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In the News
Wisconsin
DOJ: No faulty forensic results by crime lab employees
"The state Department of Justice said
that an internal investigation into work done by six disciplined
state Crime Laboratory employees has found "no instances where
faulty forensic test results were presented in court against
criminal defendants.'"
Michigan
Missing crime lab funds probed
"Detroit officials launched an investigation into what happened
to $20 million that was allocated to build a new crime
laboratory."
California
District Attorney wins authority over crime lab
"Despite concerns of a potential conflict of interest, District
Attorney Tony Rackauckas has won partial authority over the
Orange County Crime lab in an attempt to settle a feud between
his office and the sheriff's."
Oregon
Measure 62 assigns lottery money for crime labs
"Supporters of Measure 62 call it "CSI Oregon," a way to
increase spending on the Oregon State Police crime lab by
carving out a chunk of lottery proceeds."
Arizona
Money trouble starting to hit Ariz. DPS
"The state's budget problems come at a bad time for law
enforcement because crime worsens during economic hard times and
local governments face new fees for using the DPS crime lab to
test evidence."
California
LA announces plan to reduce backlog of unexamined DNA evidence
...
"Officials
unveiled a plan to help the Los Angeles Police Department's
crime lab reduce its massive backlog of unexamined DNA evidence
from violent crimes but they acknowledged that the funding for
the proposal was less than certain."
California
LAPD flunks fingerprinting
"An
internal LAPD report raises urgent questions about the
persistence and extent of failures in the police crime lab's
Latent Print Unit."
Interesting Topics
Whose Side Are You On?
Is it appropriate for expert witnesses to switch sides in a
civil lawsuit? Unlike the lawyers in a case, no rule
expressly stops an expert from "hopping the fence." After all,
the expert's allegiance is to the truth, not to any one party,
right?
Source: IMS Expert Services
Sexually Assaulted Children: National
Estimates
"The seventh bulletin in the series, provides information on the
estimated number and characteristics of children who were
sexually assaulted in the United States in 1999."
Caretaker Satisfaction With LE Response to Missing Kids "The
eighth and final bulletin in the series, examines the
perceptions of primary caretakers who contacted police when
their children were abducted, ran away, were thrown away, or
missing."
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Letters to the Editors
The
following opinions are
personal observations and may not represent those of
Crime Lab Report nor the organizations with whom these
authors may be affiliated or employed. They are listed
in the order that they were received.
Crime Labs Under Police - Unresolved
Issues
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Georgine Scott-Codiga
Monterey
County Sheriff's Crime Lab, CA
Oct 16, 2008
This article is so very right
on the money. Finally someone who has articulated the
dilemma of credible forensics under the "politics" of police
work. I hope this article reaches the hearts and minds of
many of those sheriffs, police chiefs, and commanders who
have the ability to make things right. And to the one's who
already do, thank you ever so much. We forensic employees
truly appreciate all you've done.
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Hiram K. Evans, F-ABC, F-AAFS
Deputy Sheriff / Criminalist III
San Bernardino Co. Sheriff-Coroner's Department
Oct 16, 2008
“Crime labs under police –
unresolved issues” missed any discussion of the
alternatives. If not under the police, where? Under the
District Attorney’s Office? If the police can be described
as biased in favor of the prosecution, how would you
describe working, literally, for the prosecution? Which is
not to say that any lab operated by the DA’s office (as
several are here in California) are biased any more than a
lab operated by the police.
What about labs under the
courts? Perhaps the best alternative, but I don’t know of
any that are. Independent labs? Again, it sounds nice, but
good luck to the lab director who has to fight other legal,
judicial, transportation, and social services agencies for
his/her share of the pubic dollar.
No discussion of where not to locate labs can be
complete without a discussion of alternatives.
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Major Nancy Burkhart Kovel
Director, Bureau of Forensic Services
Pennsylvania State Police
Oct 16, 2008
As always, well
thought out, justified and articulated. Thanks for your
presentation on this issue. I will be glad to help my fellow
enlisted directors/managers whenever needed.
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Roger Koppl
Director, Inst. for Forensic Science Administration
Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ
Oct 28, 2008
Thank you for identifying several problems with operating
crime under the control of police agencies. You insightfully
note the difference between a proper scientific culture and
the command-and-control structure of police departments. I
am surprised, however, that you do not call for change based
on the points you make. "In the end," you conclude, such
problems "must be mitigated by ethics, professionalism,
education, and strong, conscientious leadership." In other
words, we have to rely upon the personal merit of police
leaders. The difficulty with this conclusion is that we have
no way to ensure strong conscientious leadership will always
be there.
Getting scientific crime labs out from under the unwholesome
influence of command-and-control police organizations will
reduce inappropriate influences coming from the police. Such
"independence" will not work miracles or eliminate all
inappropriate police influence, but it would help. Forensic
scientists should welcome such independence as conducive to
greater autonomy for forensic science.
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