A Review of the Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories and the Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices in the United States:an analysis of the establishment of census of forensic laboratories in China and the organizational structure
The establishment and resource allocation of forensic labs have always been considered an important part in the forensic management system reform.As forensic labs are the entities responsible for employing experts and issuing final expert opinions,the organizational structure and resource allocation of the forensic labs significantly impact on the judicial quality within a jurisdiction.Taking a comparative view,this study first reviews the main results of the four reports of the Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories and two reports of the Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices in the United States,and then compares those results with the census of forensic labs and the organizational structure in current China.This comparative analysis reveals that the census of forensic labs generated in the current forensic management system in China has unique advantages.However,further reforms are required for the survey contents and scopes.In particular,the survey of budget needed to support forensic labs and relevant statistical analysis should be carried out as soon as possible.At the same time,the current forensic lab structure marked by small size and large amount remains unchanged.Within the context of facilitating a uniform management system for forensic labs,it is necessary to adhere to a path which emphasizes on coordinated and harmonious development,improve the market withdrawal mechanism,develop forensic teams according to the practical need,and seek to further integrate the resources of existing forensic labs.
Forensic crime laboratoriesMedical examiner and coroner officesForensic labsCensus of forensic labsOrganizational structure
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
