Demystifying accreditation : a framework for accreditation of forensic units / prepared for U.S. Department of Commerce, Special Programs Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology ; by Nicole S. Jones, Erin P. Forry.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Jones, Nicole S., author.

Forry, Erin P., author.

Contributor:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.), issuing body.

Series:

NIST GCR ; 23-043.

NIST GCR ; 23-043

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Accreditation.

Certification.

Forensic sciences.

Crime laboratories--Accreditation.

Crime laboratories.

Crime scene searches.

Quality assurance.

Total quality management.

forensic science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (iv, 36 pages) : color illustrations.

Other Title:

Framework for accreditation of forensic units

Place of Publication:

Gaithersburg, MD: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology; 2023.

Summary:

Accreditation is a formal recognition by an independent third party/accreditation body that a forensic service provider such as a laboratory, unit, or agency,a meets standards. A standard is a requirement or guideline used to ensure that a process or service, in this case Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), is conducted consistently within the forensic service provider by competent personnel and is fit for purpose. Forensic service providers are accredited to ISO/IEC 17020, ISO/IEC 17025 and any other relevant sector-specific standards. The accreditation process involves an audit, or assessment, which, when performed, evaluates the unit against one or both of these standards to ensure it has developed and maintains a quality system that aligns with the requirements in an ISO standard. The 2009 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward, recommended mandatory accreditation and quality control and quality assurance programs for all units or laboratories that conduct forensic science activities, including those in which police agencies and identification units engage. Accreditation of CSI Units is important because it provides assurances that quality standards are met during scene investigations-the main gateway for recognizing, recording, collecting, transporting, and storing forensic evidence, which can have a lasting impact on the analysis, interpretation, reporting of results, and ultimately, the outcome of the investigation. Accreditation gives the criminal justice system and the public confidence in a unit's competence and results and ensures that the unit has policies and procedures in place and can demonstrate the unit maintains impartiality. This is particularly important in the practice of crime scene investigation and forensic science because unlike other industries, there is no nationally mandatory regulatory approach to ensuring quality. Therefore, a voluntary standardization approach through accreditation is important for maintaining public trust, transparency, and quality of work. This report reviews the steps a CSI Unit must take to achieve accreditation, discusses the documentation framework that comprises a quality management system, and provides guidance to meet the requirements in ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO/IEC 17025 and any additional requirements included in amplification documents.

Notes:

In scope of the U.S. Government Publishing Office Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) and Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

"July 2023."

Includes bibliographical references.

Approved by the NIST Editorial Review Board on 2023-07-20

Description based on online resource, PDF version; title from title page (NIST, viewed May 2, 2024).

OCLC:

1412210898