Unaccredited forensic science laboratories have a special place on every medical examiners list of ‘things most hated’. Certification of a testing site, deemed unrequited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, takes away the ability of having testing standards within the industry, fully trusting the information found was all the evidence present at a crime scene, and the collected data authenticity. As of 2013, reports of 26 cases in New York alone contained evidence that was overlooked by examiners (Peters "Crime Labs Botch Tests”). Authorization, commonly used to upsurge confidence of a specific outcome, increases the protection amongst users, and improves the system overall in order to prevent mishaps (Tilstone "Evidence…show more content… Labs will not necessarily possess the high tech equipment a state-funded one would, which lowers the quality of the results. If all labs were to own the same equipment, or at least equipment comparable to another, the results should appear the same most other places. Different ways to collect evidence occur as well, like when gathering fingerprints. Three different types of finger prints live at crime scenes: latent, plastic, and patent. Latent prints, or invisible prints, require certain processes to make visible. Patent prints happen when friction ridges (the loop, arch or whorl design on the finger) have a coating, such as blood, and leave the print on a surface. Plastic prints come about when the design was left impressed in something. Other tests exist based on if the either porous or nonporous surface. When nonporous, coating it with powder and using super glue remains the best method. This is easily messed up, and typically when finding prints at a crime scene, commonly only a single sample exists. Unlicensed laboratories might not have the equipment to make a copy of the print left, or they may try using a different method, which would result in contaminated evidence. Surface porousness allows for the chemical reagent DFO along with an alternate light source remains most common; however various other physical developers come in handy, as well as the use of ninhydrin, which has proven…show more content… Most laboratories specialize in more than one type of forensic science. If each lab were to do only one or two different aspects, it would enable a higher quality investigation with more efficient equipment and more workers on the case. Certain fields, some less difficult to analyze than others, such as firearms or blood pattern analysis, unaccredited labs could take over, and others like DNA and toxicology would belong to the accredited. Fairly self-explanatory, blood pattern analysis helps determine where the blood came from, or the method of death, and firearms might undergo serial number restoration, tool mark matches, or reenactments, which in theory seem alright to leave to an uncertified lab. Processing DNA, though, requires high tech equipment and much patience; the samples undergo extraction, duplication, amplification, and a retest. Carried out by c certification amongst location, evidence pertaining to DNA needs handling by an accredited lab. Specialization per location would make cases easier on the workers and evidence more pertinent to information being looked for
