What Keeps You Awake at Night: Risk, Leading Change, and Challenging Decisions

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

Crime laboratories are exposed to risks each and every day, and it is the job of organizational leaders to balance the severity of a consequence versus the frequency of occurrence, know the laboratory’s risk exposure, and proactively mitigate that risk. This webinar will discuss accessing risk exposure, strategic planning, and managing change. Additionally, how to address the stress and anxiety associated with change will be discussed.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 26, 2022.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8CwWS8RcY

Marijuana Analysis in a New Frontier: Two State Laboratory Approaches

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

After the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) was enacted in December 2018, many states rushed to make changes to their own laws to allow the hemp industry to grow and thrive in their jurisdictions. By removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, Cannabis sativa L. plant material with a concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis was no longer considered marijuana. For hemp to be differentiated from marijuana, the analytical scheme for suspected marijuana needed to be changed to add an assessment or measurement of the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on March 5, 2020.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_rZPk_o9bA

Million of displaced Syrians return home #syria

Source: United Nations (video statements)

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 1.4 million Syrians have voluntarily returned from neighbouring countries since December 2024, alongside 2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) who have gone back to their areas of origin.
Céline Schmitt, spokesperson for #UNHCR in #Syria, explains how UN agencies are responding on the ground.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0-HHecn4QSI

Quality Assurance: Beyond Accreditation, ASCLD Train the Director Series

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

In this webinar, we will discuss quality and accreditation, how they fit together, and the ASCLD Accreditation Roadmap and Toolkit. We will also discuss the concepts of organizational transformation, organizational culture, and the cultivation of a quality culture in your laboratory. Lastly, we will review the various quality initiatives in forensics, including ISO TC 272, the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science, and the scientific and technical working groups (SWG/TWG).

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence in January 2020.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqNs_93YwDI

Toxicology: Instrumentation, Methodology and Workflows, ASCLD Train the Director Series

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

Legacy workflows in toxicology generally involve a drug class screen followed by a gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC/MS-MS) confirmation analysis. Additional techniques could also be used in workflows, but their applications were focused on specific drugs. In general, analyses were serial, limited, and often required multiple methods depending on the number of drug classes in the samples. Results required lengthy and costly workflows, especially when toxicologists were working with complicated samples.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on February 6, 2020.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF61W0Tb4p8

Investigative Genetic Genealogy: Background and Crime Lab Strategy

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

In this webinar we discussed the theory and development of Investigative Genetic Genealogy, including some ethical and legal considerations raised by this technique. Additionally, we explored the current status of case investigations, the impact on crime laboratories, implementation strategies, and recommendations for jurisdictions considering applying Investigative Genetic Genealogy to their unsolved cases.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on January 23, 2020.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjS-FXL56uc

Tackling Employee Wellness: The Phoenix Police Department’s Crime Lab Approach

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

This presentation provided an overview of the activities and programs the Phoenix Police Department’s Crime Lab has implemented and the corresponding impact to the organizational culture and employee morale….

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 18, 2020.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcLS0EFluew

Stress, Vicarious Trauma, and Resiliency for Forensic Science Professionals

Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)

This webinar presented the findings of the ASCLD/NIJ collaborative Gap Assessment of Stress, Vicarious Trauma and Resiliency for Forensic Science Professionals. The assessment gathered survey responses from forensic and medical examiner laboratories to evaluate vicarious trauma, burnout, job satisfaction, and participants perceptions of their organization’s resiliency efforts. Our findings inform future directions in research, policy, and practice to better manage stress and increase resiliency among forensic professionals.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on June 11, 2020.

(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPxyAwB80C4

UK Lord Speaker Lord McFall of Alcluith on populism in politics

Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)

The tables were turned in the latest episode of Lord Speaker’s Corner as outgoing Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, was interviewed by Baroness Hazarika.

Lord McFall shares his views on populism in politics, and reflects on nearly 40 years at Westminster as an MP, minister and member of the Lords.

📺 Watch the full episode now https://orlo.uk/Z2Abb or search ‘House of Lords’ wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WYlr_laBark