NYC Crime Lab Audits

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all final audit reports conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory to ensure quality assurance standards in the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Department of Forensic Biology Laboratories between the years 2010 and 2018.

The FBI Laboratory is mandated to conduct such audits under the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to ensure federally recognized laboratories are in compliance with the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods' quality assurance standards for both DNA databasing and DNA testing laboratories.

Further details on the audit requirements under which I am searching under can be found at the following link: https://www.fbi.gov/services/laboratory/biometric-analysis/codis#Quality-Assurance

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

I am a representative of the news media operating as a freelance reporter with a significant and notable public presence and solid expectation to publish work through a news media entity.

I am requesting a waiver of all applicable fees seeing as the release of these documents is of high public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government nor would their release provide a primary commercial benefit to myself as a requester.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Regards,

Vaughn Golden