Independent Crime Laboratories: The Problem of Motivational and Cognitive Bias

Law enforcement influence over laboratory decisions is a serious problem. In an ideal world, independent crime laboratories would be the solution. Crime laboratories, however, have historically developed within police agencies, and decades of entrenchment make it difficult to remove laboratories completely from law enforcement control. This does not mean, of course, that the status quo should be preserved.

If located within law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories should be as autonomous as possible and should be run in accordance with scientific norms, including procedures to protect against all types of bias. The NAS Report was not the last messenger. Within months of the report’s release, the Supreme Court wrote that “[f]orensic evidence is not uniquely immune from the risk of manipulation.”