Forensic Sciences’ criminalistics labs maintain national accreditation
By The Star Staff
Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF by its Spanish initials) Executive Director María Conte Miller announced on Tuesday that the agency’s Criminalistics Laboratory maintained the accreditation of the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), an entity that inspects the operation of laboratories under the ISO standards that guarantee reliability and transparency in the management of forensic evidence.
“This is an achievement that we owe to the commitment of our workforce, with excellence in our scientific processes,” Conte Miller said in a written statement. “Maintaining this prestigious accreditation guarantees the people and the legal community that our work is objective and that it meets all the requirements of reliability and scientific rigor.”
ANAB accreditation certifies that the island’s DNA, Ballistics, Forensic Chemistry, Digital Evidence and Controlled Substances laboratories met all ANAB inspection requirements.
Conte Miller noted that “for our laboratories to be able to access federal funds, they must be accredited.”
“It is vital to have an accredited crime lab in order to fully fulfill our role in the justice system,” she said. “Having accreditation not only gives us credibility and reliability in our processes, but also gives us the opportunity to access more resources to strengthen our operations.”
“It is a source of pride that the Institute of Forensic Sciences has this accreditation that, along with the recently obtained accreditation of our Medicolegal Investigation Division (Pathology), solidifies us as one of the best forensic institutes in the hemisphere,” Conte Miller added. “I thank my peers for their hard work.”