During my last week of travel, on my last leg of my trip, my airplane was diverted to a smaller airport due to a mechanical issue that occurred during flight. (We lost electrical power). We had what I am calling a semi-emergency landing. The runway was lined with emergency vehicles, just in case, but fortunately we did not crash.
You are probably asking why I am mentioning this event. Well, when the pilot first came on to say we were being diverted, I was very amazed at the calmness in the full aircraft. Everyone exited the aircraft in a calm, almost relaxed manner. I am honestly not even sure how many people were paying attention to the actions the pilot was taking to land us safely and/or the emergency vehicles on the side of the runway. This calmness lasted for the first 4 hours or so, and then, the bickering, getting angry, demanding answers seemed to start. The flight was postponed multiple times until it was finally canceled. Questions and comments like, “What are you going to give us for this inconvenience?”, “You do know I have to get to “x” by tonight, right?”, “What could be worse?”. REALLY?? What could be worse, we could have crashed, and someone could have been hurt or even worse, someone could have died.
Eventually, snacks were provided, everyone was given hotel vouchers, food vouchers, and new flights were scheduled for all by the airline (although it was for a flight scheduled for 28 hours later). The airline also awarded bonus flight miles.
Again, you might be thinking, I still don’t understand why she is writing about this. Well, things happen that are out of our control every day. How do you handle those situations? Do you get angry and lash out, or do you remain calm? As leaders, it is our job to stay calm and figure out a way to get everyone through the situation in a calm, collect manner.
“What separates a truly great leader from the merely good? In most cases, it’s the ability to rise to the occasion during times of crises and chaos.” - unknown
Just something to think about,
Brooke
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July 29 – September 2019
– Abstract Submissions accepted for the 2020 Symposium
September 13-15, 2019
- Board of Directors Meeting - Utah (in person)
September 15 – 21, 2019
National Forensic Science Week
September – October – Fall 2019
ASCLD Leadership Academy – Austin, Texas
October 18, 2019
– Board of Directors Meeting – teleconference
November 15, 2019
– Board of Directors Meeting - teleconference
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ASCLD is pleased to announce that the 2020 ASCLD Symposium website is live! Come explore the website and watch for upcoming events such as, the exhibitor floor plan launch, agenda development, hotel registration and the opening of the symposium registration.
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Weekly News and Resources
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Community Research and Surveys
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OSAC QIC Impact Assessment Survey
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 and quality managers to assess the laboratory impact of the following documents 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
Click on each one for the link to the QIC survey for proposed standard:
NOTE: The formal public comment period closes on September 5. 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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Forensic Compensation Survey
The Kentucky State Police is conducting a national forensic compensation survey to identify salary and benefit trends across the United States. Upon completion, the aggregated results of the survey will be published as a resource for all crime laboratories. Please consider completing this short survey about compensation in your laboratory. If you have questions, please contact Jeremy Triplett at
jeremy.triplett@ky.gov
.
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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A2LA WPT – Upcoming training events
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September 11-12, 2019, Grand Rapids, MI
October 9-10, 2019, Frederick, MD
September 16-20, 2019, Frederick, MD
September 23-27, 2019 Troy, MI
November 18-22, 2019, Frederick, MD
September 10, 2019, Frederick, MD
September 30, 2019, Grayslake, IL
September 20, 2019, Frederick, MD
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September 11-12, 2019, Frederick, MD
October 1-2, 2019, Grayslake, IL
August 28-29, 2019, Frederick, MD
October 3-4, 2019, Grayslake, IL
October 17-18, 2019, Charlotte, NC
September 10, 2019, Grand Rapids, MI
September 26, 2019, Denver, CO
October 11, 2019, Frederick, MD
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9th Annual Forensic Science Symposium
June 2-4, 2020
Miami, Florida
Join more than 200 forensic science colleagues and aspiring scientists from Florida and beyond at the 9th Annual Forensic Science Symposium at the beautiful Florida International University Modesto A. Maidique Campus in Miami. The symposium will be held June 2-4, 2020.
The 2020 symposium will showcase topics like DNA, chemistry, toxicology, digital forensics and latent prints, and include expanded criminal justice subjects beyond the laboratory. Workshops and a poster session will be included. Registration will be $30 and free for students. Group registration for agencies is also available.
We are looking for innovative topics and dynamic speakers to share their expertise. A call for abstracts will be released soon.
Questions about attending, sponsoring or presenting at the symposium? Email
forensic@fiu.edu
.
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HIT Workshop: Are You Prepared for a Mass Fatality Incident Response?
When:
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Where:
ISHI 2019- Palm Sprins, CA
Cost
:
Free
Click
here
for more information
Mass fatality incidents require an accurate and timely response. Rapid DNA is becoming an increasingly sought-after tool for identifying victims of mass fatality incidents as it saves time and money by making identifications faster. Planning for a mass fatality can feel overwhelming, but not being prepared leads to an error-prone and stressful response. The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) is leading efforts to help jurisdictions prepare for a mass fatality response.
This workshop is applicable to DNA analysts, supervisors and management and builds upon the efforts of the ASCLD Rapid DNA Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Subcommittee. During the workshop, participants will work collaboratively in small groups through a tabletop exercise to evaluate the mass fatality incident and organize an appropriate Rapid DNA response for victim identification using the ASCLD response tools and best practices.
The goal of the workshop is to provide participants the opportunity to walk through a mass fatality DNA response in a low-stress environment using the ASCLD Rapid DNA Task Force DVI Subcommittee response planning deliverables.
This free workshop will take place on Sunday, September 22, 2019 at the 2019 International Symposium on Human Identification in Palm Springs, CA. Pre-registration is required. Please visit
https://www.ishinews.com/events/hita-workshop/
to sign up!
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Digital and Multimedia Forensics: The Impact of Disturbing Media
August 28th, 2019
1:00 PM ET
The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence has an upcoming webinar titled
“Digital and Multimedia Forensics: The Impact of Disturbing Media”
with speaker Dr. Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar. The webinar is scheduled for August 28
th
at 1:00 PM ET. Dr. Seigfried-Spellar will discuss the impact of viewing or hearing heinous acts on analysts. The goal is to better understand the well-being of digital and multimedia forensic analysts and to identify successful interventions to alleviate burnout and psychological effects. As leaders among Forensic Science professionals we would like to encourage participation in this educational webinar.
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ANAB - Upcoming training events
Forensic ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Internal Auditor Training
September 9-12, 2019, Springfield, VA
December 10-13, 2019, Emeryville, CA
Forensic ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Technical Assessor Training
September 24-27, 2019, Largo, FL
October 27-30, 2019, Austin, TX
December 10-13, 2019, Mesa, AZ
September 17-20, 2019 (11am-1pm ET)
Forensic Measurement Confidence MC100 (Web-based)
November 13-15, 2019 (11am-1pm ET)
ISO/IEC 17020 and Audit Preparation for Forensic Agencies
September 12-13, 2019, San Jose, CA
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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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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July 2019 OSAC Standards Bulletin now available, click
HERE
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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A2LA WorkPlace Training (A2LA WPT) is a nonprofit organization established with a vision of being the leading management systems, conformity assessment, and measurement training company in the world. Our mission is to provide independent, world-class training programs that inspire confidence in the quality of service and acceptance of results from organizations.
Be a leader in your industry by building confidence and consistency in your product through A2LA WPT’s broad spectrum of instructor-led and online e-learning training courses. Move ahead of your competition by learning best practices on international standards, quality systems, technical tools, and soft skill
s.
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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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