Director of DC lab that processes criminal evidence resigns following accreditation loss

May 19, 2021

WASHINGTON (7News) — The director of the DC Crime Lab has resigned, Acting Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice confirmed to 7News on Wednesday.

The news of the resignation comes within less than a month of the lab losing its accreditation.

In April, the ANSI National Accreditation Board put the D.C. forensics lab on a 30-day suspension. In early May, that accreditation status dropped from suspended to withdrawn altogether.

Chris Geldart, Acting Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, confirmed in a statement that the resignation of Dr. Jenifer Smith, the Director of the Department of Forensic Sciences, has been accepted. Her last day is expected to be Wednesday, May 26.

We thank Dr. Smith for her service and appreciate the job she has done in progressing the agency during her tenure," Geldart wrote in a statement to 7News. "We remain firmly committed to the priorities of an independent lab; the timely collection, evaluation, and processing of criminal evidence; and high-quality public health analysis.

The withdrawal of the accreditation of the crime lab came as no surprise to D.C.'s prosecutors, including Attorney General Karl Racine, whose office prosecutes juvenile cases including gun crimes.

"We ceased using the lab, the forensic lab, and specifically the firearms examination unit, about a year ago when there were various concerns around the practice of the lab and indeed the overall management of it," Racine previously told 7News.