DNA lab inquiry: Scientist’s critical concerns dismissed twice by management

A forensic scientist at a state-run lab formally raised concerns about the testing of DNA samples from major crimes twice but was dismissed by management, an inquiry has heard.

A forensic scientist at the state-run lab formally raised concerns about the testing of DNA samples from major crimes twice but was dismissed by management.

Reporting scientist Alicia Quartermain told the commission of inquiry into the testing of forensic evidence in Queensland she raised concerns about the Forensic Scientific Services’s unusually high threshold for testing DNA in 2020.

She grew cautious of the testing process after she discovered traces of sperm in samples collected from sexual assault victims.

The scientist said this sort of evidence was critical for assisting an investigation and would more than likely provide a result from testing, given its rich source of DNA.

It also provided a direct indication of who was present when the crime took place.

But, on occasions, these tests returned as DNA insufficient for further processing, which was the result of a new threshold introduced by the lab, double the number of cells required in NSW.

Queensland Health’s acting director-general, Shaun Drummond. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

In 2019, she began ignoring the threshold and instigated her own process of further testing samples, which routinely led to a successful identification of usable DNA profiles.

Ms Quartermain collected these results in a spreadsheet and raised these issues to her superiors in April 2020 and then again in 2021, but these concerns were dismissed.

Instead, she was told she was not given permission to continue reworking the DNA samples that fell below the threshold.

In an email shown to the hearing on Monday morning, Ms Quartermain contacted FSS team manager Justine Howes in 2021 to protest against the process, for the second time.

“I feel that reporting these samples as (insufficient for further testing) is technically incorrect,” she wrote.

“I strongly feel that we should be processing a lot of these samples these days.”

Ms Quartermain told the Inquiry the refusal of managers to consider her concerns about the testing, which was also raised by other senior scientists, created a “division within the laboratory” that led to a poor workplace culture.

“This is a big problem,” she said. “I’m seeing things that we need to do something about – this doesn’t sit right with me.

“Things that should be taken very seriously aren’t taken as seriously as they should be.

“And then I wonder what the motive for that is – why isn’t he as concerned about this as I am?

“We want to try and get the best DNA profile we can for the community and for police and, for some reason, I’m not allowed to do what I want to do with these samples and effectively that creates division.

“The flow-on of that is I know that if I take something to Justin I don’t get his support.”

The scientist, who has worked at the lab for nearly 20 years, told the inquiry managers had introduced unusually controlling measures “in areas that I don’t think is necessary”.

This included a rule that staff were forced to call in sick on a specific time of the morning, they are unable to start work at a particular time, and the stationary cupboards are kept locked.

“I need a science degree and a police check to get my job, then I need a pass to access campus, but then I need to approach an administrative assistant to unlock a cupboard for me to access stationery,” she said.

“It’s just that feeling of not being trusted.

“We’re trying to do the best that we can for the community and police and for ourselves, knowing that we’re putting out the best scientific work that we can, but we’re not being trusted.”

Hearings for the inquiry into the DNA bungle, led by ex-Court of Appeals president Walter Sofronoff, kicked off again on Monday.

Counsel assisting the inquiry Laura Reece said the hearings will focus on scientific issues at the lab and how the alleged toxic culture impacted its capacity to test forensic evidence.

From Monday to Wednesday, half-a-dozen scientists and senior scientists from Queensland Health’s FSS will give evidence.

INVESTIGATIONS TAINTED BY TESTING BUNGLE

• Murder in late 2021: 33 samples rejected by FSS as “insufficient DNA for further testing”, but 10 were later found to contain usable DNA, including evidence to advance investigation

• Rape in late 2021: Nine samples returned by FSS as “insufficient DNA for further testing”, but all nine returned usable profiles after insistence from QPS, including a match with suspected offender

• Murder in late 2018: Four samples returned by FSS as “insufficient DNA for further testing”, but after further processing at the request of QPS, three returned usable profiles

• Between January 2021 and May 2022: 393 samples returned as “insufficient DNA for further testing”. But after QPS requested further testing, 33 per cent returned a usable profile, while the success rate for evidence collected for sexual offences was 66 per cent

Here’s a recap of the inquiry so far

• Queensland Health’s acting director-general, Shaun Drummond, said he was told a week before taking up the position was no major problem with the state-run forensics laboratory despite mounting concerns emerging from The Australian’s podcast, Shandee’s Story.

• The former executive director of Queensland’s beleaguered state-run lab was accused of retrospectively adopting a position in order to blame police for the forensic testing debacle.

• A spattering of blood on broken glass left at a major crime scene and DNA cells discovered on a murder victim’s calf were both dismissed by FSS, which ignored the crucial evidence, labelling it insufficient for processing

• Senior cops in the DNA squad said they were pressured by FSS lab managers to agree to threshold, with the presentation of confusing data and forceful recommendations.

• A murder case in late 2018 set off alarm bells about testing at the FSS.

• There was a “toxic” culture at the state-run forensic laboratory at the time the lab made changes to testing DNA samples which led to evidence in murder and rape cases being ignored