Message From the American Board of Criminalistics

The American Board of Criminalistics (ABC) wants to inform its certificants, affiliates, emeritus status holders, and others that its current Registrars, Mike and Debbie Healy, will be heading into full retirement at the end of this year. The ABC is so appreciative of the many years of work they have put into the organization to make it run as smoothly as it does. While they will be missed immensely, the ABC is ready to welcome its new Registrar, Gretchen Lajoie. Gretchen has been serving as the Accreditation Manager for several years and since the ABC has achieved accreditation through the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), she will be taking on both roles. The ABC has been working diligently throughout this year to train and transition duties to Gretchen.

The process of transitioning the Registrar's Office is both electronic and physical. The office will be moving from Florida to Maine. The ABC is also updating its electronic database to improve many processes and make them more efficient. As a result, they will need to close down the office for the months of December and January to fully complete this physical and digital transition.

The ABC anticipates that you will continue to have access to the Member's Side of the website during this transition; however, they recommend that you log on to your account in October/November to check your recertification point status and ensure your contact information is correct. They will continue to accept recertification packets on our normal schedule. As a result of this transition, the Registrar's Office will not be as readily available to answer questions or to provide assistance regarding your current recertification status. By preparing in October/November, they hope that you will have your questions addressed prior to this shutdown. The shutdown of the office will not affect recertification deadlines. You will still need to recertify and submit the appropriate documentation/fees as usual. If you do have questions, you can still email either the Registrar or Recertification Liaison.

During the shutdown, there will be no exam offerings after the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists  (NEAFS) in November until the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in February and then no exam offerings between AAFS and April 15. If you would like to host an offering in April, you need to contact the Registrar's Office by November 1 to schedule. Keep in mind that they are continuing to test/validate the electronic testing format and anticipate switching over in early 2024.

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. Please check the website and social media for updates — there may be outage dates while the database is being updated. Thank you for your patience with this transition!