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Laboratory operations

Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System

June 2010

Evidence backlogs have been known to be an issue in crime laboratories. A recent study published by NIJ has shown that backlogs of untested evidence are also an issue in law enforcement evidence storage. This panel will discuss the issues and present preliminary findings from a study of the Los Angeles Police Department's and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's experience with clearing out a large backlog of unanalyzed rape kits.

Transcript
Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System
Audio file
1 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Gerry LaPorte, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles , 3 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Kevin J. Strom, Senior Research Scientist, Crime, Violence, and Justice Research Program, RTI International , 4 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles , 5 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Dean M. Gialamas, Director, Scientific Services Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department , 6 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles , 7 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Jeffrey Nye, DNA Technical Leader, Forensic Science Division, Michigan State Police , 8 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles

Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories

May 2010

NIJ Conference Panel
 

Transcript
Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories
Off
Audio file
1 of 6: Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories, William A. Ford, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 6: Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories, Aaron Gorrell, President and CEO, Waterhole Software Inc. , 3 of 6: Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories, Michael O'Berry, Operations Manager, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, National Forensic Science Technology Center , 4 of 6: Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories, Kevin Kosiorek, Criminalist, Serology Section, Crime Laboratory Unit, Boston Police Department , 5 of 6: Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories, Jim Markey, Sergeant, Phoenix Police Department , 6 of 6: Forensic Information Data Exchange and the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Crime Laboratories, Aaron Gorrell, President and CEO, Waterhole Software Inc.

Forensic Laboratory Operations

In crime laboratories, scientists analyze evidence collected from ​crime scenes, suspects and victims. They may analyze anything from DNA or fingerprints to human remains or suspicious substances.

Due to the increasing reliance on scientific methodologies in criminal investigations, many laboratories have faced mounting workloads. NIJ has committed to helping crime laboratories...

Research and Evaluation in Publicly Funded Forensic Laboratories

The Research and Evaluation for the Testing and Interpretation of Physical Evidence in Publicly Funded Forensic Laboratories (Public Labs) program’s intent is to fund research and evaluation studies that produce practical knowledge that has potential to improve the examination and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes. Projects should take into consideration efficiency, accuracy, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of methods and technology that may need...