Detroit Crime Lab Closed: 10% Error Rate in Firearms Cases!

1 in 10 firearms cases were found to have serious errors during an audit of the Detroit Police Crime Lab which led to its closure - there are likely innocent people in the slammer placed there with invalid evidence from that lab. Many people incorrectly assume Police crime labs are infallible but this just goes to show that nobody can screw something up the way a government agency can. Like President Ronald Reagan said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

. . . The inspection found that the laboratory’s firearms unit was in compliance with just 42 percent of “essential standards,” which are criteria that fundamentally affect the outcome of work there. Accreditation requires 100 percent compliance. In addition, auditors re-examined 200 randomly selected shooting cases and found serious errors in 19. The laboratory handles about 1,800 shooting cases a year, they said.

“If this 10 percent error rate holds,” the report said, “the negative impact on the judicial system would be substantial, with a strong likelihood of wrongful convictions and a valid concern about numerous appeals.” . . .