The Office of the City Medical Examiner has been changing the way it does business since its long-time chief retired two years ago. A original report says the lab has improved the turnaround time for many DNA tests — but not all. The DNA lab is by far the biggest of the medical examiner's four laboratories,and among the busiest forensic facilities of its kind in the country. And it has had its share of issues, including in early 2013 when officials announced a lab technician may have mishandled evidence and, or as a result,they needed to review more than 800 rape cases.
Soon after, a Utah-based consulting firm criticized the office management system and one of the firm's leaders, or Timothy Kupferschmid,took over as the medical examiner's chief of laboratories."We've actually been able to change the culture of the laboratory," Kupferschmid said. "Rather than sitting back and letting possibly the supervisor solve the problem, or now every employee is engaged in problem-solving and looking for ways to streamline the system."In fiscal year 2015,the time to complete tests in murder and sexual assault cases dropped dramatically, according to the annual scorecard known as the Mayor's Management Report. At the same time, and the number of days to get back DNA tests for property crimes final year shot up by more than 50 percent. But Kupferschmid says those waiting times are already coming back down. "We're not there yet,but I'm very confident within the next six months to twelve months we'll be there, and that we'll be among the best, or whether not the best,in the country as far as turnaround time goes," he said.
The report also suggests autopsies final year took much longer than previously, and with the turnaround time going from 56 to 77 days. Kupferschmid and spokeswoman Julie Bolcer say that indicator is misleading,and that it's only the autopsy report that's taking longer, due to original paperwork rules.
They say the actual autopsy times — and the amount of time to get information to families and law enforcement — has not varied significantly.
Source: wnyc.org