First, this article documents the widespread, poor quality work performed in forensic science laboratories and then explores the underlying reasons for the current inadequacies, describes a regulatory system that has produced better quality in clinical laboratories, shows how similar regulations would improve forensic science laboratories, and identifies differences between clinical and forensic facilities that might make the imposition of the clinical laboratory regulation model difficult. A lack of personnel, money, experience, and an appropriate institutional superstructure make comprehensive regulation of crime laboratories unfeasible, but forensic facilities should at least be required to undergo mandatory, blind proficiency testing, and the results of this testing should be made public. Such testing would be an essential first step toward correcting inherent problems in the forensic science system. 289 footnotes