The Nassau County Police Department crime lab has been placed on probation by a national agency following a recent review.
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board, which accredits forensic labs nationwide according to internationally set standards, cited 15 problems it found with the way the Nassau police lab operates.
Among the problems were a failure to comply with procedures on maintaining equipment and instruments; failure to properly document procedures for record storage; and failure to properly provide the board with a report of the department’s internal yearly review.
Crime labs store and analyze physical evidence to be used in criminal court cases. Of nearly 400 accredited labs, Nassau is currently the only one in the country under probation, which could lead to accreditation revocation.
The lab must satisfy the conditions of probation within a certain timeframe for the probation to be lifted.
A department spokesman said the report is being reviewed. The probation went into effect as of Dec. 1.
With Associated Press.