ARCHIVED - Brief Case Studies of Exemplary Practices

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Forensic Laboratory Services

Forensic Laboratory Services falls under the auspices of the National Police Services and Technical Infrastructure (NPS & TI) business line of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The NPS & TI business line is responsible for efficient, effective, and responsible support services to the law enforcement community. NPS & TI consists of six service lines; Forensic Laboratory Services, Information and Identification Services, Canadian Police College, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and Technical Operations.

This case study focuses specifically on Forensic Laboratory Services (FLS). FLS provides scientific and technical assistance to the criminal justice system through examination and analysis of criminal evidence provided by Canadian police forces as well as various federal and provincial agencies. The FLS also provides expert witnesses to testify in criminal proceedings. FLS specializes in Biology, Chemistry, Documents, Counterfeits, firearms, and Toxicology Services (Toxicology and Alcohol). The FLS maintains six offices across Canada, they are located in Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The FLS is also responsible for the national DNA Data Bank, operational since June 2000.

In there 2000/2001 performance report the FLS noted over 15 000 requests for examination resulting in 10 231 forensic cases. The FLS analyzed 2581 biology (DNA) cases. The FLS also received 3200 subpoenas resulting in over 1000 court appearances.

The FLS uses many forms of communication. The most prominent is mail services, due to the sensitive nature of the materials the FLS still requires original signatures on much of its documentation. The phone is often used as a means to update and receive information for on-going investigations. In person appearances are far less frequent, these are generally the result of subpoenas for expert testimony in court proceedings. Email is used on occasion for interim reports and simple exchanges of information. More recently videophones have been introduced as a substitute for expert testimony, however this method has raised many concerns and so has not yet gained wide acceptance.

Service Standards in Use

Forensic Laboratory Services is in a somewhat unique environment with respect to the Public Service. They act as a support system to enforcement agencies in provincial and federal departments. They have chosen a set of service standards based on priority as opposed to specific services. In this case the same service will have different time dependent service standards based on the priority of the request. This system had been derived based on assessment of need versus the capabilities of the FLS. The system included four levels of Priority (Priority 1 - 4). Priority 1 includes situations that are life threatening, and determining if a crime has been committed, Priority 4 is reserved for cases where prosecution is not anticipated. Response times for Priorities range from 1-15 days for Priority 1, to 1-90 days for Priority 4.

However, the FLS is in the midst of revamping their service standards in order to be more responsive to the needs of their client base. They have just completed a series of consultations with various enforcement agents across the country. Through this consultation it was determined that a two priority system would be as effective but more efficient. This system would define Urgent versus Routine procedures. It was also determined that Urgent request should be completed with 5 days, where as Routine request could be completed within 30 days (one exception was a group representing a large number of police officers who felt that 5 days was acceptable for Routine requests as well). A further recommendation of the consulting team was to include in the standard request form a statement indicating that the client and forensic representative work together to determine a timeframe expectable to both parties.

Table 1. Service standards; Old versus proposed.

Old System			New System*
Priority	Description	Time	Priority	Description	Time
1	· Life Threatening Situation · Investigational situation where the results will lead to a suspect or suspect vehicle · Determine whether a crime has been committed	1-15 days	Urgent	To be determined through consultation with FLS representative and investigator.**	Within 5 days
2	· Eliminate/identify a suspect or vehicle · Ongoing criminal investigations · Cases where the value of the evidence is reducing with time · Cases where a court date has been set	1-30 days	Routine	To be determined through consultation with FLS representative and investigator.	Within 30 days
3	· Prosecution is anticipated	1-60 days
4	· No prosecution is anticipated	1-90 days

^*these standards where determined through consultations and are now under review.

^** Integrity of evidence, Immediate threat to national security, Immediate or on-going threat to community security, and Court order, where listed in that order as possible items for inclusion in the Urgent Category.

The final recommendation of the consulting team deals with prioritization of different aspects of the same case. This recommendation is based on the client input acknowledging the importance of setting attainable service standards. This recommendation brings to light precedence within the same case since some aspects of the case may be more pressing than others. It is recommended that the Information Technology Team work on system to accommodate multiple priorities within one case number.

Exemplary Practices

Forensic Laboratory Services has exhibited a number of exemplary practices in implementing its client-centred initiative and in its approach to developing, implementing, monitoring and using its service standards:

• Use of consultation to restructure Service Standards. The original set of service standards were determined through experiences of the FLS. This original set of standards is now being re-examined in order to implement a system more responsive to the needs of the client base. To this end a series of consultations have taken place across the country to determine a system more in tune with the needs of clients.
• Use of the Quality Service Questionnaire to get feedback from clients who have dealt with the FLS. The questionnaire first as respondents for information on the service provided with details for how efficient and helpful the service was. The questionnaire then inquires as to the timeliness, accessibility, whether or not updates were forthcoming, courteousness, and if the service was provided in the preferred official language. The questionnaire also includes a section for any additional comments as to how service may be improved.
• Compiling data from the Quality Service Questionnaire. Thought the questionnaire has been in place for 7 or 8 years, the data has been used more on a case by case basis. Within the past two years, data has been compiled in a database and statistical analysis has been done to establish baseline levels and trends in client satisfaction.
• Use of ISO 17025. Since 1999, the FLS has been working to accredit each of its six locations using the ISO 17025 system. One location has been accredited to date the remaining five have gone through the audit system and are waiting for the results.
• Focus on International forums as a means of sharing information and to establish co-operative liaisons. With implications of changing crime environment it has become necessary to pool resources within the country and around the globe. FLS is in contact with many international agencies in order to maintain an acceptable level of techniques and technology. The FLS has strong ties to both United Kingdom and to the United States enforcement branches.

Key Lessons Learned

Through their client-centred commitment, Forensic Laboratory Services has determined some main ideas that may be shared with other departments when implementing their own client-centred approach:

Need for client consultation

1. Client consultations help to bring efficiency to a system. Consultations with clients have led to a number of efficacious restructuring within the FLA system. Clients expressed a strong need for DNA based information. This has led to re-allocation of resources to DNA analysis and to the DNA databank. Client consultations have also led to the proposed restructuring of the Priorities system from four to two priorities as well as to the idea of prioritizing within an individual case.

   The benefits of employee buy-in

2. Employee involvement in accreditation helps to increase employee satisfaction and work place efficiency. FLS found that in preparing employees for accreditation using the ISO standards, employees were forced to examine the processes they had in place. By giving the employees the opportunity to input as to better, more efficient processes, the employees felt assumed ownership over their methodologies. This sense of ownership has increased employee satisfaction while also increasing efficiency of the processes.

   Need to learn from other jurisdictions

3. Examining other jurisdictions may help to measure and improve client satisfaction. For a number of years FLS has had an assessment tool in place to evaluate their courtroom appearances. However, most of the court officers and council have not completed the forms. Recently, with the Jean Guy Morin case, it has come to there attention that a letter is sent to people involved in provincial cases. FLS is now adopting a similar approach to provinces in order to help assess their courtroom expert appearances.

Contact

For more information on the services provided by FLS, please contact:

Tom Lukaszewski, M.SC, M.B.A.
Policy Planning and Evaluation
Forensic Laboratory Services
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Tel 613-998-6349
Fax 613-952-0156

Guy Brunet
Director
Planning and Priorities
Strategic Direction
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Tel 613-993-1242
Fax 613-993-4453
Internet  guy.brunet@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

 

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