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  • on September 1, 2010 by Amy Driver in AAFS, ASCLD, Accreditation, Forensic Reform, LAPD, Legislation, NAS Report, Comments (1)

    What the NAS Report Was Supposed To Say: The Lobbyist, The Senator, and ASCLD’s War Against Its Own

    Unraveling the moves made by the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations (CFSO) and those involved in its member organizations surrounding the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report titled “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward” was not an easy task.

    But it was made easier by the fact that someone at the CFSO decided at some point that its mission was to make ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB the rulers of the world, evidently to the exclusion of the wants or needs of its other members. Picking the slowest horse to win is never advisable.

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    The ASCLD Empire, Part 2: Who Knew?

    on August 30, 2010 by Amy Driver in ASCLD, Accreditation, Forensic Reform, Comments (0)

    In my last post, I outlined some damn questionable goings-on at 139 Technology Drive, the headquarters of the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD) and of a seemingly endless […]

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    The ASCLD Empire, Part 1: Miracle Off Interstate 40

    on August 26, 2010 by Amy Driver in AAFS, ASCLD, Comments (0)

    The American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD), its laboratory accreditation body, ASCLD/LAB, and its for-profit consulting group, ASCLD Consulting, have driven much of the turmoil and ugliness that has […]

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    NC State Bureau of Investigation: Low-Hanging Fruit for the News & Observer

    on August 20, 2010 by Amy Driver in ASCLD, Accreditation, N&O, Comments (1)

    The investigative reporters at the Raleigh News & Observer have just released a series of stories about the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab called Agents’ Secrets. The […]

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    What the NAS Report Doesn’t Say

    on August 17, 2010 by Amy Driver in ASCLD, Forensic Reform, Legislation, NAS Report, Comments (0)

    I am going to get to the subject of what’s going on with ASCLD, ASCLD/LAB, and AAFS, but first I want to address the paranoia and end-of-the world hysteria that […]

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    NAS Recommendation 13: Oh, By The Way…

    on August 14, 2010 by Amy Driver in Forensic Reform, Legislation, NAS Report, Comments (0)

    The last recommendation of the NAS Report addresses the directive that the committee was given to “examine the role of the forensic community in the homeland security mission.” In other […]

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    Where That Forensic Reform Draft Legislation Came From

    on August 11, 2010 by Amy Driver in AAFS, ASCLD, Forensic Reform, Legislation, NAS Report, Comments (0)

    In my last post I asked forensic scientists if they knew who was speaking for them because it has a lot to do with what is going on right now […]

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    Whose Side Are You On?

    on August 9, 2010 by Amy Driver in AAFS, ASCLD, Forensic Reform, Legislation, NAS Report, Comments (0)

    At last week’s National Institutes of Justice (NIJ) Impression and Pattern Evidence Symposium (IPES) there was an exchange between me and Kenneth Melson regarding his leadership of the Subcommittee for […]

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    NAS Recommendation 12, Part 2: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the IAFIS

    on July 29, 2010 by Amy Driver in Forensic Reform, Legislation, NAS Report, Comments (0)

    As I mentioned in my last post, I initially thought Recommendation 12 from the NAS Report was going to be a no-brainer: Make all the Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) […]

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    House Passes National Criminal Justice Commission Act

    on July 27, 2010 by Amy Driver in Civil Rights, Legislation, NCJCA, Comments (0)

    The House of Representatives tonight passed H.R 5143, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act. Representative Bill Delahunt (D-Maryland) introduced the House version on April 27, 2010 as a companion bill […]

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