The Department of Forensic Science lost its accreditation in April 2021 over accuracy concerns and compromised prosecutions.

The vote rejects a proposal from Mayor Muriel Bowser, which would have moved crime scene science duties under the D.C. police department.

A proposal from Mayor Muriel Bowser would move the lab’s crime scene evidence unit under the control of the police department. D.C. councilmembers are torn on whether to move forward with her plan.

The change, some officials say, would undermine the independence of one of the city’s struggling agencies. 

It would mark nearly three years without accreditation for D.C.’s Department of Forensic Science.

A report ordered by Mayor Muriel Bowser recommends a complete overhaul of D.C.’s Department of Forensic Sciences.

“The lab’s actions undermine the integrity of scientific evidence in the District’s most serious criminal cases,” wrote Attorney General Karl Racine to Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The review said the lab’s procedures were “insufficient and inadequate.”