Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) today announced that the Forensic Sciences Unit at the State Laboratory received accreditation from Forensic Quality Services, International (FQS-I). This accreditation ensures that the Forensics Unit has met and maintains acceptable standards in the areas of safety, quality assurance, records management, laboratory equipment and evidence control. The assessment included controlled substance analysis, toxicology, biology, DNA analysis and the DNA database (CODIS).
“One of HEALTH’s goals is to provide law enforcement officials, the judicial system and the general public with high-quality forensic scientific services,” said Director of the State Laboratory Ewa King, PhD. “This accreditation is the gold standard for measuring the quality of forensic laboratories and the achievement demonstrates that our services meet and adhere to the requirements of the forensic community.”
“I commend the staff for the hard work and dedication required to reach this quality benchmark,” said Director of Health David R. Gifford, MD, MPH. “Our Forensics Unit has been credited with being a great asset to law enforcement. This accreditation only reinforces that.”
HEALTH’s Forensic Unit receives about 6,000 cases each year from law enforcement agencies in the state. For information on HEALTH’s lab or on the Forensics Unit, visit http://www.health.ri.gov/labs/index.php.