Forensics: Last week, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that he does not intend to renew the National Commission on Forensic Science, which is a partnership between independent scientists and the Justice Department to raise the standards of forensic science. He has also put a halt on an expanded review of FBI testimonies to meet the needs of overwhelmed crime labs, which Mr. Sessions said will be set by an appointed senior forensic advisor and an internal crime task force. Both the Commission and efforts to improve the efficiency of crime labs were set in place by former President Barack Obama. The Commission was established after numerous reports from the National Academy of Sciences regarding the lack of standards and funding for crime labs. Last fall, the Justice Department had announced it would conduct an expanded review of expert testimonies for assessing whether FBI experts gave “scientifically misleading” testimonies regarding tracing hairs found in crime scenes based on microscopic data and examining bullets based on their chemical compositions, two FBI Laboratory techniques. Mr. Sessions stated that workloads, backlogs and equipment in crime labs need to surveyed to increase productivity and accuracy of results.
Source: Washington Post