HR0451 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0451 LRB095 12126 RLC 36650 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services oversees the third largest system of crime laboratories in the world, consisting of 9 forensic laboratories providing services to all of the approximately 1,000 law enforcement agencies in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Accurate forensic laboratory work is critical to establishing the scientific truth of evidence at issue in many criminal cases and erroneous analysis, imprecise laboratory practices and questionable science can lead to the conviction of innocent defendants and the exoneration of guilty ones; and

WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2007 more than $63 million was appropriated for Forensic Services, including increased funds for DNA analysis and capital funds to expand the Chicago Forensic Laboratory; and

WHEREAS, Past sizeable backlogs in DNA testing and State outsourcing to a laboratory reporting a high number of false negatives have raised questions about the timeliness and integrity of results reported by various forensic laboratories; and

WHEREAS, Public Act 93-784, effective January 1, 2005, established an Illinois Laboratory Advisory Committee to, among other things, make recommendations regarding accreditation and quality assurance as it applies to laboratory testing that will be in compliance with recognized International Organization for Standardization and applicable professional standards and to examine ways to reduce laboratory backlogs; and

WHEREAS, Illinois State Police's forensic laboratories are accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB); and

WHEREAS, According to its web site, ASCLD/LAB is a sort of "peer accreditation" program managed by a paid staff working under the direction of a Board of Directors who are elected by a Delegate Assembly composed of the directors of all accredited laboratories and laboratory systems; and

WHEREAS, Also according to ASCLD/LAB's web site, accreditation is just "one part of a laboratory's quality assurance program which should also include proficiency testing, continuing education, and other programs to help the laboratory provide better overall service to the criminal justice system"; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct a management and program audit of the Department of State Police's (ISP) Division of Forensic Services; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit include, but need not be limited to, the following determinations:

(1) whether the current funding of the ISP forensic laboratories is sufficient, and if not, what funding the General Assembly must appropriate to meet their needs;

(2) whether current staffing levels are sufficient;

(3) whether ISP's policies, procedures, and protocols for operating its forensic laboratories are appropriate and conform to professional standards;

(4) the extent to which ISP has addressed past problems of testing backlogs;

(5) if ISP outsources any of its forensic laboratory testing, the process for selecting and monitoring those contractors;

(6) the adequacy of ISP's quality control processes, particularly with regard to ensuring the integrity of test results produced by or on behalf of ISP's forensic services division, including but not limited to the accreditation process;

(7) the process in place at ISP to respond to questions or concerns raised about the adequacy and/or accuracy of results produced by ISP forensic laboratories and forensic laboratories under contract with ISP;

(8) the party or parties responsible for conducting investigations of allegations against forensic scientists employed or contracted by ISP and whether those persons are independent of the subject or subjects of the investigation and whether those persons comply with requirements set forth in the Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program;

(9) the process for conducting investigations and whether that process is adequate;

(10) the process for disclosing identified problems with the conduct of ISP's forensic laboratories or with the results reported by any of those laboratories to interested parties;

(11) the practice of contracting out forensic testing to private laboratories for pending cases in the criminal courts, and the reasoning for such practice;

(12) the name and address of each private laboratory contracted by the Illinois State Police for forensic testing for the years 2000 to the present; and

(13) whether any private forensic laboratories which are ASCLD or ISO accredited exist in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Police, its contractors and subcontractors, and any other entity or person that may have information relevant to this audit cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office in the conduct of this audit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as soon as possible and distribute the report upon completion in accordance with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.