ATS granted first accreditation in the field of forensic science

On 28^th August 2014, ATS granted first accreditation in the field of forensic science to the National Criminological & Technical Centre (Nacionalni kriminalističko-tehnički centar, NKTC, Direkcije policije Uprave kriminalističke policije), Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, that carries out forensic testing (biological material, drugs and their products). Namely, NKTC carries out testing of human DNA by means of molecular genetic methods and chemical testing of tetrahydrocannabinol (TNS) in Cannabis sativa and heroin. The said chemical activities will be performed at 5 locations (two of which are in Belgrade, while the remaining three are in Niš, Užice and Novi Sad).

NKTC was granted accreditation as a testing laboratory as per SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2006 and specific requirements for forensic testing (e.g. ILAC-G19:2002 Guidelines for Forensic Science Laboratories and ATS document ATS-UP34 Accreditation of Forensic Laboratories). NKTC is a member of the European Network of Forensic Science (ENFSI) that has over 60 members most of which are accredited by national accreditation bodies signtories to the EA MLA/ILAC MRA. Therefore, it is necessary that all ENFSI members are accredited laboratories issuing accredited test reports that are considered to be equally reliable at global level.

Furthermore, the assessment was carried out by the ATS assessment team members that were supported by a Technical Expert in detection of gene loci from the Slovak National Accreditation Service (SNAS).