Janine Kava

The meeting began with announcements regarding Dr. Buffolino's resignation and Ms. Palmer's appointment, with Ms. Palmer running the proceedings. Key discussions involved Accreditation/Laboratory Updates for multiple facilities, including the issuance of full renewal accreditation for the New York City Police Department Police Laboratory and the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, following review of ANAB reaccreditation assessments. Under Old Business, updates were provided on the Familial Search Program, and a motion was passed directing the Office of Forensic Services to conduct an annual survey of laboratory standards implementation. New Business included an overview of ANSI National Accreditation Board's new online platform, Audeee, and a decision to table consideration of the binding recommendation regarding Next Generation Sequencing for the New York State Police Crime Laboratory pending further information at the March meeting. Various laboratory disclosures were also reviewed.

The meeting convened as an informational session focused on the Organization of Scientific Area Committees on Forensic Science (OSAC). An update was provided regarding data gathered from New York State laboratories concerning their implementation of standards from the OSAC registry. Guidelines for the meeting were presented by Special Counsel to the Commission. Speakers addressed the Commission on topics related to forensic science, including representatives from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, ANSI National Accreditation Board, and the Monroe County Office of the Medical Examiner Forensic Toxicology Laboratory.

The meeting agenda includes discussions and potential approvals for several key items. These include updates to the Domestic Violence Model Policy, the Extreme Risk Protection Order Model Policy, and the Responding to and Interacting with Persons with Disabilities Model Policy, each based on recent legislative changes. Additionally, the council will review and recommend regulations to the Governor regarding law enforcement response to individuals in crisis. Informational items include updates on the Course in Police Supervision Regulatory Amendments and various Office of Public Safety initiatives.

The Commission reviewed and approved the agenda and minutes from the previous meeting. An executive session was held to discuss matters relating to a current investigation and personnel matters. Following the executive session, the Commission discussed sending a letter to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner regarding effective management practices for public forensic laboratories. The Commission also reviewed accreditation and laboratory updates for various laboratories, including Monroe County Crime Laboratory, New York City OCME Department of Forensic Toxicology, and others. Old business included updates on the Familial Search Policy and discussions from the DNA Subcommittee regarding DNA Mixture Interpretation and Forensic DNA Interpretation and Human Factors reports. A plan for NYS public forensic laboratories to adopt standards on the OSAC registry was proposed and discussed. Disclosures from multiple medical examiner and police department laboratories were reviewed. The next meeting was scheduled for December 12, 2025.

The DNA Subcommittee meeting included updates from various crime laboratories, including Monroe County Crime Laboratory, New York City OCME Department of Forensic Biology, Onondaga County Center for Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, and Nassau County Office of the Medical Examiner Division of Forensic Services. The subcommittee reviewed the ANAB reaccreditation assessment of the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory and recommended renewing its New York State Accreditation. Updates were provided on Partial Match and Familial Search programs, and the New York State Police Crime Laboratory presented information on Next Generation Sequencing validation. The Biology Technical Working Group submitted a memo with Qiagen information, and an update was given on NIST review reports. The subcommittee also reviewed disclosures from multiple crime laboratories and discussed the Annual CODIS Security Audits.