09/08/2019—The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) proudly announces its Forensic Services Section received international accreditation from the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to the new ISO/IEC 17025 2017 version.
The ANSI National Accreditation Board process encompassed more than 900 standards that must be met for designation as an accredited agency.
A 22-member assessment team from across the country visited the CBI’s five laboratories the week of April 15, 2019. The team reviewed four years of Forensic Services casework and instrument support documentation in conjunction with operating procedures and training manuals for all CBI Forensic Services scientific disciplines to ensure compliance with national and international industry standards.
The ANSI National Accreditation Board released its final report involving the CBI’s Forensic Services review in September.
“This comprehensive accreditation process ensures the CBI is a transparent agency offering quality work of the highest integrity for the criminal justice community,” said CBI Deputy Director Jan Girten who oversees the Forensic Services section.
“The CBI is committed to providing the highest quality of forensic science testing, and the results of this comprehensive and successful assessment demonstrate the extraordinary work of our entire team in forensic science testing and analysis in thousands of criminal cases each year,” said CBI Director John Camper.
CBI Forensic Services is responsible for the collection and preservation of evidence at crime scenes and the subsequent analysis of the physical evidence. Forensic Services operates three full service laboratories in Denver, Grand Junction and Pueblo with regional facilities in Greeley and Boulder. The Denver location operates the state’s CODIS Database. Crime scene responders travel throughout Colorado to process scenes, while scientists in five locations conduct analysis in nine other forensic disciplines: biology, DNA, toxicology, latent prints, impression evidence, firearms, toolmarks (including serial number restoration), drug chemistry and trace chemistry.
The CBI partners with the Northern Colorado Regional Laboratory Facility in Greeley to provide forensic services to stakeholders in Northern Colorado as well as partnering with the Boulder Police Department in a DNA laboratory dedicated to the processing of biological samples from property crimes throughout Colorado.
Forensic Services utilizes state-of-the-art techniques and instruments to ensure the most accurate, effective analysis for stakeholders.
Prior to the most recent accreditation process, the CBI was accredited through the 2005 version of the ASCLD/LAB international program. The Forensic Services team made the decision to transition to the new 2017 program for this accreditation cycle because of the Bureau’s commitment to exceptional work and being on the leading edge of forensics.