By R. Johnson
Crime labs have received a surge of attention as a result of the enormous popularity of television shows like CSI and Forensic Files among countless others. Even though these shows have brought attention to an aspect of criminal investigation that was previously overlooked, these same shows are the source of the public’s misperception about what a criminal laboratory actually is and how it functions.
The terms ‘crime labs’ and ‘forensics’ are often used interchangeably and are essentially the same thing, with the added component of applying the law to the science. In Missouri there are nine crime labs; two are located in the St. Louis area. In downtown St. Louis, there is a crime lab that serves the City. The other lab is in Clayton, and sustains the County and 60 other local municipalities. Lt. Stephen Hobbs, a thirty-one year veteran of the police force, is the Commander of the St. Louis City Crime Lab, and Lt. R. Kevin Lawson, a twenty-five year police veteran, is the Commander of the St. Louis County Crime Lab.
Lt. Hobbs and Lt. Lawson oversee crime lab divisions that process 10,000 or more types of evidence per year in each facility including submissions received from federal agencies (FBI, DEA, ATF). In part such high volume is due to the audience appeal of criminal investigation type shows that have highlighted the abilities of a crime lab. As a result the lab continues to receive more and more requests for analysis. Television depictions of a crime lab’s capabilities are mostly accurate. What is inaccurate is the ease with which everything is accomplished. Television shows have 50-minutes to solve a crime under the most ideal of circumstances. In actuality, the crime lab does not work quite so perfectly and every crime does not get solved. Lt. Lawson says he would like to see an episode where things don’t work just right, or where something needs to be re-checked. For example, these television programs never show the lab backed up, they never show the reports and other paper work that must be done, or budget restraints. St. Louis City and County both have excellent labs, but neither Hobbs nor Lawson has ever seen a lab as well equipped as the ones portrayed on television.
When a crime is called in, a district officer initially responds and secures the area. Crime scene investigators (CSI), from the Crime Scene Unit (County) or the Evidence Technician Unit (City), are then called to the scene. Investigators assess the scene, collect the physical evidence (blood samples, fingerprints, substances, etc.) and photograph the scene. Investigators return the seized evidence to the crime lab where it is sealed with tamper proof tape and prepared for analysis.
Inside the crime lab there are photo, chemistry, biology, firearm and tool-mark sections.
Personnel who work in the various sections are referred to as criminalists, technicians, and/or examiners. The photo section analyzes photographs; the chemistry section analyzes drugs and other substances; the biology section handles the analysis of DNA (and other bodily fluids); the firearms section deal with ballistics; and the tool-mark section analyzes imprints (i.e. tire treads and footwear).
At the City lab all evidence is tracked by the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), which monitors the evidence by bar codes. LIMS notes who brought the evidence in, the time and date it was brought in, and who packaged it. LIMS also tracks what examiner performed the analysis, and where it was performed. Administrators check several times daily for the results. Once the analysis is complete and the reports are written, the results are forwarded to the investigating officer and, ultimately, to the circuit attorney’s office who then determines whether to issue or refuse a warrant. If a warrant is issued the evidence becomes part of the case and the examiner who analyzed the evidence may be called to testify.
The biggest challenge investigators face in collecting crime scene evidence is contamination from other people. The first priority - if there is an injured victim - is to get the victim medical treatment. However, that maybe difficult to carry out without disturbing the scene. Others at the scene, non-injured victims, residents, etc, may contaminate the scene by touching surfaces that could be dusted for fingerprints.
Once evidence has been analyzed, it is stored. DNA evidence is frozen in temperature controlled storage units, firearms are stored in a vault and other non-perishable items are taken to property custody until the court gives authorization for it to be destroyed and the prosecutor and police investigators say it is no longer needed. In the case of bodily fluids, technicians attempt to not use the entire sample for analysis so that defense attorneys can have an independent analysis performed if they exercise their right to challenge the results. Furthermore, in light of post conviction release issues, DNA evidence is likely to be kept indefinitely.
The popularity of criminal investigation shows has also skewed the expectations of some attorneys and judges for an unrealistic quick turnaround. Such things don’t happen instantly. Processing and analyzing evidence takes a considerable amount of time. Unlike the turnaround on an hour-long television show which is instantaneous. DNA analysis is state of the art technology and even though it is an important mechanism used to identify suspects, it is very costly, utilizes the most resources, and is very time consuming. In the City, DNA processing takes about 8 weeks. In the County, with staff limitations, plus the fact that the County crime lab is also responsible for processing evidence collected from 60 other area municipalities, it can take up to a year to analyze DNA. Marijuana, followed by heroine and crack cocaine are the easiest and least costly to classify. Drugs account for 70% - 80% of all crime lab analysis. Each case that comes into the lab is treated equally unless there is an urgent situation. Priority in the lab is given in conjunction with the rest of the police department. For instance evidence of a serial criminal (i.e. rapist, murderer, burglar) is a type of case that would be prioritized.
New interest has spurred many requests from teachers and other groups for tours of the lab. Unfortunately tours of the crime lab are not permitted. The crime lab caseload is so heavy that, it is not prudent to have criminalists stop working to give tours. More importantly, according to Lt. Hobbs, is the integrity of the lab. In order to prevent contamination of evidence and keep a pristine environment, no one other than essential personnel is permitted to enter the crime lab.
Television shows have also generated much professional interest. Ten years ago most people had no idea of the employment possibilities within the crime lab. Lt. Lawson appreciates what these shows have done to create career interest among high school and college students considering their future careers. In pursuit of further education, students are now considering becoming criminalists as an option and schools have started to offer special classes in forensics to cater to this need.
Crime scene investigators are commissioned police officers that have served in the police department at least three years, while crime lab examiners and technicians are civilian scientists. To work in the crime lab a degree in one of the physical sciences – biology, chemistry, etc. is required. In St. Louis City to analyze DNA one must have a degree in molecular biology.
The crime lab in St. Louis is one of only two crime labs in the state that have received accreditation by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD). To become certified, crime labs must adhere to strict standards developed by ASCLD and are subject to thorough internal and external audits to ensure the quality and reliability of crime labs. To keep accreditation, crime labs are re-inspected every five years. The county crime lab is on board to become certified in 2004.
Both Lt. Hobbs and Lt. Lawson feel the job of crime lab technicians is to work for the citizens of the community. Lt. Hobbs says his scientists find it just as important to prove someone’s guilt as to prove one’s innocence. As stated by Lt. Lawson, the work done in the crime lab is for the benefit of society as a whole, the victim’s family, and the victim. Most importantly, the goal of the crime lab is to search for the truth.
Crime labs have received a surge of attention as a result of the enormous popularity of television shows like CSI and Forensic Files among countless others. Even though these shows have brought attention to an aspect of criminal investigation that was previously overlooked, these same shows are the source of the public’s misperception about what a criminal laboratory actually is and how it functions.
The terms ‘crime labs’ and ‘forensics’ are often used interchangeably and are essentially the same thing, with the added component of applying the law to the science. In Missouri there are nine crime labs; two are located in the St. Louis area. In downtown St. Louis, there is a crime lab that serves the City. The other lab is in Clayton, and sustains the County and 60 other local municipalities. Lt. Stephen Hobbs, a thirty-one year veteran of the police force, is the Commander of the St. Louis City Crime Lab, and Lt. R. Kevin Lawson, a twenty-five year police veteran, is the Commander of the St. Louis County Crime Lab.
Lt. Hobbs and Lt. Lawson oversee crime lab divisions that process 10,000 or more types of evidence per year in each facility including submissions received from federal agencies (FBI, DEA, ATF). In part such high volume is due to the audience appeal of criminal investigation type shows that have highlighted the abilities of a crime lab. As a result the lab continues to receive more and more requests for analysis. Television depictions of a crime lab’s capabilities are mostly accurate. What is inaccurate is the ease with which everything is accomplished. Television shows have 50-minutes to solve a crime under the most ideal of circumstances. In actuality, the crime lab does not work quite so perfectly and every crime does not get solved. Lt. Lawson says he would like to see an episode where things don’t work just right, or where something needs to be re-checked. For example, these television programs never show the lab backed up, they never show the reports and other paper work that must be done, or budget restraints. St. Louis City and County both have excellent labs, but neither Hobbs nor Lawson has ever seen a lab as well equipped as the ones portrayed on television.
When a crime is called in, a district officer initially responds and secures the area. Crime scene investigators (CSI), from the Crime Scene Unit (County) or the Evidence Technician Unit (City), are then called to the scene. Investigators assess the scene, collect the physical evidence (blood samples, fingerprints, substances, etc.) and photograph the scene. Investigators return the seized evidence to the crime lab where it is sealed with tamper proof tape and prepared for analysis.
Inside the crime lab there are photo, chemistry, biology, firearm and tool-mark sections.
Personnel who work in the various sections are referred to as criminalists, technicians, and/or examiners. The photo section analyzes photographs; the chemistry section analyzes drugs and other substances; the biology section handles the analysis of DNA (and other bodily fluids); the firearms section deal with ballistics; and the tool-mark section analyzes imprints (i.e. tire treads and footwear).
At the City lab all evidence is tracked by the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), which monitors the evidence by bar codes. LIMS notes who brought the evidence in, the time and date it was brought in, and who packaged it. LIMS also tracks what examiner performed the analysis, and where it was performed. Administrators check several times daily for the results. Once the analysis is complete and the reports are written, the results are forwarded to the investigating officer and, ultimately, to the circuit attorney’s office who then determines whether to issue or refuse a warrant. If a warrant is issued the evidence becomes part of the case and the examiner who analyzed the evidence may be called to testify.
The biggest challenge investigators face in collecting crime scene evidence is contamination from other people. The first priority - if there is an injured victim - is to get the victim medical treatment. However, that maybe difficult to carry out without disturbing the scene. Others at the scene, non-injured victims, residents, etc, may contaminate the scene by touching surfaces that could be dusted for fingerprints.
Once evidence has been analyzed, it is stored. DNA evidence is frozen in temperature controlled storage units, firearms are stored in a vault and other non-perishable items are taken to property custody until the court gives authorization for it to be destroyed and the prosecutor and police investigators say it is no longer needed. In the case of bodily fluids, technicians attempt to not use the entire sample for analysis so that defense attorneys can have an independent analysis performed if they exercise their right to challenge the results. Furthermore, in light of post conviction release issues, DNA evidence is likely to be kept indefinitely.
The popularity of criminal investigation shows has also skewed the expectations of some attorneys and judges for an unrealistic quick turnaround. Such things don’t happen instantly. Processing and analyzing evidence takes a considerable amount of time. Unlike the turnaround on an hour-long television show which is instantaneous. DNA analysis is state of the art technology and even though it is an important mechanism used to identify suspects, it is very costly, utilizes the most resources, and is very time consuming. In the City, DNA processing takes about 8 weeks. In the County, with staff limitations, plus the fact that the County crime lab is also responsible for processing evidence collected from 60 other area municipalities, it can take up to a year to analyze DNA. Marijuana, followed by heroine and crack cocaine are the easiest and least costly to classify. Drugs account for 70% - 80% of all crime lab analysis. Each case that comes into the lab is treated equally unless there is an urgent situation. Priority in the lab is given in conjunction with the rest of the police department. For instance evidence of a serial criminal (i.e. rapist, murderer, burglar) is a type of case that would be prioritized.
New interest has spurred many requests from teachers and other groups for tours of the lab. Unfortunately tours of the crime lab are not permitted. The crime lab caseload is so heavy that, it is not prudent to have criminalists stop working to give tours. More importantly, according to Lt. Hobbs, is the integrity of the lab. In order to prevent contamination of evidence and keep a pristine environment, no one other than essential personnel is permitted to enter the crime lab.
Television shows have also generated much professional interest. Ten years ago most people had no idea of the employment possibilities within the crime lab. Lt. Lawson appreciates what these shows have done to create career interest among high school and college students considering their future careers. In pursuit of further education, students are now considering becoming criminalists as an option and schools have started to offer special classes in forensics to cater to this need.
Crime scene investigators are commissioned police officers that have served in the police department at least three years, while crime lab examiners and technicians are civilian scientists. To work in the crime lab a degree in one of the physical sciences – biology, chemistry, etc. is required. In St. Louis City to analyze DNA one must have a degree in molecular biology.
The crime lab in St. Louis is one of only two crime labs in the state that have received accreditation by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD). To become certified, crime labs must adhere to strict standards developed by ASCLD and are subject to thorough internal and external audits to ensure the quality and reliability of crime labs. To keep accreditation, crime labs are re-inspected every five years. The county crime lab is on board to become certified in 2004.
Both Lt. Hobbs and Lt. Lawson feel the job of crime lab technicians is to work for the citizens of the community. Lt. Hobbs says his scientists find it just as important to prove someone’s guilt as to prove one’s innocence. As stated by Lt. Lawson, the work done in the crime lab is for the benefit of society as a whole, the victim’s family, and the victim. Most importantly, the goal of the crime lab is to search for the truth.
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Very nice job Rolanda! Excellent and easy read. Keep up the good work!!! Lena
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