Connecticut crime lab wins accreditation bid

A national accreditation group has reinstated the certification of the Connecticut crime lab where U.S. Justice Department audits last year found a series of problems.

The office of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says a board of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors voted Tuesday afternoon to restore the state lab's accreditation. Work at the lab never stopped, but the loss of the certification played a role in cutting off the state's access to national DNA databanks run by the FBI.

Auditors last year questioned the lab's supervision, evidence control, data security, quality assurance and DNA test validation techniques. State officials say the problems were mostly administrative and didn't affect the quality of the lab's work.

Officials say they expect to regain access to the national DNA databanks soon.

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