NCJ Number
219230
Journal
Forensic Science Communications Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 1-11
Date Published
April 2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study documented basic information on forensic-laboratory personnel, such as total number of staff, educational degrees obtained, hours worked, pay level, overtime, and number of cases processed, as well as resource allocation and time available to forensic scientists to complete casework.
Abstract
The laboratory directors surveyed "strongly agreed" that forensic scientists are pressured to complete cases in a timely manner and that scientists are adequately trained to perform the job. The directors "agreed" with the statement that forensic scientists are comfortable with the quality of the analyses per evidence item and that scientists are adequately trained in scientific testimony; however, they "disagreed" with the statement that scientists are pressured to complete cases too quickly, and they "strongly disagreed" with the statement that scientists are pressured to extend their opinions beyond scientific methods. Directors also "strongly disagreed" with the statement that scientists are pressured to get a particular result. An examination of the relationship between current laboratory capacity, pressure on forensic scientists to perform, and outsourcing of work to private forensic laboratories found significant correlations for pressure to perform and outsourcing. The number of DNA cases outsourced to private laboratories each year was significantly related to pressure to complete cases too quickly. Significant and positive correlations were found between laboratory capacity and the number of cases outsourced. Implications of this trend toward outsourcing are discussed. This survey of forensic science laboratory directors involved 250 public laboratories. The survey consisted of 46 items grouped into 6 sections: demographics, caseload, recruitment, turnover, retention, and performance issues. 4 tables and 17 references