Assessment Task Group are seeking informal feedback from lab directors to assess the laboratory impact of the following document being considered for inclusion on the OSAC Registry of Standards. This survey should take less than 4 minutes to complete. For further information, and to review each proposed standard, click the appropriate link(s) below. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Impact Assessment Task Group Chair, Rita C. Dyas @
Rita.Dyas@chandleraz.gov
NOTE: The formal public comment period closes on June 13. 2019, per the NIST OSAC website. The associated QIC survey will also close at that time.
Please participate; your feedback is important.
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Drug Chemistry White Box Study
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The Kentucky State Police Forensic Laboratories and NIJ’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence are conducting a white box study for drug chemistry. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of common analytical schemes used for the identification of seized drugs in forensic laboratories, based on needs identified by the Organization of Scientific Area Committees Seized Drug Subcommittee (
LINK)
and the National Institute of Justice Technical Working Group for Controlled Substances (
LINK,
p.4). The results of the study will assist in establishing error rates for seized drugs analysis and, further, could provide empirical data from which laboratories can make informed policy decisions about the techniques they implement in casework.
We are currently seeking volunteer laboratories to participate in this important study.
Volunteer labs will be asked to analyze 2 sets of unknown samples. In the first set, the laboratory will be asked to perform a single, particular analytical technique on each sample. In the second set, the laboratory will be asked to perform a prescribed analytical scheme on different samples. The results will be statistically analyzed to compare the efficacy of individual analytical techniques and various analytical schemes.
Results for the study will be anonymized and reported in aggregate form. Neither the participant laboratories nor their individual responses will be identified in the final report.
If your laboratory is interested in participating in this unique opportunity, if you have questions, or if you would like additional information, please contact Jeremy Triplett, Drug Chemistry Supervisor at the Kentucky State Police Central Forensic Laboratory, at
jeremy.triplett@ky.gov
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Weekly News and Resources
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Community Research and Surveys
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Foresight
Will your laboratory be among the 2020 FORESIGHT Maximus award winners? Click
HERE
to download the LABRAT form and for more information.
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Forensic Science Research Innovation to Implementation Symposium (RI2I)
Registration
is now open for "Research Innovation to Implementation in Forensic Science Symposium (RI2I)" Please register by
June 12, 2019
to ensure your spot at this event. On June 19-20, 2019, NIST will convene an interactive symposium aimed at answering these questions. Come join the discussion.
For crime laboratories, transferring forensic science research into practice is a challenging problem. Thousands of research papers are published in forensic science journals every year, yet many innovations never make it to the crime lab.What can the forensic science community do differently so that new technologies come online faster? How can we reduce the obstacles to successful innovation?
Join us at RI2I, where forensic scientists, researchers, and technology transfer experts will come together with laboratory professionals, business leaders and other stakeholders to explore ideas for speeding innovation in the nation’s crime labs.
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ANAB - Upcoming training events
September 10-13, 2019, Springfield, VA
December 10-13, 2019, Emeryville, CA
August 6-9, 2019, Minneapolis, MN
September 24-27, 2019, Largo, FL
December 9-13, 2019, Mesa, AZ
July 22-25, 2019 (11am-1pm ET)
July 23-25, 2019 (2-4pm ET)
August 28-29, 2019, Minneapolis, MN
September 12-13, 2019, San Jose, CA
Train the Director Webinar Series
Due to the overwhelming response to the first season, the FTCoE and ASCLD are pleased to bring you the latest collaborative installment in the
Train the Director Webinar Series
-
Quality Assurance in the Forensic Laboratory
This expansive series will highlight five different forensic disciplines: Digital Forensics, Fire Debris Analysis, Trace Analysis, Quality Assurance, and Crime Gun Intelligence. The subject matter experts that will be presenting on these topics are champions in their respective fields and will bring valuable information to the forensic community through their detailed and thorough research. The archived webinars are available by clicking the link above,
Digital Forensics Training
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice provides leadership and assistance to local criminal justice programs that improve and reinforce the nations' criminal justice system. Below is some information on digital forensics training opportunities (both classroom or virtual/online) and resources funded by BJA, including the Law Enforcement Cyber Center, and trainings organized by NW3C. NW3C is the training and technical assistance provider under the BJA Economic, High-Technology, White Collar, and Internet Crime Prevention National TTA Program. BJA has also encouraged online course offerings to save time/costs of travel, and included trainings for prosecutors, too. (Note: some NW3C courses sponsored apart from BJA funding may have a cost).
Click the links below for more information:
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Forensic Research Committee
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The goal of the Laboratories and Educators Alliance Program (LEAP) is to facilitate collaborative research between academia and forensic science laboratories. This joint effort between the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD) and the Council of Forensic Science Educators (COFSE) identifies forensic science needs and provides a platform for laboratories, researchers, and students to seek projects aligning with their mutual research capabilities.
Read more...
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Newly Identified Novels Psychoactive Substances
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Recent Additions:
(click drug name for more information)
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The Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) at the Fredric Rieders Family Foundation, have received funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop systems for the early identification and notification of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in the drug supply in the United States. The goal of the program is the early identification of these substances in seized drug and forensic toxicology casework samples through various high resolution mass spectrometry retrospective data-mining and sample-mining techniques. Information about these programs can be found on our
website
.
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Registration is now open for the NIJ/FTCOE:
When: July 18-19, 2019: 8am - 5pm ET
Where: Mariott Metro Center, Washington, D.C.
Click
here
for the agenda that includes a robust lineup of speakers and wide array of topics. Both in-person and virtual attendance registration is available.
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ASCLD's research efforts with respect to the OPIOiD crisis appear in the following article:
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BJA Updates
BJA Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program
BJA is awarding an expected $320 million to jurisdictions under BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program (COAP), which provides financial and technical assistance to state, local and tribal jurisdictions to develop and implement efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by the opioid epidemic. Category 6 of this grant is most applicable to forensic science laboratories. Applications should focus on addressing the opioid epidemic (e.g. testing for drugs but not case management systems). Solicitations will be released Feb-March 2019, and can be viewed
here
.
The report from last year to give you some ideas for application are posted
here
.
Bureau of Justice Assistance
Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program:
ODMAP Statewide Expansion and Response Grant
On behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) is releasing the ODMAP Statewide Expansion and Response Grant solicitation. BJA is sponsoring this initiative in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is part of a series of demonstration projects funded under the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP). These demonstration projects are designed to build capacity, foster cross-sector collaboration, and support innovation. Under this solicitation, up to six states will be selected for grant awards up to $700,000, each for a 24-month period.
Read the solicitation
HERE.
Applications due by June 27, 2019.
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CDC Updates
CDC Announces Traceable Opioid Material Kits to Improve
Laboratory Detection of Synthetic Opioids
The CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences is pleased to announce the availability of the first of two
Traceable Opioid Material Kits
. The kits will increase the capacity of laboratories in the U.S. to identify current and emerging opioids that are contributing to our nation’s opioid crisis. The Fentanyl Analog Screening (FAS) Kit is available, effective February 1, from Cayman Chemical. CDC anticipates that the second kit, the Opioid CRM Kit, will be available for distribution from Cerilliant Corporation in March 2019. Both kits may be received free of charge.
· Can be from any sector — academic, public, or private.
· Must be located in the United States.
· Must comply with respective state and local regulations.
· Must submit requests directly to the respective vendor.
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DEA Updates
NFLIS Program for Toxicology and ME/Coroners Expansion
Emerging Trends Program
Reference Materials Program
Real-time Network
Fentanyl Signature Profiling Program
DEA Resources
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CBP Program Updates
The US Customs and Border Protection has alerted ASCLD to a monthly phone call about drugs being seen by CBP. As CBP provides a first line of defense for the United States, these calls present early warnings of what might be coming to state and local crime labs. This teleconference is called the Scientific Trends Online Network Exchange (STONE) and is organized through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) network.
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HIDTA Updates
ASCLD is currently forming stronger bonds with the HIDTA and specifically the HIDTA National Emerging Trends Initiative. A meeting is being organized in Cleveland in November to discuss ASCLD/HIDTA partnership on emerging drug data sharing.
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USDOT NHTSA Updates
NHTSA has a working group evaluating the existing
Recommendations for Toxicological Investigation of Drug-Impaired Driving and Motor Vehicle Fatalities
. The working group is going to put out the existing recommendations for public comment and possible federal endorsement, and work on related data collection issues.
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Click
HERE to review standards available for comment.
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May 2019 OSAC Standards Bulletin now available, click
HERE
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
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Donations to ASCLD can now be made online! This is a great way to honor the memory of a forensic colleague, to commemorate a life event for that person who has everything, or to otherwise assist in supporting the tireless efforts of the ASCLD organization in the pursuit of excellence in forensic science management. The donation page can be accessed by clicking
HERE
or by visiting the ASCLD website and clicking on "Donate to ASCLD" under the "Member Site" tab (this donation page is accessible even to non-members). Please consider donating and do share this information with anyone you think might be interested.
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The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
65 Glen Road, Suite 123
Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.773.2044
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