ABSTRACT
Mandates for improvement have been made for both the forensic laboratory and the medicolegal death investigation offices. The needs of the forensic science community are old news to anyone who has spent any time perusing government documents from the last two decades. The 2009 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report declares, Forensic examiners must understand the principles, practices and contexts of science, including the scientific method. It asserts that training should move away from reliance on the apprentice-like transmittal of practices to education at the college level and beyond that is based on scientifically valid principle. Numerous professions require that practitioners be certified, and the 2009 NAS report states that the certification of individuals complements the accreditation of laboratories for a total quality assurance program. Proficiency testing with teeth to it is another quality assurance vehicle that has been proposed for crime lab personnel.
