Recently brought back to light is the issue of the SBI’s sluggishness to re-legitimize its crime lab in a transparent and timely manner. In a recent article, the N&O highlighted public frustration concerning the secrecy of what is being done to make our state’s crime labs more responsible and accurate. Citing accreditation and ongoing reviews is all well and good, but full disclosure on what is being done needs to be made public; simply replacing key staff and reviewing suspect personnel is not enough. The SBI has been looking for a new director since August and promising reform, yet eight months later we are still struggling to gain information on what is being changed. Every day the crime labs are under scrutiny is costing North Carolina citizens money. In a time when money is tight and government needs to be more responsible and transparent than ever, the SBI needs to step forward and take decisive action to correct its problems and begin serving its constituents again.
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