Texas Forensic Science Commission
Forensic Science Commission Supplemental Accreditation Requirements
Accreditation policy requirements by the Commission are issued pursuant to the Commission’s broad authority under the Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 38.01 § 4-d(b)(3) which gives the Commission the authority “to establish procedures, policies, standards, and practices to improve the quality of forensic analyses conducted…” in the State of Texas.
Laboratories that fail to comply with these policy requirements may be cited with a nonconformity to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 5.4, “Laboratory activities shall be carried out in such a way as to meet the requirements of… regulatory authorities and organizations providing recognition…” such as the Texas Forensic Science Commission or to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 7.1.1, “The inspection body shall use the methods and procedures for inspection which are defined in the requirements against which inspection is to be performed. Where these are not defined, the inspection body shall develop specific methods and procedures to be used…” as applicable. ANAB or A2LA assesses compliance with the policy requirements during its accreditation activities using document review and staff interviews as appropriate.
To help laboratories with implementation of the first three policy requirements issued by the Commission, the Texas Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers (“TAFQAM”) assisted the Commission with the following guidance document.
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH FSC REQUIREMENTS
The Commission strongly encourages laboratory quality management to participate in the TAFQAM, as the Commission will not issue any accreditation requirements without first seeking feedback from this group.
For the full accreditation checklist of FSC policy requirements, please access the document below: