NCJ Number
211414
Journal
Forensic Magazine Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Dated: August/September 2005 Pages: 26-29
Date Published
August 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines why and where multiple law enforcement agencies are establishing partnerships that involve pooling their forensic lab resources and talents.
Abstract
Forensic agencies (city, county, State, and Federal) are working together to provide new lines of service, more research opportunities, and the development of new technology. In Los Angeles County (California), the city and county joined forces to build a multiple-use Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab for the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The State helped fund the project through a bond measure. In another example of collaboration, Louisiana State University's School of Medicine recently began sponsoring a Regional Forensic Crime Laboratory to be located in New Orleans. This new facility will replace the inadequate city morgue, offering forensic science and medicine, research capabilities, education and training, toxicology, occupational health, and pathology. The Federal Government helped develop a partnership in 2000 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the opening of a Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in San Diego, CA. This facility focuses on combating the escalation of computer-related crimes, as it acquires, archives, and analyzes digital evidence in support of computer-related criminal investigations. A single crime lab resourced by one jurisdiction to process the evidence in all cases coming before a single law enforcement agency is not possible given limitations in funding and the specialized expertise required to process all types of evidence. Partnerships in the provision of costly, quality, comprehensive, and specialized forensic lab services are becoming essential.