We are a little behind on our blogs. We hope this week to do some major catching up on current events.

When we first started this blog, there was not a lot of discussion on the known problems of forensic science. Now, there is much discussion. And there is very little action. I suppose that it better than nothing. The time for words is coming to an end, I should hope. How many more headlines do we need to convince ourselves that valid science needs to produced in court and monitored?

In the discussion category, we should add in the release of the May 2, 2014 White House Office of Science and Technology Subcommittee on Forensic Sciences new report entitled “Strengthening the Forensic Sciences.” This is a direct link to the report

There are 4 main sections:

1. Accreditation of Forensic Science Providers
2. Certification of Forensic Examiners
3. Certification of Medicolegal Personnel
4. Proficiency Testing of Forensic Examiners
5. National Code of Ethics for Forensic Service Providers

I have read it. It is long on words and little in the way of actual implementation or action on any of the above. At times it reads like an apology as to why nothing substantive has happened since the 2009 NAS report. The constant refrain of it taking too much time and too much money to change and how there is no centralized process to make a change could have been stated in just that many words and the untold amount of money and human labor power in researching and producing this piece could have been devoted to action to actually change things. But such is the state of forensic science today, isn’t it? Too much talk. Not enough action.