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ASCLD/LAB Accreditation:
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American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board.
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Accreditation is one component of an overall
Quality Management System.
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Objectives of accreditation include:
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Improving the quality of laboratory services.
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Maintaining criteria which laboratories utilize to
determine their level of performance.
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Providing independent external, impartial, objective
assessments;
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Providing a means for the criminal justice system to
identify laboratories that have met or exceeded established national and
international standards.
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ASCLD/LAB
has provided
voluntary forensic crime laboratory accreditation services since 1982 under its
Legacy program.
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Any
laboratory can apply for ASCLD/LAB accreditation to demonstrate that it meets or
exceeds established national and international standards.
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In 2003 the Digital Evidence discipline (now
Digital & Multimedia Evidence) was
added to its accreditation program.
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Comprised of four sub-disciplines: Computer
Forensics, Forensic Audio, Image Analysis, and Video Analysis.
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ASCLD/LAB-International Program began in April 2004.
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Based on the
ISO/IEC 17025:2005 International Standard and the ASCLD/LAB Supplemental Requirements
(2011 Edition).
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As of November 2011, ASCLD/LAB
had accredited 387 crime laboratories. Accredited laboratories include
local, state, federal,
international (non-US), and private laboratories.
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Of the total, 184 laboratories are accredited under the ASCLD/LAB-International
Program.
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