Implementation of a Blind Quality Control Program in a Forensic Laboratory

Abstract

A blind quality control (QC) program was successfully developed and implemented in the Toxicology, Seized Drugs, Firearms, Latent Prints (Processing and Comparison), Forensic Biology, and Multimedia (Digital and Audio/Video) sections at the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC). The program was put into practice based on recommendations set forth in the 2009 National Academy of Sciences report and is conducted in addition to accreditation required annual proficiency tests. The blind QC program allows HFSC to test its entire quality management system and provides a real-time assessment of the laboratory's proficiency. To ensure the blind QC cases mimicked real casework, the workflow for each forensic discipline and their evidence submission processes were assessed prior to implementation. Samples are created and submitted by the HFSC Quality Division to whom the expected answer is known. Results from 2015 to 2018 show that of the 973 blind samples submitted, 901 were completed, and only 51 were discovered by analysts as being blind QC cases. Implementation data suggests that this type of program can be employed at other forensic laboratories.

Blind testing in firearms: Preliminary results from a blind quality control program

“…Instead, blind QC evidence is packaged in a way that mimics HPD’s NIBIN procedures without going through this process. See Hundl et al (2019) [23] for more detail regarding the creation of blind QC cases and the program's overall benefit to HFSC.…”

Juror appraisals of forensic evidence: Effects of blind proficiency and cross-examination

“…To the extent that laboratories fear that blind proficiency testing would create unwarranted challenges in presenting expert testimony in court (see Ref. [14]), we suggest that it does not. These studies support the use of blind proficiency testing more routinely, and they suggest that test results can usefully inform trials, and should be incorporated into the evidence that jurors consider at criminal trials.…”

“…Although blind testing presents some practical and logistical challenges [13], at least one large U.S. laboratory-the Houston Forensic Science Center-instituted a laboratory-wide blind proficiency testing program in recent years, intended to improve quality control at every stage of the lab's operations [14], as have laboratories in a number of other counties [5]. Proficiency testing is routine for clinical laboratories in the U.S. that, for example, visually examine cell samples for cancer or pre-cancerous conditions [5].…”

Latent print quality in blind proficiency testing: Using quality metrics to examine laboratory performance

“…In 2015, the Houston Forensic Science Center adopted the recommendations made by numerous organizations (e.g., ASCLD/LAB, American Statistical Association) and detailed in the 2009 NAS report for blind proficiency testing by implementing a blind quality control (BQC) program [9]. The intent of the BQC program is to supplement open proficiency tests that are required for accreditation and to provide a way to monitor the entire quality management system from evidence submission to reporting of results.…”

“…A detailed description of HFSC's BQC program for latent print comparison is provided by Hundl and colleagues [9]. In brief, the Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary agency that submits requests to HFSC, so BQC cases are created to mimic HPD submissions in the submission process, packaging, and request wording.…”