Manchester; UK: Alleged drug lab corruption: Randox Testing Services; White elephant case? Major Development; The Guardian reports, "Scores of convictions in doubt amid forensic test manipulation claims," and that, "Criminal investigation of two staff at Randox lab may lead to appeals in many cases, including alleged rape and murder."..."Police fear scores of convictions may face challenges to their safety because of the suspected manipulation of forensic test results at a private laboratory in Manchester. James Vaughan, the national police lead for forensic outsourcing, said two employees of the testing services company Randox were under criminal investigation for allegedly perverting the course of justice after issues with test results emerged in January. “We believe there are potential criminal acts that took place,” Vaughan said. He said the investigation had grown, with the results of 6,000 samples under question. Scores of cases could be referred to the court of appeal, including rape and murder cases as well as more minor cases such as drug-driving, he added. Some results of tests relating to levels of drugs in blood could be wrong. Police and prosecutors do not know which can be relied on and are trying to establish which results have been compromised. Investigators are looking into alleged manipulation of data from toxicology testing carried out by Randox as far back as 2014. At first it was thought fewer than 500 samples were in question. Initial retesting of samples still held has shown broadly the same results as was presented in court cases. However, 10% of samples are no longer held, cannot be retested and thus can no longer be relied on. Much could depend on how crucial the toxicology test results were in the prosecution’s case."..."The alleged manipulation relates to data describing the findings of the tests of samples submitted by police forces to the lab. The samples themselves were not interfered with, police said. "

In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer, unadulterated, willful   misconduct in the criminal justice system - much  of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,  pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others.  Think Annie Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith; Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. Think Michael West;   I have therefore decided to run this image of a white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw our reader's attention to   what I see as a major problem in all too many criminal justice system's - my own included.  Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;

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PUBLISHER'S VIEW: Very disturbing allegations: If proven true, will the U.K. have it's own Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak - with all of the devastating consequences to the criminal justice system - including wrongful convictions past, present and future. We will be following developments closely.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

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STORY: "Scores of convictions in doubt amid forensic test manipulation claims," by police and crime reporter Vikram Dodd, published by The Guardian on May 9, 2017. (Thanks to 'Forensic Magazine' for bringing this important story to our attention. HL);

PHOTO CAPTION: "Criminal investigation of two staff at Randox lab may lead to appeals in many cases, including alleged rape and murder."

GIST: "Police fear scores of convictions may face challenges to their safety because of the suspected manipulation of forensic test results at a private laboratory in Manchester. James Vaughan, the national police lead for forensic outsourcing, said two employees of the testing services company Randox were under criminal investigation for allegedly perverting the course of justice after issues with test results emerged in January. “We believe there are potential criminal acts that took place,” Vaughan said. He said the investigation had grown, with the results of 6,000 samples under question. Scores of cases could be referred to the court of appeal, including rape and murder cases as well as more minor cases such as drug-driving, he added. Some results of tests relating to levels of drugs in blood could be wrong. Police and prosecutors do not know which can be relied on and are trying to establish which results have been compromised. Investigators are looking into alleged manipulation of data from toxicology testing carried out by Randox as far back as 2014. At first it was thought fewer than 500 samples were in question. Initial retesting of samples still held has shown broadly the same results as was presented in court cases. However, 10% of samples are no longer held, cannot be retested and thus can no longer be relied on. Much could depend on how crucial the toxicology test results were in the prosecution’s case. Some sources believe a small number of serious cases may end up being referred to the court of appeal because of concerns about the safety of convictions where the testing done by Randox was a part of the prosecution case. These would be cases where the original samples tests cannot be found and thus can not be retested. Appeal court judges would then have to decide whether the results of the forensic tests could have affected the guilty verdict reached by a jury. Vaughan said: “This is a serious breach of the very rigorous professional standards set by the forensic science regulator for staff and organisations working in this critical field. We now have a clearer picture of the scale of this data manipulation.” The alleged manipulation relates to data describing the findings of the tests of samples submitted by police forces to the lab. The samples themselves were not interfered with, police said. Some cases have been adjourned while samples are reexamined, and priority is being given to cases that are about to come to court. Vaughan said: “We are prioritising the most serious and pressing cases but all cases where there could have been an impact on prosecution will be assessed, retested and appropriate action taken. “While there has been limited retesting to date, the evidence has shown that in the vast majority of cases, the original reporting was accurate.”"

The entire story can be found at:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/09/6000-forensic-samples-re-examined-in-inquiry-into-manchester-lab
 
See  related Telegraph story: 'Randox partially suspends laboratory services in wake of probe into police forensic testing.'..." Northern Ireland firm Randox has partially suspended testing services at its laboratories in Crumlin. It follows after allegations of "data manipulation" were made at a forensics lab in England run by the Co Antrim company. Police in England are reviewing hundreds of cases and have arrested two staff. The company said it was suspending some services voluntarily to "effectively support the criminal investigation". Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation in February concerning 484 cases handled by Randox Testing Services (RTS). Potentially, it was claimed, hundreds of people could have been the victims of miscarriages of justice because of convictions based on incorrect test results in their cases. At the time Randox said it was treating the matter with the "utmost seriousness" but totally rejected reports samples were "fixed", blaming "the perverse actions of individual(s)". The company has now announced the partial suspension of services including drug testing In a statement, it said: "RTS is advising clients that it has partially suspended laboratory accreditation at RTS Crumlin. This decision has been prompted by its investigation into data manipulation at RTS Manchester. "The company is suspending the use of liquid chromatography mass-spectrometry testing, a common accredited method used in drug toxicology testing in forensic laboratories. All RTS clients have been informed of this development. "RTS is committed to supporting the criminal justice system and believes that this voluntary partial suspension enables the most effective support of the criminal investigation." The Randox statement continued: "As previously reported, RTS acted as whistle-blowers when employees uncovered evidence of data manipulation. It brought in Greater Manchester Police and has been working tirelessly with it and UKAS to resolve the issue. Two former employees are currently on bail. "RTS is a specialist toxicology division comprising less than 3% of the overall company group." RTS is based in Crumlin, has offices in London and Manchester, and describes itself as "a world leader in clinical diagnostic solutions, with offices and distribution in over 145 countries". RTS said the issue "came to light as a result of an internal investigation", and that the probe was limited to its Manchester site, and two men who worked there for three years. It blamed "the perverse actions of individual(s)", adding: "The internal investigation centres on the manipulation of quality control data, which supports test results. There is no evidence that either the samples or the quality control materials themselves were subject to interference."
 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/randox-partially-suspends-laboratory-services-in-wake-of-probe-into-police-forensic-testing-35691376.html

  
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;