Download Crime Lab Services

Crime Lab Services
Federal
FBI
DEA
ATF
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Maintains the largest crime lab in the
world
DEA
Drug Enforcement
Administrative Laboratories
• (Department of Justice)
• Analysis of drugs seized in violation of
federal laws
ATF
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms
• (Department of Treasure)
• Analyzing alcoholic
beverages and documents
relating to tax law
enforcement as well as for
examining weapons,
explosive devices, and
related evidence
U.S. Postal
Inspection Service
• Criminal investigation related to the postal
service
State
• Maintain a crime laboratory to service state
and local law enforcement agencies that do
not have ready access to a laboratory
Local
The Crime Laboratory is housed
solely in the Lincoln facility, has a
staff of 24 and analyzes
approximately 4,000 cases per
year.
Nebraska State Patrol Crime
Laboratory is a full service
forensic laboratory.
Units of a
Crime Lab
The Crime Laboratory currently includes the
following analysis areas:
Drug Chemistry, Latent Fingerprints,
Biology/DNA, Trace Chemistry, Questioned
Documents, Toxicology, and Firearms and
Tool Marks
Physical Science
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Geology
Ex: drugs, glass, paint,
explosives, soil
Biology
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DNA/dried blood
Other body fluids (semen, stomach acids…)
Hair
Fibers
Plants/wood
Pathologist (studies cellular
changes/various aspects of disease)
Serologist (studies blood groups and other bodily
fluids)
Entomologist (studies insects and decomposition)
Anthropologist (studies bones to determine person’s
identity)
Odontologist (examines the patterns of bite marks,
makes casts of bite marks)
Firearms
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Firearms
Discharged bullets
Cartridge cases
Shotgun shells
Ammunition
Gun shot residues
Distances to target
Ballistics expert
(studies everything to
do with firearms)
Document Examination
• Handwriting validity
(not interpretation)
• Typing validity
• Analysis of
paper/ink
• Indented writing
Photography
• Photographs of
evidence/scenes
• Digital imagery
• Infrared (heat)
• Ultraviolet
• X-rays
• Prepares
photograph exhibits
for court
Toxicology
• Detection of poisons
or drugs
Latent Fingerprint
• Latent (invisible to the
naked eye)
• Collecting, processing
and examining
fingerprints
• Dactyloscopy (the study
of fingerprints)
Polygraph
• Lie detector
examination and
interpretation
Voiceprint Analysis
• Records and interprets sound which is
transformed from speech to visual displays
• Linguists (studies written and oral
communication to identify the speaker)
Evidence Collection
• Collects and preserves physical evidence
to be processed
Other Specialists
• Crime Scene Photographer – aka identification
officer or id technician
• Forensic Psychologist – develops
psychological profile of the criminal
• Forensic Artist – draws the likeness of the
person based solely on an eyewitness
description or aging a photograph
• Forensic Sculptor – reconstructs with modeling
clay the appearance of the face based from the
structure of the skull
• Forensic Engineer – concerned with failure
analysis, accident reconstruction and causes
and origins of fires or explosives