Laboratory operations

Crime laboratories are exposed to risks each and every day, and it is the job of organizational leaders to balance the severity of a consequence versus the frequency of occurrence, know the laboratory's risk exposure, and proactively mitigate that risk. This webinar will discuss accessing risk exposure, strategic planning, and managing change. Additionally, how to address the stress and anxiety associated with change will be discussed.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 26, 2022. 

After the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) was enacted in December 2018, many states rushed to make changes to their own laws to allow the hemp industry to grow and thrive in their jurisdictions. By removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, Cannabis sativa L. plant material with a concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis was no longer considered marijuana.

Legacy workflows in toxicology generally involve a drug class screen followed by a gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC/MS-MS) confirmation analysis. Additional techniques could also be used in workflows, but their applications were focused on specific drugs. In general, analyses were serial, limited, and often required multiple methods depending on the number of drug classes in the samples. Results required lengthy and costly workflows, especially when toxicologists were working with complicated samples.

In this webinar we discussed the theory and development of Investigative Genetic Genealogy, including some ethical and legal considerations raised by this technique.  Additionally, we explored the current status of case investigations, the impact on crime laboratories, implementation strategies, and recommendations for jurisdictions considering applying Investigative Genetic Genealogy to their unsolved cases.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 23, 2020. 

In this webinar, we will discuss quality and accreditation, how they fit together, and the ASCLD Accreditation Roadmap and Toolkit.  We will also discuss the concepts of organizational transformation, organizational culture, and the cultivation of a quality culture in your laboratory. Lastly, we will review the various quality initiatives in forensics, including ISO TC 272, the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science, and the scientific and technical working groups (SWG/TWG).

This webinar presented the findings of the ASCLD/NIJ collaborative Gap Assessment of Stress, Vicarious Trauma and Resiliency for Forensic Science Professionals. The assessment gathered survey responses from forensic and medical examiner laboratories to evaluate vicarious trauma, burnout, job satisfaction, and participants perceptions of their organization’s resiliency efforts.  Our findings inform future directions in research, policy, and practice to better manage stress and increase resiliency among forensic professionals.

This presentation provided an overview of the activities and programs the Phoenix Police Department’s Crime Lab has implemented and the corresponding impact to the organizational culture and employee morale.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 18, 2020.

Highly toxic, synthetic drugs introduce significant health hazards to the forensic laboratory.  Understanding current knowledge and best practices will help laboratories manage their liability. This presenter covered topics such as known risks of handling hazardous drugs, creating a practical framework for the assessment, development, and improvement of safety systems, and additional research needed regarding exposure risks.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 25, 2020.

Forensic science services cannot succeed in the 21st century without active information technology. Interoperability, agility, availability, and security are all critical. This presentation focuses on the preparation and best practices for implementing data systems that serve both internal operations and national strategies.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on November 16, 2021.

In the sixth and final webinar, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT in the investigation of a variety of unnatural deaths not discussed in previous webinars.  Topics include overdose deaths, select asphyxial mechanisms of death, and sharp force injury.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 18, 2021. 

In the fifth webinar, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT in the investigation of natural deaths.  At the New Mexico OMI, a PMCT scan may be used to rule out trauma in apparently natural deaths, or to confirm a natural cause of death.  Depending on investigative details (circumstances, age, and medical history), and the PMCT findings, pathologists may choose to perform an external exam or a full autopsy.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 11, 2021.

In the third webinar, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT for examining decedents with gunshot wounds, both homicidal and self-inflicted.  At the New Mexico OMI, a PMCT scan is performed in virtually all gunshot wound (GSW) related deaths.  In cases of suspected homicide or suspicious suicides, autopsy is also performed.  However, in non-suspicious cases involving self-inflicted GSW, PMCT is combined with an external examination, and sometimes a partial autopsy to retrieve a retained projectile, replacing the full autopsy. 

This webinar will introduce participants to the use of PMCT in the diagnosis of blunt force trauma.  PMCT scan may be used to diagnose fatal trauma in certain situations, allowing an external examination with postmortem CT to supplant an autopsy, which may better honor religious and cultural requests of grieving family members.  Non-suspicious, traumatic deaths, such as motor vehicle collisions, are such an example.  Additionally, PMCT often provides additional documentation of internal injuries where fatal injuries are obvious on external examination. 

In the first webinar, participants will be introduced to x-ray computed tomography (CT) and some key differences between CT and traditional x-ray.  The basic specifications of a CT scanner (such as bore diameter, maximum image size, and table specifications) will be introduced, with reference to their impact on whole body post-mortem scanning in particular.  Basic considerations for deploying a CT scanner in a medical examiner setting (cost, personnel, space, safety) will also be discussed.  

In the second webinar of the Post-mortem Computed Tomography Series, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT as a triage tool in a busy forensic pathology practice.  Participants will first learn about the history of the use of PMCT at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) and the existing research and literature on the efficacy of PMCT in the medical examiner setting. 

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on April 20, 2021. 

COVID-19 has had an enormous effect on the workforce, and not just in the areas of operations and logistics.  Workplace schedules have been completely rearranged, work-life balance has been turned on its head from telework, and reduced “in lab” hours have caused strain on an already stressed workforce.  In this webinar, you will hear from three experts in workplace wellness, particularly in forensic science.

This webinar will explore some of the key elements that must be considered to successfully implement a Remote Work program in an operational forensic laboratory. Three leaders from County, State and Private labs will share their respective experiences on how to pivot to this new normal in the middle of a pandemic.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 17, 2021.

In this webinar, the presenter will cover key components of successful onboarding in a crime lab, including setting employee expectations and making the employee feel like part of the team.  The presenter will go over an onboarding checklist so you can devise one that suits your agency’s needs.  Lastly, the presenter will discuss how successful onboarding can get the new employee “fired up” and increase employee engagement overall.   

This webinar will provide an overview of the validation, implementation of 3D  technology at the FBI Laboratory’s Firearms/Toolmarks Unit. This presentation will highlight the process, including Standard Operating Procedures, laboratory workflow, selection of casework, blind verification, reexamination of casework using light microscopy and Daubert preparation.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 2, 2021, as part of the 2021 ASCLD Train the Director Series.

This webinar will facilitate a discussion about bias in a crime laboratory including what is bias in forensics, how it can impact your operations, why it is important, and considerations when building this culture. The webinar will include important aspects of an unbiased culture, symptoms that your culture is biased, and examples from the Phoenix Police Department, the Virginia Department of Forensic Sciences, and ICITAP’s.

This webinar was hosted by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence in July 2021.

In this webinar, attendees will learn a variety of strategies to keep participants engaged in an online meeting environment. In addition to reviewing these strategies, attendees will also be provided with factors to keep in mind when creating and selecting strategies for engagement. Attendees will also learn about features available in Zoom. T

his webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 7, 2021.