Forensic Science Oversight in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Forensic Science Oversight Board was created by state statute in 2018 and implemented in 2019, in an effort to create a body with oversight authority over all state facilities engaged in forensic services and criminal investigations and to provide objective independent auditing and oversight of criminal forensic evidence and analysis. The Forensic Science Oversight Board is also charged: with creating a process to investigate the scientific validity of a forensic science technique or analysis; developing recommendations to strengthen forensic science methodologies and practices; and implementing and reviewing a system for forensic laboratories to report professional negligence or misconduct. The Forensic Science Oversight Board has 14 members, including forensic scientists, forensic science experts, statistics experts, a forensic academic, a cognitive bias expert, a member nominated by the New England Innocence Project, and defense and prosecuting attorneys. Effective: 2018.