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Quality Assurance Standards for Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Laboratories: Part 1 by DNA Advisory Board, April 1999

Quality Assurance Standards for Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Laboratories: Part 1 by DNA Advisory Board (Forensic Science Communications, July 2000)
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July 2000 - Volume 2 - Number 3

Quality Assurance Standards for Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Laboratories

DNA Advisory Board
April 1999

(Part 1 of 2)


Preface
Introduction
Mechanism to Recommend Changes to Standards
Effective Date
References
1. Scope
2. Definitions
3. Quality Assurance Program
4. Organization and Management
5. Personnel
6. Facilities
7. Sample Control
8. Validation
9. Analytical Procedures
10. Equipment Calibration and Maintenance
11. Reports
12. Review
13. Proficiency Testing
14. Corrective Action
15. Audits
16. Safety
17. Subcontractor of Analytical Testing for Which Validated Procedures Exist

Introduction

Forensic DNA identification analysis currently involves forensic casework and convicted offender analyses. These complementary functions demand adherence to the highest analytical standards possible to protect both public safety and individual rights. Separate standards have been drafted for laboratories performing these functions. This separation is an acknowledgment of the differences in the nature or type of sample, the typical sample quantity and potential for reanalysis, and specialization that may exist in a laboratory. Standards for convicted offender laboratories, in some instances, are less stringent than for those performing forensic casework analyses, but in no case should the two documents be interpreted as conflicting.

This document consists of definitions and standards. The standards are quality assurance measures that place specific requirements on the laboratory. Equivalent measures not outlined in this document may also meet the standard if determined sufficient through an accreditation process.


Mechanism to Recommend Changes to Standards

Once the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued standards for quality assurance for convicted offender DNA testing, the DNA Advisory Board may recommend revisions to such standards to the FBI Director, as necessary. In the event that the duration of the DNA Advisory Board is extended beyond March 10, 2000, by the FBI Director, the Board may continue to recommend revisions to such standards to the FBI Director. In the event that the DNA Advisory Board is not extended by the FBI Director after March 10, 2000, the Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (TWGDAM) may recommend revisions to such standards to the FBI Director, as necessary.


Effective Date

These standards shall take effect April 1, 1999.


References

American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). ASCLD/LAB Manual. American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board, Garner, North Carolina, 1997.

DNA Advisory Board. Quality assurance standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories (approved July 1998), Forensic Science Communications (July 2000) 2. Available at: www.fbi.gov/programs/lab/fsc/current/codis2.htm

International Standards Organization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC Guide 25-1990. American National Standards Institute, New York, 1990.

Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods. Guidelines for a quality assurance program for DNA analysis, Crime Laboratory Digest (1995) 22(2):21–43.

Title 42 CFR Chapter IV, Health Care Financing Administration. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, 1996.

Text of the standards