A TOUR OF THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY CRIME LAB HOME - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A “TOUR” OF THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY CRIME LAB

HOME OF YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD FORENSIC SCIENCE NERDS

What’s on tap for today?

CSI vs. Reality Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab Keys to Quality Evolution of the AZDPS Lab

VS

CSI

You get to analyze DNA, fibers, firearms, fingerprints and explosives all in a single day’s work.

AZ DPS

You get to be an expert in one or two of the following fields:

Controlled Substances DNA Database DNA / Serology Firearms Latent Prints Questioned Documents Trace Evidence Toxicology

You work in dark rooms, lit only with blue light where you get to use really cool scientific instruments that always give you the answers you are looking for.

CSI

You work in a well lit laboratory where you get to use high-tech instruments to produce unbiased scientific data.

AZ DPS

You carry a gun and interrogate suspects.

CSI

You get to be a scientist, not a detective.

AZ DPS

You drive around in a Hummer.

CSI

You drive around in a 2009 Toyota Yaris pool car.

AZ DPS

You get to wear very expensive designer clothing.

CSI

You get to wear a nice white lab coat with your name embroidered on it.

AZ DPS

You get a whole crime solved in less than 60 minutes, even with commercials.

CSI

You get to provide an important piece to the puzzle and help do what you can in a realistic time frame (which may be months)

AZ DPS

Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab

Four laboratories statewide

• Phoenix – Central Regional Crime Laboratory
• Tucson – Southern Regional Crime Laboratory
• Flagstaff – Northern Regional Crime Laboratory
• Lake Havasu City – Western Regional Crime Laboratory

One superintendent for entire lab system Individual managers at each laboratory

• One each at SRCL, NRCL, and WRCL
• Four at CRCL
• One Quality Assurance Manager for lab system at CRCL

CRCL DNA DNA Database Alcohol Toxicology Drug Toxicology Controlled Substances Latent Prints Firearms/Toolmarks Questioned Documents Trace Evidence Field Services Unit SRCL DNA Alcohol Toxicology Drug Toxicology Controlled Substances Latent Prints Firearms/Toolmarks Footwear NRCL DNA Alcohol Toxicology Drug Toxicology (Urine) Controlled Substances Latent Prints WRCL Alcohol Toxicology Controlled Substances Latent Prints

Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab

Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab

DNA

• Identify bodily fluids (serology)
• Associate a DNA profile to an item (DNA)
• Services include property crimes, sex assaults, violent crime, CODIS/knowns, familial and

Rapid

DNA Database

• Analyze convicted offender and arrestee samples for inclusion in the CODIS database

Alcohol Toxicology

• Analyze blood samples for alcohol content

Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab

Drug Toxicology

• Analyze bodily fluids (blood and urine) for the presence of drugs and their metabolites

Controlled Substances

• Analyze evidence for the presence of illegal drugs

Latent Prints

• Process evidence to develop and lift/photograph latent prints
• Compare developed prints to known prints and/or fingerprint databases

Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab

Firearms/Toolmarks

• Compare bullets and cartridge cases
• General rifling characteristics
• Distance determination
• Shooting reconstructions
• Toolmark analysis

Questioned Documents

• Handwriting comparisons
• Counterfeit documents
• Other analyses involving documents

Structure and Functions of the AZDPS Lab

Trace Evidence

• Analyze fire debris for ignitable liquids
• Analyze evidence to determine types of explosives

Footwear

• Analyze footwear impressions to determine details and, if possible, potential source

Field Services Unit

• Crime Scene Assistance and Photography
• Train officers, provide court support, and perform yearly maintenance on breath alcohol

devices

• More to come

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Firearms Lab Firing Range

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Firearms Comparison Microscope

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Latent Print Lab

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Latent Print Superglue Cabinet

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Photography

• f Evidence

Processed with Superglue and BY40

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Questioned Document Analysis of Euro

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Rapid DNA Room

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Property and Evidence Warehouse

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Toxicology Lab

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Toxicology Instrument Room

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

Controlled Substances Analysis

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

DNA Extraction Robot

A “Tour” of the Central Regional Lab

DNA Post-Amp Room

Keys to Quality

Evidence handling and chain of custody

• Evidence is tracked from the moment it comes into the lab until the moment it leaves

to go back to an agency or it is disposed

• Chain of custody is maintained electronically
• All transfers of evidence to individuals are recorded and digitally signed for
• Records are stored according to retention schedules

Keys to Quality

Quality assurance procedures

• Multiple levels of quality assurance
• Bureau level
• Unit level
• Procedure level
• Double reviews on all scientific reports
• Independent verifications of comparative conclusions in firearms and latent prints
• Controls and calibrators run with analytical runs
• Preliminary and confirmatory tests, where applicable
• Duplicate testing, where applicable
• Uncertainty of measurement where applicable

Keys to Quality

Accreditation

• Accreditation involves an audit by an outside agency that looks to determine two

main things

• Do you have documented procedures within your lab and do you follow them?
• Are those procedures considered appropriate by the forensic science community?
• Gives all parties in the criminal justice system confidence that the reports being

provided and the work being done by a lab are appropriate, valid, and acceptable per the relevant scientific community

• AZDPS Crime Lab was first accredited in 1982 (the second forensic lab accredited in

the country)

• Lab has continuously maintained accreditation since that time

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Backlog reduction and turnaround time improvements Laboratory Field Testing Rapid DNA Law Enforcement program Rapid DNA Booking Station Pilot Program Familial DNA Direct to DNA Field Services Unit Outreach

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Backlog reduction and turnaround time improvements

• In July 2015, the AZDPS Crime Lab had 6,639 cases backlogged (defined as cases
• lder than 30 days)
• As of mid-March 2018, that number has dropped to 2,297 cases, the lowest system

backlog in 11 years

• Many cases now have reports issued within 30 days
• Achieved through variety of ways
• Specialization of DNA units to handle specific workflows
• Threshold processing
• Workflow changes utilizing lab techs
• Movement of cases throughout system
• Focus on productivity metrics

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Laboratory Field Testing

• Modified version of field testing performed within the laboratory
• Allows analysis of most controlled substances cases within a week
• Provides ability to charge and plea on cases in a timely fashion
• Reduces associated backlogs in other units, such as latents
• Option for additional work if going to court
• Dropped the controlled substances backlog for the DPS lab system from 2277 cases in

August 2017 to 497 cases in March 2018

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Rapid DNA Law Enforcement program

• Officers statewide trained as operators on Rapid DNA instruments
• Allows analysis of single source DNA samples in less than two hours to develop

investigative leads

• Utilized in over 400 cases since launch of program in April 2014
• Helped to develop investigative leads in over 140 cases
• All cases verified by the laboratory prior to trial

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Examples of investigations aided by Rapid DNA

Officer involved shooting – Central Phoenix

• Match to one of five suspects in case through blood

Bank robbery – Southern AZ

• Match through swab of sunglasses

Child molestation – East Valley

• Match to family friend through semen

ID of body found in desert – West Valley

• Aided investigation for two agencies with one test

Breaking and entering sex assault – West Valley

• Suspect identified within 6 hours of incident through semen

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Rapid DNA Booking Station Pilot Program

• Five states partnering with the FBI
• Goal of testing use of Rapid DNA instrumentation at booking stations
• Suspect arrested
• DNA taken and run through instrument on site at booking station
• Results uploaded to special CODIS database within two hours
• May eventually lead to quicker identification of suspects and DNA from unsolved

cases

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Familial DNA program

• Launched in November 2017
• Deliberate search of Arizona convicted offender and arrestee profiles for potential

close biological relatives of an unknown profile

• Case must meet specific criteria and have a formal request from the chief of the

police agency to the director of AZDPS

• Labor-intensive and expensive
• Analysis started in January 2018
• 13 cases completed so far with 1 familial hit, 2 latent hits, 1 familial lead, 9 negative

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Familial Hit

Allison Feldman

• Found strangled and beaten in her home in Scottsdale in February of 2015
• DNA profile for an unknown male offender found at the scene on a broken beer

bottle, bloody couch, and laundry room doorknob

• No hits in CODIS to unknown profile
• AZDPS familial DNA analysis found an apparent close male relative of the unknown

profile

• Inmate in AZDOC
• Scottsdale PD located a brother of the inmate and compared DNA from a blood

sample in evidence from a DUI to the unknown profile

• DNA was a match

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Direct to DNA

• Has replaced quick screening in sex assault cases for the most part
• Sends up to three samples in all sex assault kits straight to DNA
• Focuses on getting full DNA results out more quickly on most probative samples

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Field Services Unit

• Unit currently under creation
• Incorporates multiple functions that assist investigations outside of the crime lab
• Crime scene photography and processing
• Assist sworn in proper selection of evidence for future lab processing
• Breath alcohol training, repairs, and support
• Front end triaging of cases

Evolution of the DPS Crime Lab

Community Outreach

• Provides community outreach to citizens throughout the state of Arizona
• Formally offered system-wide since 2009
• Over 350 community outreach activities provided reaching more than 12000 people

Professional Outreach

• Provides training for our law enforcement and judicial partners
• Intoxilyzer and field drug test trainings statewide
• Conferences for various groups like AAPAC and AHIA (and ACRA!)
• Arizona Forensic Science Academy

Any Questions?