1. An Essential Component of Crime Scene Investigation

2. Why Were Crime Labs Created? With all of the new forensic techniques that were developed and used in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s it became obvious that a specialized team and central location was needed to analyze the evidence found at a crime scene.

3. A European Beginning First crime lab in the world: 1910 in Lyon, France Opened by Edmond Locard (“Sherlock Holmes of France”)

4. Earliest Labs in the United States First crime lab in the United States: 1923 in Los Angeles, California Opened by Vollmer (Police Chief) First private lab: 1929 in Chicago, Illinois Location – Northwestern University Opened by Goddard in response to St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

5. The First Federal Lab First Federal Lab: 1932 in Washington, D.C. Opened by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Goddard was a consultant Special Agent Charles Appel was the only employee with one borrowed microscope.

6. Federal Labs Today Today there are four major Federal Crime Labs that investigate evidence outside of local and state jurisdiction. 1. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) -operates under The Department of Justice and maintains the largest crime lab in the world. The lab analyzes any type of evidence.

7. Federal Labs Today (cont) 2. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) – operates under The Department of Justice. This lab analyzes drug evidence seized in federal investigations. 3. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosions (ATF&E) – operates under The Department of Justice. This agency enforces tax laws related to alcohol and tobacco and analyzes weapons and explosives evidence.

8. Federal Labs Today (cont) 4. The United States Postal Service – this lab analyzes any evidence relating to postal service.

9. Increase in the Number of Crime Labs Today there are approximately 370 public crime labs in the United States. Since 1966 the number of crime labs has tripled. There are 4 reasons for this unprecedented growth.

10. Increase in the Number of Crime Labs (cont) 1. Supreme Court decisions in the 1960’s mandated the advisement of Miranda Rights to any criminal suspect. This has virtually eliminated criminal confessions and created a need for secure, scientifically evaluated evidence for court. 2. The crime rate has increased significantly in the past 40+ years.

11. Increase in the Number of Crime Labs (cont) 3. All drug evidence has to be sent to a crime lab for confirmatory tests. 4. The discovery of DNA fingerprinting increased the testing of saliva, hair, semen and blood.

12. Organization of a Crime Lab Crime labs operate at the local, state and federal level and have a staff between 1 and 100 employees. The size and number of departments in a lab is based on allocated resources, local laws and organizational capabilities. A local lab that has limited resources may send evidence to the state or federal lab for analysis.

13. Full Service Crime Lab A full service crime lab will generally have the following divisions/units: Physical Science Unit Biology Unit Firearms Unit Document Examination Unit Photography Unit

14. The Process: What happens when the evidence arrives at the lab? GBI Lab Video

15. Analysis Percentage The most frequent evidence analysis for most crime labs is: Controlled Substances 46% Toxicology 18% Latent Prints 10% Crime Scene Processing 7% Firearms & Toolmarks 4% DNA 2%

16. So Many Labs: No Backlog Right??? Interestingly, as the number of crime labs has multiplied so has the backlog of evidence that needs analysis. There is not a uniform definition for backlog. However, most labs consider a case backlogged if the evidence is untested after 30 days (some as long as 90 days)

17. Reasons for Backlogs The three most common reasons for backlogs: 1. Lab is too small or does not have modern equipment 2. Too few employees 3. Lack of funds

18. Results of Backlog Innocent person sitting in jail (up to 6 months) Guilty person free and may continue to commit crimes Statute of limitations runs out before evidence is tested

19. Examples Negative: In Austin, Texas blood from a DUI case was untested for 200 days which is 6 times longer than 3 years ago. In North Carolina a blood test from a DUI/Vehicular Homicide case took 13 months. Positive : Louisiana has eliminated all backlog cases and is processing in real time. (July 2013) Georgia has reduced backlog cases by 55%. (July 2013)

20. A Crime Lab Budget The funds allotted to a crime lab ultimately determines how backlogged the cases become. The recent economic issues have strained the resources of many labs.