There was more outcry today about the SBI mishandling or misrepresenting evidence (1, 2) in their crime lab. The bulk of popular opinion to which I was exposed claimed more regulations were needed. In my limited laboratory experience, I found that a great number of real good scientists have no respect for bureaucracy, and many who are talented in objective observation and logical analysis cannot handle bureaucracy. I am aware of more than one place where people interested in doing their job “spook up” reports to satisfy the bureaucrats in authority. Bad scientists are likely to cook the data anyway to cover up results that don’t fit with their preconceived notions. Dishonest scientists are not going to be controlled by paperwork. Good scientists often suffer lack of time to do tests correctly because their sloppy, assuming colleagues set the pace. Adding paperwork requirements will make them divert time for jumping through hoops and making data fit the boxes that even the best experts will never make all-inclusive. Just about any real-world lab I’ve been in disregards some stringent protocols required in academia. (I’ve seen no uncertainties, no calibration, exposure to biological contaminants, food where prohibited, ridiculous precision, bad calculations, misuse of instrumentation, lying on documents, repeating experiments until the right result turns up, failure to test a representative sample, built-in bias, and lots more I won’t take time to remember.)
by Leslee Kulba
Wild West blogger