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Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG
Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG JM Butler, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA ã 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Glossary Quality assurance A system of activities whose purpose is to provide confidence to the producer or user of a product or service that it meets defined standards or quality.
Introduction With a technique as powerful as forensic DNA testing to help establish guilt or innocence in the context of criminal investigations, it is imperative that measures are in place to create confidence in the results obtained. This article provides a brief review of national- and international-level organizations that support the forensic DNA community in an advisory capacity to promote accurate and reliable testing and to assist with quality assurance measures. Table 1 includes a summary of the major national or regional groups that govern or coordinate efforts with forensic science. Table 2 lists some details regarding the forensic DNA advisory groups that will be covered in this article.
The United States Concerns regarding data quality as forensic DNA testing that began to spread in the first decade of its use led to the formation of several organizations within the United States. In addition, reports by the National Research Council of the US National Academies of Science in 1992 and 1996 focused on technical and statistical issues surrounding high-quality DNA results.
Validation The process by which a method, instrument, or computer program is deemed useful for a specified purpose through rigorous evaluation before acceptance into routine use.
Bruce Budowle (FBI), Richard Guerrieri (FBI), David Coffman (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), and Ted Staples (Georgia Bureau of Investigation). In January 2011, Anthony Onorato (FBI) was appointed by the FBI Laboratory Director to be the chair of SWGDAM. Over the years, a number of TWGDAM or SWGDAM Committees have operated to bring recommendations before the entire group. These Committees have included (at different times) the following topics: restriction fragment length polymorphism, polymerase chain reaction, CODIS, mitochondrial DNA, short tandem repeat (STR) interpretation, training, validation, Y-chromosome, expert systems, quality assurance, missing persons/mass disasters, mixture interpretation, mass spectrometry, enhanced method detection and interpretation, and rapid DNA analysis. TWGDAM issued guidelines for quality assurance in DNA analysis in 1989, 1991, and 1995. Revised SWGDAM validation guidelines were published in 2004 and interpretation guidelines for autosomal STR typing were released in 2010. Several ad hoc working groups have produced recommendations on such topics as the review of outsourced data and partial matches. SWGDAM documents are made available through Forensic Science Communications, an online journal sponsored by the FBI Laboratory.
DNA Advisory Board The Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods/the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods The Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (TWGDAM) was established in November 1988 under FBI Laboratory sponsorship to aid forensic DNA scientists in North America. Since 1998, TWGDAM has been known as SWGDAM, which stands for the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods. SWGDAM is a group of approximately 50 scientists representing federal, state, and local forensic DNA laboratories in the United States and Canada. A representative of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) DNA Working Group often attends as well. Meetings are held twice a year, usually in January and July. For several years, public SWGDAM meetings were held in conjunction with the International Symposium on Human Identification, sponsored each fall by the Promega Corporation. Since 2006, the public SWGDAM meeting has been held as part of the FBI-sponsored National Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Conference. Since the organization’s inception, six individuals have served as TWGDAM or SWGDAM chair: James Kearney (FBI),
Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences, Second Edition
The DNA Advisory Board (DAB) was a congressionally mandated advisory board that was created and funded by the United States Congress through the DNA Identification Act of 1994. The first meeting of the DAB was held on 12 May 1995, and chaired by Nobel laureate Dr Joshua Lederberg. The DAB consisted of 13 voting members that included scientists from federal, state, local, and private forensic laboratories; molecular geneticists and population geneticists not affiliated with a forensic laboratory; a representative from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); the chair of TWGDAM; and a judge. The original voting members of the DAB included Joshua Lederberg (Rockefeller University), Arthur Eisenberg (University of North Texas Health Science Center), Shirley Abrahamson (Wisconsin State Supreme Court), Jack Ballantyne (Suffolk County Crime Lab), Bruce Budowle (FBI Laboratory), Ranajit Chakraborty (University of Texas Health Science Center), Bernard Devlin (Carnegie Mellon University), Marcia Eisenberg (Laboratory Corporation of America), Paul Ferrara (Virginia Division of Forensic Science), John Hicks (Alabama
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Table 1
Organizations assisting forensic-science quality assurance
Organization; year started
Membership
Websites
American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD); started in 1974
US federal, state, and local lab managers; not directly associated with SWGDAM but ASCLD/LAB uses the FBI Quality Assurance Standards for DNA audits Sixteen working groups including one on DNA
http://www.ascld.org
Eight Specialist Advisory Groups (SAGs) including one on biology (BSAG)
http://www.nifs.com. au/SMANZFL/ SMANZFL.html http://www.aicef.net/
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI); started in 1995 Senior managers of Australian and New Zealand Forensic Laboratories (SMANZFL); started in 1986 Academia Iberoamericana de Criminalı´stica y Estudios Forenses (AICEF); started in 2004 Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN); started in 2008
Represents 19 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Europe and Latin America; has four working groups including one on forensic genetics Five working groups including one on DNA
http://www.enfsi.eu
http://www. asianforensic.net
Information from International Forensic Strategic Alliance (IFSA) 2010 Annual Report: http://www.ascld.org/files/ifsaþcov_BAT.pdf and http://www.ifsaworldwide.org/.
Table 2
Forensic DNA advisory groups
Organization
Membership
Meeting frequency/purpose
DNA Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM)
ISFG Executive Committee and selected experts; chaired by Dr. Peter Gill
As needed to prepare recommendations (see http:// www.isfg.org/Publications/DNAþCommission)
US and Canada federal, state, and local DNA Technical Leaders and invited guests (40–50 people total); subdivided into 5–8 committees >30 European countries and invited guests (90–100 people total); subdivided into five committees
Meets twice a year to develop guidelines on validation, DNA data interpretation, and other topics Meets twice a year along with European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP)
Representatives of each forensic DNA lab in Australia and New Zealand (11 people total)
Meets once a year under direction of SMANZFL and with support of the Australian National Institute of Forensic Science
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) DNA Working Group Biology Specialist Advisory Group (BSAG)
Department of Forensic Sciences), Margaret Kuo (Orange County Sheriff’s Office), Terry Laber (Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), and Dennis Reeder (NIST). Nonvoting members of the DAB were Phillip Reilly (Euince Shriver Center for Mental Retardation), Larry Presley (FBI Laboratory), Jay Miller (FBI Laboratory), and Randall Murch (Designated Federal Employee, FBI Laboratory). A number of other individuals attended and participated in various DAB meetings over the 5 years that the group met. The DAB was created for a 5-year period to issue quality assurance standards (QAS) for the forensic DNA community. When the DAB’s responsibilities ended in 2000, SWGDAM was designated as the group responsible for offering recommendations on revisions to the QAS as needed. In 2007, SWGDAM revised the QAS for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories and the QAS for DNA Databasing Laboratories. These revised standards went into effect on 1 July 2009 after being approved by the FBI Laboratory Director. Further revisions regarding data review were made at the January 2011 SWGDAM meeting and went into effect on 1 September 2011. Forensic DNA laboratories in the United States are mandated by Congress to follow strict QAS. In October 1998 and April 1999, at the recommendation of the DAB, the FBI Director issued QAS for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories and QAS for Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Laboratories that
define how forensic laboratories are required to conduct business. These QAS were revised a decade later and went into effect on 1 July 2009, with some additional minor revisions introduced in 2011 regarding data review. The 2009 revisions also renamed the Convicted Offender QAS as the QAS for DNA Databasing Laboratories so that they would be applicable for laboratories processing offender, arrestee, and detainee specimens. US forensic DNA laboratories are governed by the QAS and regularly audited for their compliance to these standards. There are 17 topics covered in the revised (and original) QAS: (1) scope, (2) definitions, (3) quality assurance program, (4) laboratory organization and management, (5) personnel, (6) facilities, (7) evidence/sample control, (8) validation, (9) analytical procedures, (10) equipment calibration and maintenance, (11) reports/documentation, (12) review, (13) proficiency testing, (14) corrective action, (15) audits, (16) safety, and (17) outsourcing.
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors and Its Laboratory Accreditation Board The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) and its Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) play an important role in the United States as well as internationally for laboratory accreditation programs. The ASCLD/LAB motto
Biology/DNA | Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG
is ‘quality assurance through inspection.’ The crime laboratory accreditation program is a voluntary program in which any crime laboratory may participate to demonstrate that its management, operations, personnel, procedures, and instruments meet stringent standards. The goal of accreditation is to improve the overall service of forensic laboratories to the criminal justice system. If a forensic laboratory is interested in becoming accredited, an ASCLD/LAB accreditation manual is available from the Executive Secretary for a fee. Laboratories becoming accredited in forensic biology are audited against the FBI’s QAS for the laboratory operations pertaining to DNA testing. ASCLD/LAB accreditation may be under the Legacy Program or the International Program. However, no new Legacy Program applications have been processed since April 2009. Laboratories are being supported under the Legacy Program until they can transition to ASCLD/LAB-International, which accredits to ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. As of September 2011, a total of 389 crime laboratories were accredited by ASCLD/ LAB although not all of them are doing DNA testing. For additional information see ASCLD/LAB website.
Forensic Quality Services Forensic Quality Services, Inc. (FQS) is a not-for-profit organization providing ISO/IEC 17025 accreditations to forensic testing laboratories in the United States. FQS is recognized by the FBI to perform QAS DNA assessments and offers training workshops on accreditation. For more information see FQS website.
Europe As with the United States, organizations have been in place in Europe since the late 1980s to help with forensic DNA analysis.
DNA Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics The International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) is an organization of over 1100 scientists from more than 60 countries promoting scientific knowledge in the field of forensic markers from human blood. Since 1989, the ISFG has issued recommendations on a variety of important topics in forensic DNA analysis through a DNA Commission. These recommendations have included naming of STR variant alleles and STR repeat nomenclature, mitochondrial DNA and Y-STR issues, DNA mixture interpretation, paternity-testing biostatistics, disaster victim identification, and use of animal DNA in forensic genetic investigations. For more information see ISFG DNA Commission website.
European DNA Profiling Group Another working group of the ISFG is the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP), which consists of members from 21 laboratories across 17 European countries along with a few invited guests from the United States and Australia. Niels Morling from Denmark is the chair of EDNAP, whose members
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are from university Institutes of Legal Medicine and government forensic laboratories with a focus on research. Currently, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland are represented. EDNAP was established in October 1988 with a goal to harmonize methods used to aid forensic DNA investigations. EDNAP meets twice a year (since 2004 in conjunction with ENFSI DNA working group meetings) and regularly organizes collaborative exercises to assess methods and examine where improvements can be made. These interlaboratory studies are published in the scientific literature and have helped establish European core loci and address new marker systems (see ISFG website). The Institute of Legal Medicine in Innsbruck, Austria, has developed and maintains the EDNAP Mitochondrial DNA Population Database (EMPOP). For more information see EDNAP website.
The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes The ENFSI was formally started in 1995 to set standards for exchange of data between European member states and to be an accrediting body through conducting laboratory audits. Today ENFSI is recognized as the sole voice of the forensicscience community within Europe. Within the ENFSI, there is a DNA working group that meets twice a year to discuss forensic DNA protocols and research in much the same fashion as SWGDAM does within North America. The ENFSI DNA working group has five committees referred to as ‘workshops’: (1) quality control, quality assurance, sampling kits, training, and teaching; (2) DNA analysis methods and interpretation; (3) DNA databases; (4) automation and expert systems; and (5) forensic biology. Manufacturers are permitted to participate in many of the meeting sessions and are given an opportunity to share information on their latest products. The database committee produces an annual document on DNA database management that in April 2010 included 28 recommendations (audit questions surrounding these recommendations have been added in more recent versions). Reports and surveys of DNA database sizes in Europe are regularly conducted and shared through the ENFSI website. Recommendations for training of DNA staff and minimum validation guidelines were released in November 2010. An ENFSI collaborative project on Y-STR analysis of DNA mixture samples was published in 2008 and a statement issued regarding European consensus regarding DNA mixture interpretation principles was published in conjunction with EDNAP in 2007. The ENFSI DNA working group maintains a population database for determining match probabilities across European populations at their website. Chairs of the ENFSI DNA working group have included Dave Werrett and Lyn Fereday from the UK Forensic Science Service and Ingo Bastisch from Germany’s BKA (Bundeskriminalamt). Members of ENFSI come from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Invited guests
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Biology/DNA | Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG
from the United States, Abu Dhabi, and Australia regularly attend as well. For additional information see ENFSI website.
interpretation and disaster victim identification. For more information see BSAG website.
Spanish- and Portuguese-Speaking Countries
Asia
The Academia Iberoamericana de Criminalistica Y Estudios Forenses (AICEF) serves Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Europe and Latin America and has 32 active members from 19 different countries. There are four working groups in AICEF: crime scene (CITEC), forensic genetics (GITAD), ballistics (CITBAF), and drugs of abuse (GITADA). For more information see AICEF website.
Australia/New Zealand
The Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN) is the most recent regional organization formed in support of forensic sciences. Created in 2008, AFSN has five workgroups covering DNA, illicit drugs, toxicology, trace evidence, and quality assurance and standards. AFSN meets annually. As of September 2011, member institutes include representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. For more information see AFSN website.
The National Institute of Forensic Science The National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS), which is located in Melbourne, began in 1992 as a central organization to serve the forensic-science community in Australia and New Zealand. NIFS sponsors and supports research in forensic science, assists with development and coordination of forensicscience services between jurisdictions, aids training programs, and coordinates delivery of quality assurance programs. In 2008, NIFS became a directorate in the newly formed Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency. NIFS works closely with the Senior Managers of Australia and New Zealand Forensic Science Laboratories (SMANZFL). For more information see NIFS website.
The Senior Managers of Australia and New Zealand Forensic Science Laboratories The SMANZFL are the directors from forensic-science organizations in Australia and New Zealand who meet at least once a year in an effort ‘to promote leadership in the forensic sciences in the pursuit of excellence.’ SMANZFL is supported by eight specialist advisory groups covering biology, chemistry, document examination, field and identification sciences, toxicology, illicit drugs, and electronic evidence. For more information see SMANZFL website.
Biology Specialist Advisory Group The Biology Specialist Advisory Group (BSAG) is one of the eight SAGs of SMANZFL and is funded by NIFS to prepare recommendations for their laboratories. BSAG meets formally once a year but also holds additional meetings in person or through the Internet as needed. The BSAG has representatives from 11 organizations within Australia and New Zealand: Victoria Police Forensic Services Centre, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, New South Wales Institute of Forensic Medicine, New South Wales Police Forensic Services Group, Queensland Health, Northern Territory Police Forensic Services, Western Australia’s PathWest, Forensic Science South Australia, Forensic Science Service Tasmania, Australia Federal Police, and New Zealand’s ESR (Environmental Science and Research). Pam Scott of the Forensic Science Service in Tasmania is the current BSAG chair. BSAG has written in support of the ISFG DNA Commission recommendations on DNA mixture
International Cooperation and Coordination At the international level, there has been a recent effort to have more cooperation across the regional groups listed in Table 1. In 2009, the International Forensic Strategic Alliance (IFSA) was established as a partnership between the regional networks of operational forensic laboratories including ASCLD, ENFSI, SMANZFL, AICEF, and AFSN. While individual DNA advisory groups like SWGDAM or ENFSI typically produce their own guidelines, there have been a few instances where joint publications have been authored. In 2004, SWGDAM coauthored a position statement on SNP typing, with ENFSI emphasizing that STR markers would likely remain the primary currency for national DNA databases for the foreseeable future. In 2010, SWGDAM joined with ENFSI and BSAG in a position paper on consumable contamination concerns and potential solutions for manufacturers and consumers. This topic is continuing to be pursued through an international effort that will hopefully lead to a formal ISO (International Standards Organization) standard for forensicgrade DNA-free products.
Acknowledgments Review of this article by Dawn Herkenham and Linzi WilsonWilde is greatly appreciated. Forensic DNA research conducted at NIST is supported by an interagency agreement between the National Institute of Justice and the NIST Office of Law Enforcement Standards. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice. Certain commercial equipment, instruments, and materials are identified in order to specify experimental procedures as completely as possible. In no case does such identification imply a recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology nor does it imply that any of the materials, instruments, or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
See also: Biology/DNA: History of the International Society for Forensic Genetics – ISFG; Internet Accessible Population Databases: YHRD and EMPOP.
Biology/DNA | Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG
Further Reading Adams DE and Lothridge KL (2000) Scientific working groups. Forensic Science Communications 2(3): 1–4. Available at: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensicscience-communications/fsc/july2000/swgroups.htm. Aronson JD (2010) On trial! Governing forensic DNA technologies in the USA. In: Hindmarsh R and Prainsack B (eds.) Genetic Suspects: Global Governance of Forensic DNA Profiling and Databasing, pp. 240–261. New York: Cambridge University Press. Butler JM (2012) Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Methodology. San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press. DNA Advisory Board (2000) Statistical and population genetics issues affecting the evaluation of the frequency of occurrence of DNA profiles calculated from pertinent population database(s). Forensic Science Communications 2(3). Available at: http:// www2.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/july2000/dnastat.htm. FBI Quality Assurance Standards (2011). Available at: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/ codis/qas-standards-for-forensic-dna-testing-laboratories-effective-9-1-2011. Gill P, Rowlands D, Tully G, Bastisch I, Staples T, and Scott P (2010) Manufacturer contamination of disposable plastic-ware and other reagents – An agreed position statement by ENFSI, SWGDAM and BSAG. Forensic Science International. Genetics 4(4): 269–270. Gill P, Werrett DJ, Budowle B, and Guerrieri R (2004) An assessment of whether SNPs will replace STRs in national DNA databases – Joint considerations of the DNA
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working group of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) and the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM). Science & Justice 44: 51–53. Presley LA (1999) The evolution of quality assurance standards for forensic DNA analyses in the United States. Profiles in DNA 3(2): 10–11. Available at: http://www. promega.com/profiles.
Relevant Websites http://www.ascld-lab.org – ASCLD/LAB. http://www.nifs.com.au/smanzfl/SAGcriteria.pdf – BSAG. http://www.isfg.org/EDNAP – EDNAP. http://www.enfsi.eu/ – ENFSI. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/ – Forensic Science Communications. http://www.fsigenetics.com/ – Forensic Science International: Genetics. http://www.forquality.org/ – FQS. http://www.isfg.org/ – International Society for Forensic Genetics. http://www.nifs.com.au/ – NIFS. http://www.SWGDAM.org – Scientific Working Group, DNA Analysis Methods.
Glossary Quality assurance A system of activities whose purpose is to provide confidence to the producer or user of a product or service that it meets defined standards or quality.
Introduction With a technique as powerful as forensic DNA testing to help establish guilt or innocence in the context of criminal investigations, it is imperative that measures are in place to create confidence in the results obtained. This article provides a brief review of national- and international-level organizations that support the forensic DNA community in an advisory capacity to promote accurate and reliable testing and to assist with quality assurance measures. Table 1 includes a summary of the major national or regional groups that govern or coordinate efforts with forensic science. Table 2 lists some details regarding the forensic DNA advisory groups that will be covered in this article.
The United States Concerns regarding data quality as forensic DNA testing that began to spread in the first decade of its use led to the formation of several organizations within the United States. In addition, reports by the National Research Council of the US National Academies of Science in 1992 and 1996 focused on technical and statistical issues surrounding high-quality DNA results.
Validation The process by which a method, instrument, or computer program is deemed useful for a specified purpose through rigorous evaluation before acceptance into routine use.
Bruce Budowle (FBI), Richard Guerrieri (FBI), David Coffman (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), and Ted Staples (Georgia Bureau of Investigation). In January 2011, Anthony Onorato (FBI) was appointed by the FBI Laboratory Director to be the chair of SWGDAM. Over the years, a number of TWGDAM or SWGDAM Committees have operated to bring recommendations before the entire group. These Committees have included (at different times) the following topics: restriction fragment length polymorphism, polymerase chain reaction, CODIS, mitochondrial DNA, short tandem repeat (STR) interpretation, training, validation, Y-chromosome, expert systems, quality assurance, missing persons/mass disasters, mixture interpretation, mass spectrometry, enhanced method detection and interpretation, and rapid DNA analysis. TWGDAM issued guidelines for quality assurance in DNA analysis in 1989, 1991, and 1995. Revised SWGDAM validation guidelines were published in 2004 and interpretation guidelines for autosomal STR typing were released in 2010. Several ad hoc working groups have produced recommendations on such topics as the review of outsourced data and partial matches. SWGDAM documents are made available through Forensic Science Communications, an online journal sponsored by the FBI Laboratory.
DNA Advisory Board The Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods/the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods The Technical Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (TWGDAM) was established in November 1988 under FBI Laboratory sponsorship to aid forensic DNA scientists in North America. Since 1998, TWGDAM has been known as SWGDAM, which stands for the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods. SWGDAM is a group of approximately 50 scientists representing federal, state, and local forensic DNA laboratories in the United States and Canada. A representative of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) DNA Working Group often attends as well. Meetings are held twice a year, usually in January and July. For several years, public SWGDAM meetings were held in conjunction with the International Symposium on Human Identification, sponsored each fall by the Promega Corporation. Since 2006, the public SWGDAM meeting has been held as part of the FBI-sponsored National Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Conference. Since the organization’s inception, six individuals have served as TWGDAM or SWGDAM chair: James Kearney (FBI),
Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences, Second Edition
The DNA Advisory Board (DAB) was a congressionally mandated advisory board that was created and funded by the United States Congress through the DNA Identification Act of 1994. The first meeting of the DAB was held on 12 May 1995, and chaired by Nobel laureate Dr Joshua Lederberg. The DAB consisted of 13 voting members that included scientists from federal, state, local, and private forensic laboratories; molecular geneticists and population geneticists not affiliated with a forensic laboratory; a representative from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); the chair of TWGDAM; and a judge. The original voting members of the DAB included Joshua Lederberg (Rockefeller University), Arthur Eisenberg (University of North Texas Health Science Center), Shirley Abrahamson (Wisconsin State Supreme Court), Jack Ballantyne (Suffolk County Crime Lab), Bruce Budowle (FBI Laboratory), Ranajit Chakraborty (University of Texas Health Science Center), Bernard Devlin (Carnegie Mellon University), Marcia Eisenberg (Laboratory Corporation of America), Paul Ferrara (Virginia Division of Forensic Science), John Hicks (Alabama
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Table 1
Organizations assisting forensic-science quality assurance
Organization; year started
Membership
Websites
American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD); started in 1974
US federal, state, and local lab managers; not directly associated with SWGDAM but ASCLD/LAB uses the FBI Quality Assurance Standards for DNA audits Sixteen working groups including one on DNA
http://www.ascld.org
Eight Specialist Advisory Groups (SAGs) including one on biology (BSAG)
http://www.nifs.com. au/SMANZFL/ SMANZFL.html http://www.aicef.net/
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI); started in 1995 Senior managers of Australian and New Zealand Forensic Laboratories (SMANZFL); started in 1986 Academia Iberoamericana de Criminalı´stica y Estudios Forenses (AICEF); started in 2004 Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN); started in 2008
Represents 19 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Europe and Latin America; has four working groups including one on forensic genetics Five working groups including one on DNA
http://www.enfsi.eu
http://www. asianforensic.net
Information from International Forensic Strategic Alliance (IFSA) 2010 Annual Report: http://www.ascld.org/files/ifsaþcov_BAT.pdf and http://www.ifsaworldwide.org/.
Table 2
Forensic DNA advisory groups
Organization
Membership
Meeting frequency/purpose
DNA Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM)
ISFG Executive Committee and selected experts; chaired by Dr. Peter Gill
As needed to prepare recommendations (see http:// www.isfg.org/Publications/DNAþCommission)
US and Canada federal, state, and local DNA Technical Leaders and invited guests (40–50 people total); subdivided into 5–8 committees >30 European countries and invited guests (90–100 people total); subdivided into five committees
Meets twice a year to develop guidelines on validation, DNA data interpretation, and other topics Meets twice a year along with European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP)
Representatives of each forensic DNA lab in Australia and New Zealand (11 people total)
Meets once a year under direction of SMANZFL and with support of the Australian National Institute of Forensic Science
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) DNA Working Group Biology Specialist Advisory Group (BSAG)
Department of Forensic Sciences), Margaret Kuo (Orange County Sheriff’s Office), Terry Laber (Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), and Dennis Reeder (NIST). Nonvoting members of the DAB were Phillip Reilly (Euince Shriver Center for Mental Retardation), Larry Presley (FBI Laboratory), Jay Miller (FBI Laboratory), and Randall Murch (Designated Federal Employee, FBI Laboratory). A number of other individuals attended and participated in various DAB meetings over the 5 years that the group met. The DAB was created for a 5-year period to issue quality assurance standards (QAS) for the forensic DNA community. When the DAB’s responsibilities ended in 2000, SWGDAM was designated as the group responsible for offering recommendations on revisions to the QAS as needed. In 2007, SWGDAM revised the QAS for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories and the QAS for DNA Databasing Laboratories. These revised standards went into effect on 1 July 2009 after being approved by the FBI Laboratory Director. Further revisions regarding data review were made at the January 2011 SWGDAM meeting and went into effect on 1 September 2011. Forensic DNA laboratories in the United States are mandated by Congress to follow strict QAS. In October 1998 and April 1999, at the recommendation of the DAB, the FBI Director issued QAS for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories and QAS for Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Laboratories that
define how forensic laboratories are required to conduct business. These QAS were revised a decade later and went into effect on 1 July 2009, with some additional minor revisions introduced in 2011 regarding data review. The 2009 revisions also renamed the Convicted Offender QAS as the QAS for DNA Databasing Laboratories so that they would be applicable for laboratories processing offender, arrestee, and detainee specimens. US forensic DNA laboratories are governed by the QAS and regularly audited for their compliance to these standards. There are 17 topics covered in the revised (and original) QAS: (1) scope, (2) definitions, (3) quality assurance program, (4) laboratory organization and management, (5) personnel, (6) facilities, (7) evidence/sample control, (8) validation, (9) analytical procedures, (10) equipment calibration and maintenance, (11) reports/documentation, (12) review, (13) proficiency testing, (14) corrective action, (15) audits, (16) safety, and (17) outsourcing.
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors and Its Laboratory Accreditation Board The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) and its Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) play an important role in the United States as well as internationally for laboratory accreditation programs. The ASCLD/LAB motto
Biology/DNA | Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG
is ‘quality assurance through inspection.’ The crime laboratory accreditation program is a voluntary program in which any crime laboratory may participate to demonstrate that its management, operations, personnel, procedures, and instruments meet stringent standards. The goal of accreditation is to improve the overall service of forensic laboratories to the criminal justice system. If a forensic laboratory is interested in becoming accredited, an ASCLD/LAB accreditation manual is available from the Executive Secretary for a fee. Laboratories becoming accredited in forensic biology are audited against the FBI’s QAS for the laboratory operations pertaining to DNA testing. ASCLD/LAB accreditation may be under the Legacy Program or the International Program. However, no new Legacy Program applications have been processed since April 2009. Laboratories are being supported under the Legacy Program until they can transition to ASCLD/LAB-International, which accredits to ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. As of September 2011, a total of 389 crime laboratories were accredited by ASCLD/ LAB although not all of them are doing DNA testing. For additional information see ASCLD/LAB website.
Forensic Quality Services Forensic Quality Services, Inc. (FQS) is a not-for-profit organization providing ISO/IEC 17025 accreditations to forensic testing laboratories in the United States. FQS is recognized by the FBI to perform QAS DNA assessments and offers training workshops on accreditation. For more information see FQS website.
Europe As with the United States, organizations have been in place in Europe since the late 1980s to help with forensic DNA analysis.
DNA Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics The International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) is an organization of over 1100 scientists from more than 60 countries promoting scientific knowledge in the field of forensic markers from human blood. Since 1989, the ISFG has issued recommendations on a variety of important topics in forensic DNA analysis through a DNA Commission. These recommendations have included naming of STR variant alleles and STR repeat nomenclature, mitochondrial DNA and Y-STR issues, DNA mixture interpretation, paternity-testing biostatistics, disaster victim identification, and use of animal DNA in forensic genetic investigations. For more information see ISFG DNA Commission website.
European DNA Profiling Group Another working group of the ISFG is the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP), which consists of members from 21 laboratories across 17 European countries along with a few invited guests from the United States and Australia. Niels Morling from Denmark is the chair of EDNAP, whose members
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are from university Institutes of Legal Medicine and government forensic laboratories with a focus on research. Currently, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland are represented. EDNAP was established in October 1988 with a goal to harmonize methods used to aid forensic DNA investigations. EDNAP meets twice a year (since 2004 in conjunction with ENFSI DNA working group meetings) and regularly organizes collaborative exercises to assess methods and examine where improvements can be made. These interlaboratory studies are published in the scientific literature and have helped establish European core loci and address new marker systems (see ISFG website). The Institute of Legal Medicine in Innsbruck, Austria, has developed and maintains the EDNAP Mitochondrial DNA Population Database (EMPOP). For more information see EDNAP website.
The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes The ENFSI was formally started in 1995 to set standards for exchange of data between European member states and to be an accrediting body through conducting laboratory audits. Today ENFSI is recognized as the sole voice of the forensicscience community within Europe. Within the ENFSI, there is a DNA working group that meets twice a year to discuss forensic DNA protocols and research in much the same fashion as SWGDAM does within North America. The ENFSI DNA working group has five committees referred to as ‘workshops’: (1) quality control, quality assurance, sampling kits, training, and teaching; (2) DNA analysis methods and interpretation; (3) DNA databases; (4) automation and expert systems; and (5) forensic biology. Manufacturers are permitted to participate in many of the meeting sessions and are given an opportunity to share information on their latest products. The database committee produces an annual document on DNA database management that in April 2010 included 28 recommendations (audit questions surrounding these recommendations have been added in more recent versions). Reports and surveys of DNA database sizes in Europe are regularly conducted and shared through the ENFSI website. Recommendations for training of DNA staff and minimum validation guidelines were released in November 2010. An ENFSI collaborative project on Y-STR analysis of DNA mixture samples was published in 2008 and a statement issued regarding European consensus regarding DNA mixture interpretation principles was published in conjunction with EDNAP in 2007. The ENFSI DNA working group maintains a population database for determining match probabilities across European populations at their website. Chairs of the ENFSI DNA working group have included Dave Werrett and Lyn Fereday from the UK Forensic Science Service and Ingo Bastisch from Germany’s BKA (Bundeskriminalamt). Members of ENFSI come from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Invited guests
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from the United States, Abu Dhabi, and Australia regularly attend as well. For additional information see ENFSI website.
interpretation and disaster victim identification. For more information see BSAG website.
Spanish- and Portuguese-Speaking Countries
Asia
The Academia Iberoamericana de Criminalistica Y Estudios Forenses (AICEF) serves Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Europe and Latin America and has 32 active members from 19 different countries. There are four working groups in AICEF: crime scene (CITEC), forensic genetics (GITAD), ballistics (CITBAF), and drugs of abuse (GITADA). For more information see AICEF website.
Australia/New Zealand
The Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN) is the most recent regional organization formed in support of forensic sciences. Created in 2008, AFSN has five workgroups covering DNA, illicit drugs, toxicology, trace evidence, and quality assurance and standards. AFSN meets annually. As of September 2011, member institutes include representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. For more information see AFSN website.
The National Institute of Forensic Science The National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS), which is located in Melbourne, began in 1992 as a central organization to serve the forensic-science community in Australia and New Zealand. NIFS sponsors and supports research in forensic science, assists with development and coordination of forensicscience services between jurisdictions, aids training programs, and coordinates delivery of quality assurance programs. In 2008, NIFS became a directorate in the newly formed Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency. NIFS works closely with the Senior Managers of Australia and New Zealand Forensic Science Laboratories (SMANZFL). For more information see NIFS website.
The Senior Managers of Australia and New Zealand Forensic Science Laboratories The SMANZFL are the directors from forensic-science organizations in Australia and New Zealand who meet at least once a year in an effort ‘to promote leadership in the forensic sciences in the pursuit of excellence.’ SMANZFL is supported by eight specialist advisory groups covering biology, chemistry, document examination, field and identification sciences, toxicology, illicit drugs, and electronic evidence. For more information see SMANZFL website.
Biology Specialist Advisory Group The Biology Specialist Advisory Group (BSAG) is one of the eight SAGs of SMANZFL and is funded by NIFS to prepare recommendations for their laboratories. BSAG meets formally once a year but also holds additional meetings in person or through the Internet as needed. The BSAG has representatives from 11 organizations within Australia and New Zealand: Victoria Police Forensic Services Centre, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, New South Wales Institute of Forensic Medicine, New South Wales Police Forensic Services Group, Queensland Health, Northern Territory Police Forensic Services, Western Australia’s PathWest, Forensic Science South Australia, Forensic Science Service Tasmania, Australia Federal Police, and New Zealand’s ESR (Environmental Science and Research). Pam Scott of the Forensic Science Service in Tasmania is the current BSAG chair. BSAG has written in support of the ISFG DNA Commission recommendations on DNA mixture
International Cooperation and Coordination At the international level, there has been a recent effort to have more cooperation across the regional groups listed in Table 1. In 2009, the International Forensic Strategic Alliance (IFSA) was established as a partnership between the regional networks of operational forensic laboratories including ASCLD, ENFSI, SMANZFL, AICEF, and AFSN. While individual DNA advisory groups like SWGDAM or ENFSI typically produce their own guidelines, there have been a few instances where joint publications have been authored. In 2004, SWGDAM coauthored a position statement on SNP typing, with ENFSI emphasizing that STR markers would likely remain the primary currency for national DNA databases for the foreseeable future. In 2010, SWGDAM joined with ENFSI and BSAG in a position paper on consumable contamination concerns and potential solutions for manufacturers and consumers. This topic is continuing to be pursued through an international effort that will hopefully lead to a formal ISO (International Standards Organization) standard for forensicgrade DNA-free products.
Acknowledgments Review of this article by Dawn Herkenham and Linzi WilsonWilde is greatly appreciated. Forensic DNA research conducted at NIST is supported by an interagency agreement between the National Institute of Justice and the NIST Office of Law Enforcement Standards. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice. Certain commercial equipment, instruments, and materials are identified in order to specify experimental procedures as completely as possible. In no case does such identification imply a recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology nor does it imply that any of the materials, instruments, or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
See also: Biology/DNA: History of the International Society for Forensic Genetics – ISFG; Internet Accessible Population Databases: YHRD and EMPOP.
Biology/DNA | Forensic DNA Advisory Groups: DAB, SWGDAM, ENFSI, and BSAG
Further Reading Adams DE and Lothridge KL (2000) Scientific working groups. Forensic Science Communications 2(3): 1–4. Available at: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensicscience-communications/fsc/july2000/swgroups.htm. Aronson JD (2010) On trial! Governing forensic DNA technologies in the USA. In: Hindmarsh R and Prainsack B (eds.) Genetic Suspects: Global Governance of Forensic DNA Profiling and Databasing, pp. 240–261. New York: Cambridge University Press. Butler JM (2012) Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Methodology. San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press. DNA Advisory Board (2000) Statistical and population genetics issues affecting the evaluation of the frequency of occurrence of DNA profiles calculated from pertinent population database(s). Forensic Science Communications 2(3). Available at: http:// www2.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/july2000/dnastat.htm. FBI Quality Assurance Standards (2011). Available at: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/ codis/qas-standards-for-forensic-dna-testing-laboratories-effective-9-1-2011. Gill P, Rowlands D, Tully G, Bastisch I, Staples T, and Scott P (2010) Manufacturer contamination of disposable plastic-ware and other reagents – An agreed position statement by ENFSI, SWGDAM and BSAG. Forensic Science International. Genetics 4(4): 269–270. Gill P, Werrett DJ, Budowle B, and Guerrieri R (2004) An assessment of whether SNPs will replace STRs in national DNA databases – Joint considerations of the DNA
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working group of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) and the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM). Science & Justice 44: 51–53. Presley LA (1999) The evolution of quality assurance standards for forensic DNA analyses in the United States. Profiles in DNA 3(2): 10–11. Available at: http://www. promega.com/profiles.
Relevant Websites http://www.ascld-lab.org – ASCLD/LAB. http://www.nifs.com.au/smanzfl/SAGcriteria.pdf – BSAG. http://www.isfg.org/EDNAP – EDNAP. http://www.enfsi.eu/ – ENFSI. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/ – Forensic Science Communications. http://www.fsigenetics.com/ – Forensic Science International: Genetics. http://www.forquality.org/ – FQS. http://www.isfg.org/ – International Society for Forensic Genetics. http://www.nifs.com.au/ – NIFS. http://www.SWGDAM.org – Scientific Working Group, DNA Analysis Methods.