Report Slams Shoddy Work at State Police Lab, Says Analyst Didn't Know How to Use Microscope
Oversight was so lacking at a New York state police crime lab that one analyst continued routinely to falsify test results over a 15-year period, compromising one-third of his 322 cases, an inspector general has determined.
And a subsequent internal review of the situation ignored systemic problems and simply blamed the analyst, who committed suicide in 2008, reports the New York Times. Part of the problem was that the analyst didn’t know how to use a microscope, according to the newspaper.
IThe state police superintendent promised to bring in an outside consultant to address the concerns raised by the report
“Cutting corners in a crime lab is serious and intolerable,” says Inspector General Joseph Fisch. “Forensic laboratories must adhere to the highest standards of competence, independence and integrity. Anything less undermines public confidence in our criminal justice system.”
Earlier related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Crime Labs in Disarray Nationally; Reform, Independence Needed, Report Says”
