NCJ Number
143725
Journal
Crime Laboratory Digest Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1993) Pages: 8- 18
Date Published
1993
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper provides a checklist for conducting a DNA quality assurance audit.
Abstract
In 1989, the Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (TWGDAM) began the development of DNA testing standards with the publication of the "Guidelines for a Quality Assurance Program for DNA Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis." This article builds on the TWGDAM paper by presenting laboratory managers and supervisors with a tool to determine the extent to which their laboratories meet the TWGDAM guidelines for a quality assurance program for DNA analysis and to identify areas where the laboratory's performance may be improved. This audit checklist guide may be used by laboratory managers and supervisors in establishing their own audit programs and may be modified as needed to meet a specific laboratory's quality assurance program for DNA analysis. The checklist for the structure of the quality assurance program addresses planning and organization; personnel; documentation; validation; equipment, materials, and facilities; evidence handling procedures; analytical procedures; case work documentation, interpretation, report writing, and review; proficiency testing; audits; and safety. Other areas covered by the checklist are laboratory inspection and personnel interviews.