Greetings ASCLD Colleagues and Friends,
The past few weeks have been hectic, while also being very reflective. I have found myself pouring over ASCLD position statements from the past as we evaluate where we are now as a community and where we are going.
I had the opportunity to discuss our Wisconsin State Crime Lab to a group of prosecutors this past week and one thing we made clear to them is that forensic science quality requirements and the increasingly robust methodologies and analysis has made it so cases do take a bit longer than they did 5 or 10 years ago. That is not a failure of the analysis or scientists (I think we stated that no one is “sitting on their hands”), but just a reflection of the evolution of the field.
To be candid, right now, some of us are at a crossroads with regards to the future structure of our laboratories. It seems that for some, while the demands and expectations are still as high as ever (and growing), the root cause of delays and large queues (i.e resources for funding, personnel, new equipment, LIMS systems, buildings etc.) are still not always being properly evaluated and addressed. Disappointingly, across our membership, we also see pockets of crime laboratory leadership not even having a seat at the table when stakeholders are brainstorming ideas on how to address these fundamental challenges on our behalf. We must do what we can to ensure we are “beating the drum” and making it clear to our parent agencies and vocal stakeholders on what resources we need in order to effectively run the operations of our crime labs.
This is why ASCLD and relationships we build here are so important; we must do what we can to reach out and assist each other. Be on the lookout for position statements from ASCLD touching on some of these topics in the future. If you know of a colleague who is not a member of ASCLD- make sure you encourage them to sign up!
Things are moving right along as we prep for the 2023 ASCLD Symposium in Austin, and President Elect Kupferschmid has worked to generate a great agenda. A few weeks ago, I gave folks the “heads up” that registration for Leadership Academy was opening up (opened October 31, 2022 and closes January 13, 2022). As expected, both LA I and II are filling up fast! We only have a few seats left, so make sure you get them before they are gone. https://www.ascld.org/ascld-leadership-academy/
I also mentioned President Elect Kupferschmid and Director Cariola represented ASCLD at a Listening Session in Washington DC with the NIJ Director on October 20, 2022. I wanted to share with you their leave behind document for the NIJ Director, so you are all aware of what was discussed: Leave Behind Document.
I am again very excited to share that the ASCLD Forensic Research Committee is gearing up for the next episode of a virtual “Lightning Talk”. The next episode will be held on Thursday December 8th at 1:00 ET and will focus on one of my favourite topics- forensic toxicology. It will feature talks by Sherri Kacinko (NMS Labs) and Marthe Vandeputte (University of Ghent). Make sure you register:
I wanted to keep you posted on the reintroduction of a past practice. Every year right before the Symposium, we issue the ASCLD Executive Education Digest (EED) which is FULL of great information and is a compilation of the great work from that sessions ASCLD BOD and our volunteers. The challenge is that our membership only sees it once a year, so we thought we would bring back the ASCLD Mid-Year EED, something suggested from one of our Past Presidents. We are working on it and are hoping to get it out to you soon.
Well, I must get ready as my daughter, Cadence, and I are heading over to Chicago to see Chase play in a hockey tournament. This one is rather large one with kids from all over the US and Canada coming together to enjoy a game they love. I hope everyone has a productive week!
With Thanks and Gratitude,
Jen
Jennifer D. Naugle
ASCLD President
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ASCLD monthly board meeting
The next Board of Directors meeting date will be on Friday, November 18th at 1pm Eastern Time
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Weekly News and Resources |
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NEW ADDITIONS TO THE CLM THIS WEEK |
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- 2023 FRC Awards (ASCLD News)
- Validations (FRC section)
- New ASCLD Board Member Nominations (ASCLD News)
- Ed Rhodes Scholarship application (ASCLD News)
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The Membership Committee is working to increase ASCLD’s membership and serve as a
resource to more members of the forensics community. To help accomplish this goal,
the Committee proposed, and the ASCLD Board of Directors approved, a new level of
membership known as an Associate member. Associate membership will be targeting
forensic professionals working toward positions of leadership within their agencies.
Associate membership should be available by mid-2023.
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FRC Awards
The Forensic Research Committee of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors would like to announce the open nomination period for all 2023 FRC Awards:
- Innovation Award
- Outstanding Evaluation/Validation Award
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·LEAP Collaboration Award
This is your opportunity to highlight the great work your lab has completed. The winners will be recognized at the 2023 ASCLD Annual Symposium. They will receive a plaque and a unique electronic award icon for use on letterhead, reports, e-mail signatures, etc. The application window extends from September 5, 2022 – January 20, 2023.
Application Process:
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Complete the application, found at https://www.ascld.org/forensic-research-committee/
- Include a 1 – 2 page description of the evaluation/validation study, specifically addressing the criteria
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Submit the completed application electronically to ascldfrc@gmail.com
For additional information:
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ASCLD Board of Directors Nominations
Nominations for the Board of Directors are now being accepted and will be voted on by the membership during the business meeting at the upcoming 2023 symposium in Austin, TX. There will be three (3) vacancies to fill this year. If you are interested in getting more involved in the organization, this is a great way to do so. Please email your nominations to Scott Hummel: gregory.hummel@kcpd.org
Ed Rhodes Scholarship
ASCLD receives 1 (one) complimentary sitting per calendar year for any American Board of Criminalistics, Inc. (ABC) examination. The complimentary sitting is for either an ASCLD member or someone in a member’s organization. Information and the application can be found on the ASCLD website http://www.ascld.org/nominations/. Applications are due December 31, 2022, for any test date in 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Nominations & Awards committee chair Scott Hummel: gregory.hummel@kcpd.org
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Standards Checklists now Available
Standards Checklists are now available for download on the Standards Resources and Training page of the AAFS website. These resources are being made available as part of a Cooperative Agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This partnership is designed to support implementation efforts and broaden awareness of forensic science standards among communities of interest. Standards Factsheets, which provide a concise summary of forensic science standards, are also available. These highlight the purpose of a standard, benefits of adoption, and key elements of the standard using language that is understandable to the lay person.
Checklists provide a tool that allow a forensic science service provider to evaluate the level of standard implementation and/or audit conformance to a given standard. “Checklists will be a great resource to the forensic science community” said Sarah Kerrigan, Chair of the NIST-AAFS Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee. “Organizations have been developing checklists in-house for some time. This initiative with NIST allows the AAFS to provide a resource that eliminates redundancy and delivers a uniform tool that directly benefits the forensic community”.
Laurel Farrell, former Chair of the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science and retired Senior Director of Accreditation for forensic programs of ANAB, directed the checklist initiative. “This was truly a collaboration between the AAFS, NIST’s OSAC program, Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers, and numerous operational forensic science service providers,” said Farrell. The New York State Police Crime Laboratory System and Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory System participated in the beta testing of checklists this summer. The Excel-based checklists have a standardized format that also allows flexibility when used. Instructions and use of the checklists will be featured in a half-day workshop at the upcoming AFQAM Training Conference in Lake Tahoe in October.
Instructions for use, and an instructional video are available now on the Standards Checklist page. Thirty-six checklists are currently available and more will be added each month. The strategy for development is two-fold: (1) developing checklists for the most widely implemented standards, and (2) trying to provide the resource to the community soon after a standard has been added to the OSAC Registry. Individuals or organizations interested in using this tool can subscribe to AAFS updates to ensure they have the most current version of checklists and receive notifications when new ones become available.
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There are many standards open for comment on the ASB website. Be sure to check them out and provide your valuable input!
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COPS Office Announces Launch of First eLearning Course Developed Through NHTSA Partnership
The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced August 31, 2022, the launch of its first eLearning course developed in partnership with the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Over the last two years, the COPS Office has been collaborating with NHTSA to develop a series of resources and trainings aimed at improving traffic safety and reducing injury and death related to impaired driving. The first of those trainings, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) Refresher, launched August 31, 2022 on the COPS Training Portal. This course is the culmination of more than 20 months of work between the COPS Office and NHTSA under an inter-agency agreement, the first of its kind between the two offices.
NHTSA’s ARIDE training is a 16-hour, in-person instructor-led course that builds on the skills of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to enhance a law enforcement officer’s ability to detect impaired driving and enforce relevant laws. With the development of the 4-hour ARIDE Refresher eLearning course, peace officers trained in ARIDE can refresh their skills without having to attend an in-person course; instead, they can access the course when their schedule allows, from anywhere with an internet connection. Featuring highly skilled and well-trained subject matter experts from across the country, this course will allow learners to re-engage with the material from the in-person course while testing their knowledge through realistic scenarios and testing before, during, and after the training. For more information on this course and other training opportunities, visit https://copstrainingportal.org/.
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The CLM will be going to a bi-monthly publication. If there is information that is time sensitive and cannot wait for the next CLM, you will be getting an email from Executive Director Byrd. This new bi-monthly publication will go a long way in helping the volunteers get back some of their time on weekends while still providing a quality newsletter for the organization. Direct questions to Communications Committee Co-Chairs, Lisa Burdett and Sheri Lemons.
The CLM publication dates are:
2022
November 7 and 21
December 5 and 19
2023
January 9 and 23
February 6 and 20
March 6 and 20
April 3 and 17
May 8 and 22
June 5 and 19
July 10 and 24
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WATCH HERE FOR 2023 SPRING ACADEMY INFORMATION
Thank you for your interest in the ASCLD Leadership Academy. The next Level 1 and Level 2 Leadership Academies are scheduled for January through April 2023. Watch here for registration information to be posted October 31, 2022. Registration will go live in November. If you would like to be the first to know when future registrations open, please click the button below and leave us your information.
Click HERE for more information
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ANAB offers a wide variety of live and self-paced online training related to accreditation standards and concepts that allow participants to attain needed training according to their own schedules. We have courses available in both English and Spanish as well as other languages on demand. Visit our website HERE to see our current trainings we're offering.
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The Research Forensic Library is officially launched and provides access to thousands of articles and reports in the scientific literature, a critical step in the forward momentum required of forensic science and its varied applications.
The Library is part of a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). You can find the full release on our website to republish and share:
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The Forensic Research Committee releases Bulletin Volume #3, Issue #3 with information on Lightning Talks, the FRC Collaboration Hub, the Laboratories and Educators Alliance Program (LEAP), new LEAP Research Partners, recent submissions to the Evaluation and Validation Repository, and FRC Award Winners! Check out https://www.ascld.org/forensic-research-committee/ for exciting developments from the FRC!
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ASCLD FRC Validation and Evaluation Repository – Confirmation and Quantitation of Antiepileptic and Acidic Drugs by LC/MS/MS
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) is proud to announce a new submission to the Validation and Evaluation Repository. As you may already know, the purpose of this FRC initiative is to create a central repository of forensic validations and evaluations. ASCLD hopes that this repository will foster information sharing and promote collaboration with the forensic science community.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office / Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory recently submitted a summary validation report highlighting their internal validation for a new protein crash extraction and LC/MS/MS method for confirming and quantitating 14 antiepileptic/acidic drugs in blood, serum, urine and tissue homogenate. The method was validated using 7 blood calibrators and low, medium, and high controls in blood, serum, urine and tissue homogenate. The validation parameters are all included in the validation summary submitted.
Please consider submitting information about your lab’s validations or evaluations to the repository. Information could include basic information such as validation/evaluation title, lab name, and point of contact information (which enables other forensic scientists to contact you with questions) or additional information such as a short validation or evaluation summary or even a full validation or evaluation report. By sharing this information, you are supporting other laboratories that wish to expand their forensic capabilities!
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The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) is pleased to announce a new submission within the Collaboration Hub.
As you may know, the purpose of the Collaboration Hub is to create a directory to connect researchers with ongoing projects to practitioners who are willing to participate in the studies or support the research. It is ASCLD’s hope that this program will further communication and cooperation between forensic researchers and practitioners.
Recently, a new project was added to the Collaboration Hub that aims to explore factors that may play a role in the decision-making of triaging items collected from crime scenes. The Principal Investigator for this study is Dr. Ifat Levy from Yale University with collaborators from the University of College London. The researchers are seeking volunteers to participate in an online study where participants will be asked to evaluate a forensic casework brief and photographs of items collected from a crime scene. Under a hypothetical scenario in which the participant is the expert assigned to this case, the participant will make a series of decisions about the case. The study will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete.
If you are interested in supporting this project and contributing to forensic science research, please check out the ASCLD FRC Collaboration Hub.
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The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) is proud to announce eight new submissions to the Validation and Evaluation Repository
As you may already know, the purpose of this FRC initiative is to create a central repository of forensic validations and evaluations. ASCLD hopes that this repository will foster information sharing and promote collaboration with the forensic science community.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner New York Forensic Laboratory (OCME NY) recently submitted an internal validation of STRmix™ v2.7 for Fusion 5C/3500xL data. This internal validation outlines of STRmix™ version 2.7 for Promega PowerPlex® Fusion 5C data run on Applied Biosystems™ 3500xL Genetic Analyzers. All parameters used by the laboratory are outlined in the submission.
- The Idaho State Police Forensic Services recently submitted a summary validation report highlighting their internal validation for a Multi-drug Screen in Blood and Urine by LC/MS/MS Using SLE+ Extraction Plates. This validation was performed to determine the suitability of adding new compounds with method modifications to increase efficiency or already established methods for screening and confirmation of over 100 drugs utilizing an SLE+ extraction followed by analysis using LC/MS/MS or LC/Q-TOF.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner New York Forensic Laboratory (OCME NY) recently submitted an internal validation of the GeneMarker HID software which was completed to determine its reliability for casework. All factors considered and evaluated by the laboratory are outlined in the submission. In addition, an addendum is included for a global filter and DNA input amount evaluation.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner New York Forensic Laboratory (OCME NY) recently submitted a validation of the PowerPlex® Fusion system amplification kit. This internal validation outlines the PowerPlex® Fusion System Amplification Kit on the Applied Biosystems 3130xl Genetic Analyzer using GeneMarker HID v. 2.8.2 Analysis Software. All parameters used by the laboratory are outlined in the submission.
- The Idaho State Police Forensic Services recently submitted a summary validation report highlighting their internal validation summary from their toxicology division for cannabinoids screens in blood and urine by Q-TOF using SLE+ extraction plates. The analysis was completed on the following instruments: Agilent 1290 Infinity II HPLCs equipped with an Agilent 6545B Q-TOFs.
- 6. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner New York Forensic Laboratory (OCME NY) recently submitted an internal validation report highlighting their validation of STRmix™ v2.7 for Fusion 5C/3500xL Data - STRmix™ parameters. All parameters used by the laboratory are outlined in the submission.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner New York Forensic Laboratory (OCME NY) recently submitted an internal validation report highlighting their validation of STRmix™ V2.4 for the Promega Fusion™ multiplex this validation included the examination of known and non-probative evidence samples, and investigations into reproducibility and precision, sensitivity and stochastic studies, and mixture studies. All parameters used by the laboratory are outlined in the submission.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner New York Forensic Laboratory (OCME NY) recently submitted a validation report highlighting their internal validation for estimation of the STRmix™ parameters for PowerPlex Fusion 5C DNA profiling data) for use in STRmix™ V2.4. All parameters used by the laboratory are outlined in the submission.
For more information about this validation or other validations or evaluations within the can be found HERE
Please consider submitting information about your lab’s validations or evaluations to the repository. Information could include basic information such as validation/evaluation title, lab name, and point of contact information (which enables other forensic scientists to contact you with questions) or additional information such as a short validation or evaluation summary or even a full validation or evaluation report. By sharing this information, you are supporting other laboratories that wish to expand their forensic capabilities!
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The Project FORESIGHT benchmark report for FY2021 is now available HERE
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Are you a Forensic Scientist, or otherwise involved in the detection, collection, or analysis of forensic evidence? Are you curious to know if the stressors of the job, including exposure to potentially traumatic material and/or burnout from constant backlogs, resource constraints, and shift work are negatively affecting the ability to effectively perform your work duties? If you have answered yes to either of these questions, then consider participating in this IRB approved comprehensive research study that aims to inform the criminal justice stakeholder community of the potential impact of vicarious trauma and/or burnout across all forensic science disciplines on work ability. The direction of this survey has been shaped by the ASCLD Stress and Trauma Working Group and the results of this dissertation research study will be used add to the growing body of literature surrounding this important topic!”
To participate in this research study, please click here.
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Please send all CLM submissions to our new electronic form!
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Please continue to tag your photos on social media with the hashtag #ASCLDfun |
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Opt Out.
ASCLD sells your email information to vendors for marketing and promotional material purposes. You may ‘opt-out’ of receiving vendor information not directly related to ASCLD by emailing executivedirector@ascld.org. If you do not opt out then your acceptance of this Agreement will constitute your affirmative consent to receiving marketing and promotional material from ASCLD.
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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Safety Topics for your Lab |
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Health and Safety in the Laboratory series by Jane Northup PhD, RI State Crime Laboratory
Click on links below for articles
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ANAB Trainings
With the ability to reach wider audiences, we are expanding offerings of current courses in Spanish.
The following courses will be available live online in Spanish:
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Forensic Technical Assessor
- Forensic ISO/IEC 17025 Internal Auditor
- Risk-based Thinking for Forensic Service Providers
We are also excited to introduce our courses:
Uncertainty, Sampling and Data Analysis: Understanding Statistical Calculations. This course provides an introduction to statistical concepts and techniques used for the collection, organization, analysis, and presentation of various types of data. The course touches on both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, including how to compute measures of central tendency and dispersion, and how to assess the relationship between two variables. More..
Verification and Validation for Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. This course provides an introduction to the validation and verification of analytical methods and the common elements of a validation or verification plan. In addition, a general approach to performing a validation or verification will be reviewed along with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements for validation and verification of methods. More…
Webinars:
We continue our monthly Webinars and stay tuned for information about upcoming Feature Sessions.
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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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