"Houston's Office of Inspector General recommended
Wednesday that the city's forensic science center revise its policy
procedures concerning quality control, following an investigation into
three separate incidents last year in which analysts mistakenly
contaminated evidence. Houston's crime lab requested the inquiry last month after an
anonymous complaint was filed with the Texas Forensic Science Commission
regarding the repeated misuse of new lab equipment, leading to tainted
blood specimens. OIG inspectors said lab staff took too long to report the initial error, which occurred last May, but did not find malfeasance. "OIG sustains the concern that none of the individuals in the
operational chain of command on notice of the error notified the quality
director of the May 2015 error, resulting in an improper reporting
delay from May to November," Inspector General Robin Curtis wrote.
"Because of the totality of the circumstances including the large amount
of contemporaneous discussion about the May 2015 error within the
operational chain, OIG does not find any malfeasance in the error." In addition to suggesting policy revisions, the OIG urged the Houston
Forensic Science Center to address error review in regularly scheduled
staff meetings, retrain staff, ensure contractors understand their
quality control responsibilities and self-disclose errors to the state's
forensic science commission. The city's crime lab said in a press release Friday that it began an
internal review last October and has since updated its procedures. It
also noted that the end result was not affected in any of the three
incidents, as analysts were able to test a second, uncontaminated vial
of blood."
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-crime-lab-revises-policies-after-7062924.php