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FSCI6120 - Advanced Topics > Quality in Forensic Science > Flashcards

Quality in Forensic Science Flashcards

1
Q

What are ISOs?
- requirement
- definition

A
  • international organisation for standards
  • requirements - those of law-enforcement and justice to produce a fair process and safe decision or verdict
  • degree to which forensic science meets stakeholder needs (law enforcement, defence, justice, regulator, society)
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2
Q

IEC

A
  • international electrotechnical comission
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3
Q

Define standard

A
  • a document established by consensus approved by a recognised body
  • that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidance or characteristics for activities or their results
  • aimed at achieving the optimum degree of order in a given context
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4
Q

What are current standards framework?

A
  • ISO17025
  • criminal procedure rules
  • rules of evidence - admissibility and relevance
  • common law
  • professional codes (professional bodies - CSOFS, regulatory bodies - FSR)
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5
Q

What are three aspects of quality

A
  • scientific
  • legal
  • ethical
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6
Q

What are the three aspects of scientific aspect of quality

A
  • scientific method (observation, theory, test, peer review)
  • objectivity (unbiased, impartial)
  • logic and rationality
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7
Q

What are the three aspects of legal aspect of quality?

A
  • law - common law
  • rules of evidence - admissibility and relevance
  • procedural rules - CPR
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8
Q

What are the two aspects of ethical aspect of quality

A
  • professional codes (professional bodies, forensic science regulator)
  • moral principles
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9
Q

What are the five requirements given by the CPS guidance

A

1 - comply with codes of conduct/practice set by FSR
2 - ensure quality standards and assurance processes are applied which are nationally consistent and compliant with appropriate ISO standards, united kingdom accreditation services (UKAS) accreditation, EU derivaties
3 - provide clear communication and interpretation of scientific processes, procedures, strengths, weaknesses and meaning
4 - engage with SFR process
5 - be fully aware of a compliant with CPIA disclosure and expert witness obligations

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10
Q

What is the importance of quality standards in forensic science?

A
  • they are integral to criminal justice system
  • without them:
  • there may be greater risks that those guilty of crime may escape justice or that innocent people could be convicted
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11
Q

Adam Scott case

A
  • innocent man spent 5 months in jail falsely accused of rape following DNA contamination error
  • he was arrested after a plastic tray containing sample of his saliva was reused by forensic services provider
  • his saliva was wrongly linked to violent attach on woman in Manchester when he was in Plymouth
  • forensic science regulator found he was victim of avoidable contamination
  • lack of records made it impossible to work out who lab tech behind this mistake was
  • scott had been arrested after street fight and saliva sample was taken and held on NDNAD
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12
Q

What makes a method no good?

A
  • even if it is rooted in scientific method, unless it is constantly applied in the same way every time it was used
  • individuals who have no established approach or who do not use the same approach for each case are not following a reliable process
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13
Q

What are root cause analysis for error?

A
  • method is reliable but analyst not qualified
  • method is reliable analyst qualified but method not properly applied
  • analyst is qualified but method is not reliable
  • analyst is not qualified and method is not reliable
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14
Q

What makes a method unreliable?

A
  • inconsistent of non-existent criteria for conclusions (e.g. based on my experience/education)
  • not rooted in scientific process
  • does not account for uncertainty
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15
Q

ISO17025
- when used and who by
- what are four aspects
- what is it

A
  • first used in 1999 by ISO and IEC
  • competent organisation, competent personnel, valid methods, impartiality
  • single most important standard for calibration testing labs around the world
  • labs that are predicted to this international standard have demonstrated that they are technically competent and able to produce precise and accurate test and/or calibration data
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16
Q

What are two overarching sections of ISO17025?

A
  • management requirements- operational effectiveness of quality management system within the laboratory
  • technical requirements - factors which determine the correctness and reliability of tests calibrations
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17
Q

What are five elements of ISO 17025 standard?

A
  • scope
  • normative references
  • terms and definitions
  • management requirements
  • technical requirements
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18
Q

What is scope element of ISO 17025?

A
  • to what extent do our lab activities extend
  • if lab intends to extend its scope then new audit will be required
  • a drugs lab cannot just expand into other areas
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19
Q

What is normative reference element of ISO 17025?

A
  • rules prescribed by:
  • customers
  • regulations
  • normative documents
  • ISO/IEC guide 99, international vocabulary of metrology - basic and general concepts and associated terms
  • ISO/IEC 17000 conformity assessment - vocabulary and general principles
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20
Q

What is terms and definitions element of ISO 17025?

A
  • a standardised vocabulary
  • ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardisation at the following addresses:
  • ISO online browsing platform and IEC electropedia
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21
Q

What is management requirements element of ISO 17025?

A
  • management systems and documentation
  • control of records
  • action to address risks and opportunities
  • corrective actions
  • internal audits
  • management reviews
22
Q

What is technical requirements element of ISO 17025?

A
  • handling of test or calibration items
  • technical records
  • evaluation of measurement and certainty
  • ensuring validity of results
  • reporting opinions and interpretations
  • amendments to reports
  • complaints
  • nonconforming work
23
Q

What is accreditation?

A
  • a voluntary, third-party reviewed, process
  • as part of accreditation, laboratories quality management system is thoroughly evaluated on a regular basis to ensure continued technical competence and compliance with ISO/IEC 17025
24
Q

What does ISO 17025 require?

A
  • requires continual improvement
  • regular audits are carried out to highlight opportunities for improvement
  • the lab will be expected to maintain its knowledge of relevant scientific and technological advances
25
Q

What is the definition of accreditation vs certification

A

accreditation:
- full recognition by an accreditation authority to the technical and organisational competence of a conformity assessment body to carry out a specific service in accordance to the standards and technical regulations as described in the scope of accreditation

certification:
- the process by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process, system or person conforms to the specified requirement

26
Q

UKAS
- when was it founded
- what is it

A
  • founded in 1995 with Headquarters in Staines (others in Europe and around world)
  • the sole national accreditation body recognised by British government to assess the competence of organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration
27
Q

Quality management system is a system by which…

A
  • an organisation aims to reduce and eventually eliminate non-conformance to specifications, standards, and customer expectations in the most cost-effective and efficient manner
28
Q

SOPs

A
  • standard operating procedures
29
Q

Proficiency testing
- what is it
- purpose

A
  • an assessment of the performance of laboratory personnel using samples where sources are known to proficiency test administrator but unknown to examinee
  • to measure individual performance and provide demonstrative evidence of each examiners ability
30
Q

What are two types of proficiency testing?

A
  • internal proficiency test
  • external proficiency test
  • ensures examiner is compared against manufacturers validated results
31
Q

What is another type of proficiency testing?

A
  • blind proficiency test
  • an agency may use this to verify the quality of work without the scientists knowledge
  • agency may generate mock evidence and then assign it is a regular case
  • case examiner may never know he or she worked on blind proficiency test unless quality of work produced was below standard
32
Q

What is another type of proficiency testing?

A
  • double blind proficiency testing
  • where another agency submits mock evidence as if it were a regular case to another agency
  • this evaluates the performance of the individuals completing the case and the agency’s overall performance within respect to that case
33
Q

Type 1 error

A
  • false positive
  • where true result is negative but shows as positive
  • incriminating the innocent
34
Q

Type 2 error

A
  • false negative
  • where true result is positive but shows as negative
  • person would be falsely exonerated
35
Q

What are three reasons as to why a test is run on a stain and the results are negative?

A
  • stain isn’t blood
  • stain is blood but reagents used to conduct test are poor quality
  • stain is blood but something in shirt is interfering with test (inhibitor)
36
Q

ISO/IEC 17020

A
  • international standard for organisations carrying out inspection activities
  • deemed more appropriate than ISO/IEC 17025 for crime scene examinations
  • it focuses on inspection bodies and police crime units
37
Q

What does ISO/IEC 17020 cover?

A
  • examination strategy, scene examination (exhibit - discovery, collection, enhancement, comparison, interpretation)
38
Q

Forensic science regulator responsibilities?

A
  • responsible for:
    1 - standards that apply to national forensic intelligence databases and development of new standards
    2 - identifying requirement for new/improved quality standards
    3 - providing advice and guidance to ministers, CJS organisations and forensic science providers to help them demonstrate compliance with common standards
    4 - ensuring good arrangements exist to provide assurance and monitoring of the standards (management of complaints/referrals about standards)
39
Q

ISO 9001

A
  • ‘standard for business processes’
  • applies to processes that create products and services and organisation supplies in order to fulfil customer quality requirements
  • sometimes aligned to fingerprint processes
40
Q

ISO 17043

A
  • associated with operation and management of proficiency testing schemes
41
Q

ISO 18385
- what is it
- currently in UK?
- how

A
  • standard for minimising risk of human DNA contamination in products used to collect, store and analyse biological material for forensic purposes
  • in draft as of Nov 2015, current standard in UK is PAS 377 guidelines
  • consumables used for DNA casework are treated with a single cycle of ethylene oxide in order to reduce/eliminate DNA contamination (toxic gas that splits of DNA helix into small fragments which are too small to deliver a DNA profile that can be loaded to national DNA database
  • spiked swab is placed in batch with known quantity of donor DNA and is quality tested
  • batch rejected if DNA is detected
42
Q

PPE

A
  • full overall
  • hairnet - mob cap
  • over sleeves
  • over boots
  • nitrile gloves
  • facemasks
  • eye protection
43
Q

Other than PPE what do DNA staff do to reduce contamination?

A
  • all staff DNA profiles are held on a UK supplier DNA database
44
Q

ISO 14644

A
  • standard which applies to clean rooms
45
Q

17025
17020
9001
17043
18385
14664

A
  • calibration testing
  • inspection bodies and police crime units
  • management and business processes
  • proficiency testing
  • consumables
  • clean rooms
46
Q

R v Smith

A
  • Hilda Owen a 71 year old was murdered in her home in Skegby in 2007
  • she had been attached, suffered grave injuries and left to die
  • appellant, her next door neighbour found her body and reported to police in march
  • he was at first treated as a witness but he was subsequently arrested and released on bail
  • court quashed his conviction
  • reliability of FP evidence used in 2008 was challenged due to fresh evidence from new experts
  • court also criticised quality of reports provided (no notes made during examinations or reasons for conclusions)
  • points of comparison were not identified contemporaneously on a separate chart
  • court of appeal concluded by calling for enforcement of common quality standards in a robust and accountable system
47
Q

What did Lord Justice Thomas raise a number of issues in relation to?

A
  • training and quality of FP experts
  • quality standards
  • presentation of FP evidence in court
48
Q

16 point standard

A
  • originally no standards in proving a match
  • 12 ridge characteristics would prove a match beyond doubt
  • UK adopted higher threshold of certainty in 1953 using national standard of 16 similar characteristics in proving a match
  • 1983: agreed that a fingerprint identification was certain with less than 16 points of similarity
  • study commissioned by ACPO and the Home Office, concluded that there was no scientific, logical or statistical basis for the retention of a numerical standard
  • 2001: change to a non-numerical standard
  • from 2001: accepted practice was for print to be identified by fingerprint officer (may/not be a fingerprint expert and then checked by two qualified fingerprint experts
49
Q

CPD
- what is it
- why is it needed
- what does CSFS say about it

A
  • continual professional development
  • any learning activity which promotes development of knowledge and skills applicable to ones role
  • it provides direct route into competent practice because the necessity of keeping up-to-date with information, skills development and implication of forensic case law is a prerequisite to maintaining a best practice in many roles
  • it is recognised that maintenance of skills and knowledge of the time and place plays an important part in ensuring that standards of practice current competence in the role is promoted
  • chartered society of forensic science considers CPD to be a basic expectation of all its professional members
50
Q

Brandon Mayfield case

A
  • bombing in Madrid
  • Brandon Mayfield was arrested by FBI saying his print was a match to print found on abandoned set of detonator caps inside plastic bag with single incomplete FP
  • Mayfield was released when they found an Algerian national who’s print matched better
  • FALSE POSITIVE (TYPE 1)
  • contextual/CONFIRMATION information caused bias
51
Q

Cameron Todd Willingham
- what happened
- flaws
- key recommendations

A
  • condemned and put to death for suspected arson murder of his three young daughters in 1991
  • house fire caused fire in home killing his three daughters
  • accused of maliciously instigating the fire

flaws
- original fire investigation was heavily criticized for relying on outdated and unscientific methods, including the use of arson indicators that have since been debunked.
- investigators and experts involved in the case lacked proper training in fire investigation and relied on subjective interpretations rather than empirical evidence
- allegations were made that evidence that could have potentially exonerated Willingham was not disclosed during the trial
- Willingham’s defence was deemed to be inadequate, failing to challenge the flawed forensic evidence effectively.

  • better training for investigators in handling and examination of evidence
  • institution of better practices for collecting and preserving evidence
  • commitment towards transparent investigations and leveraging technological advances in forensic science
  • improved oversight and independent assessment of investigations are also suggested to combat investigative bias

FSCI6120 - Advanced Topics (6 decks)

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