Download The Organization of a Crime Lab

The Organization of a Crime
Lab
What is the name of the system
operating in Alabama?
Affiliations
•
•
•
•
Police Department
District Attorney’s Office
Medical Examiner or Coroner
Universities
Why has there been such an increase in the
number of labs in the last 40 years?
• Supreme court decisions in the 1960’s placed a
greater emphasis on securing scientifically
evaluated evidence. (Confessions are no longer
a routine investigating tool.)
• Increasing crime rate (However, except for drug
cases, only a small percentage of police
investigations require scientific investigation of
evidence.)
• Uncontrollable drug use – each case requires
confirmatory analysis
• Advent of DNA Profiling
Major Federal Crime Labs
• FBI (Department of Justice)
• Drug Enforcement Administration
Laboratories- regulate the production, sale
and transportation of drugs
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Crime Lab Services
• Full-Service Labs
Physical Science Unit –analysis of drugs,
soil, trace evidence
.
Biology Unit- DNA profiling,
comparison of hair and
fibers and botanical
materials.
Full-Service Lab
• Firearms Unit-examination of firearms,
ammunition, tools
• Document Examination Unit
• Photography Unit
Optional Services: Toxicology (body fluids and
organs examined for traces of drugs and/or
poison), Latent Fingerprint, Polygraph,
Voiceprint Analysis Unit, Evidence Collection
Unit