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Austin Police Department’s Forensic Unit
By,
Jamie K White
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The “Elevated Prairie” artwork in front of the unit
designed by R. Murray Legge, Andrea Legge, and Deborah Eve
Lewis. Additional pictures and design information is
available at:
http://www.andrealegge.com/freelancedesign/aldesignwebpdfs/
booksmaquettes/Elevated%20Prairie%20pitch.pdf.
The road to a career within the forensic sciences is a
long and tedious one. Plans have to be mapped out far in
advance to determine which area of forensics one would be
interested in focusing on and, which level of college
education will be required? “Forensic Science is a broad
term that embraces all of the scientific disciplines that
are utilized in investigations within the goal of bringing
criminals to justice,” (Nickell 1999:1). Every lab
utilizes the scientific method to come to their conclusion
about the evidence provided, but each examiner’s scientific
background is unique.
Within the Austin Police Department’s Forensics unit,
a bachelor’s degree is required for most positions.
However, if you would like to move up the ladder, a
master’s degree will be required. Due to the legality of
dealing with crime scene evidence, interns are unable to
process evidence. However, this does not stop the intern
from learning about the case and the procedures behind how
evidence is processed. Members of the firearms lab do
exceptionally well with the details they can release
regarding the evidence that they have received. Examples
are: was it related to an accidental shooting, homicide, or
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ballistics that were found or confiscated by an officer?
All weapons and projectiles (ammunition, etc.) that are
brought in by an APD officer make it to the firearms lab to
be processed. Sometimes the evidence is just test fired
and logged, and other evidence requires more detailed
handling and paperwork.
I chose the forensic unit within the Austin Police
Department for my internship. They are a diverse
organization with many labs working together to achieve a
common goal. I have had the privilege of being able to
shadow or work with someone in every lab. DNA analysis
requires extensive knowledge in microbiology, molecular
biology, chemistry, and other natural sciences. None of
which I have experience in, however, they allowed me to
witness the swabbing of a revolver for DNA evidence. The
remaining steps that are required to process those swabs
requires 100% of the technicians attention and therefore
individuals are not authorized to shadow the technician
during those steps. The individuals working within the DNA
lab all wear medical scrubs; the individuals in every other
lab are wearing jeans or slacks and a nice shirt. A
uniform is required for personnel within property crimes or
the crime scene unit. Closed toed shoes are required
throughout the labs. Dress code may be similar throughout
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the labs, but conversations and personalities are very
different between the labs. For example, the latent prints
lab is filled with older veterans of the field that are
more laid back than the kids over in the chemistry lab.
Most of the chemistry lab is under the age of 30, they are
all well versed in chemistry and the chemical breakdowns of
most of the popular illegal drugs on the streets.
Discussions in the latent prints office are predominantly
more serious than those heard within the chemistry lab.
Within the break room, minimum conversation is heard
between labs, unless it is new regulations or court cases
that concern multiple labs. The chemistry and the firearms
lab personnel seem to get together more often than any
other combination of labs.
During my internship I realized that there were a lot
of differences between Austin’s crime lab and crime labs
that you see on television. This misconception has been
written about since the days of Perry Mason. Although, it
is not always agreed upon whether it causes issues within
the court of law. The effects of the realistic looking
television shows are there and the expectations that go
with.
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Automated Fingerprint Identification System, AFIS
CSI Style
CSI Effect
According to “The CSI Effect”: Exposing the Media Myth
by Dr Kimberlianne Podlas the effect is fictional. The
media wants the public to believe that this effect is
steering verdicts toward guilty or not guilty based on the
unrealistic expectations of the jurors. The “CSI Effect”
is the side effect of the popularity of shows on
television, such as CSI, Forensic Files, NCIS and other
similar shows that refer to the capabilities of crime labs
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across the United States. The shows provide very
unrealistic expectations for very real situations. In
television, a homicide can be solved in forty minutes.
When in actuality, it can take weeks, even months, to prove
or solve. When picking through a pool of jurors, these
unrealistic expectations pose problems for both sides of
the case. Below I have displayed five examples of the
unrealistic examples that these television shows have
provided to the public.
Fiction Fact Gun Shot Residue (GSR) can be detected by an instant chemical test performed in the field by the crime scene technician.
Swabs are taken from potential suspects and passed on to the DPS crime lab for further investigation. GSR does not determine who fired the weapon. It spatters and is not consistent between weapon types and each discharge of the same weapon.
DNA results come instantly through a quick and easy process
The process of acquiring DNA takes at least two weeks.
Crime Labs are all above ground with large windows and all of the latest technology within their grasp to process the evidence
Most crime labs are within the basement floor of the police department’s headquarters. Austin has gained its own facility through grant money. Technology is acquired slowly through additional grant funding and is not always the latest available, but simplifies some of the processes.
National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, NIBIN and Automated Fingerprint Identification
Must be nice…the systems are actually black and white. The user has the joy of scrolling through every
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System, AFIS have bright multi-colored screens and alert the user to an exact match within the system
candidate and determining if there is a match among the candidates that the system found. The answer is typically not and sometimes the candidates do not even come close to what was inputted into the system. With NIBIN it at least only displays candidates within the same caliber of ammunition.
Blood continues to ooze out of the victim long after death.
1) Blood clots within minutes of leaving the body.
2) When an individual dies, their heart stops beating, therefore it stops circulating blood through the system. If blood is not circulating it clots.
3) Clotted blood does not move from the body or anywhere on the surface beneath the body.
Dr. Lyle, author of “Forensics for Dummies”, has several
other detailed examples of how “Hollywood gets it wrong,”
(Lyle 2004:323-328). His entire book lays out details on
various forensic analyses without getting overly detailed
for the non-scientific reader.
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APD Units
The Austin Police Department’s forensics unit is
divided into several units within the Central East
Substation. Property, Crime Scene, Latent Prints, and the
Evidence control room make up the bulk of the first floor
within the forensics half of the building. The second
floor hallway contains the DNA, Toxicology, Firearms, and
Chemistry labs and their office space, which is located
across the hall from their lab. DNA and chemistry will
type up their reports in the office space to remove
themselves from the restrictive nature of the lab. The
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Firearms examiners complete all of their paperwork within
their lab and are rarely in their office space.
The unit, as a whole, is a small-specialized society
that depends on each individual’s specialty to survive.
Each individual lab has specific protocols for what
evidence they will receive and how it will be processed.
For example, the chemistry lab will receive all drugs and
any other unknown compound to process. Whereas, the
firearms lab receives all of the knives, guns, and any
other weapons that are brought into the lab for processing.
Latent print examiners will receive cards of prints that
have been taken off of evidence that was brought in or
prints taken at the scene by either Property Crimes (PC)
technicians or Crime Scene Unit (CSU) technicians. Each
unit plays a specific role within the entire lab and they
have to be aware of the roles of the other units to make
sure that each unit receives the correct evidence to
process in order to adequately prosecute the guilty party.
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The chemistry lab has protocols that lead the chemists
down the proper path for processing of any unknown
compound. They begin with a spot test to eliminate what
the solution is not and to guide them toward other tests to
confirm the actual chemical composition of the solution.
Narcotic officers tend to run this initial spot test in the
field as well to determine if the mixture is worth sending
on to the chemistry lab for further investigation. A test
that the chemistry technicians have the option to run
involves ultra-violet light. Techs liquefy the unknown
solution, if it is not already, and based on the amount of
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light that does not get absorbed aids in the determination
of what the solution is made of. The mass spectrometer is
able to define each individual component within the
solution. This machine assists the chemist in finding
signature combinations of drugs.
The Toxicology unit processes the blood alcohol
samples and calibrates the intoxilizers (breathalyzer) for
the mobile unit as well as for the Travis county jail. The
blood alcohol machine is stored within the chemistry lab.
Every Monday, if blood was drawn during the last Thursday
to Sunday run by the mobile enforcement unit, blood vials
are brought into the lab for processing. The intoxilizer
determines the alcohol level based on the gases that are
produced by the alcohol in the individual’s system; it is
also brought in every Monday to be recalibrated. The
toxicologist will process the blood as well as create
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reports for the District Attorney’s office that shows based
on the height, weight, and gender of the individual how
much alcohol would they have to consume to get the readings
that were acquired after the individual was apprehended.
The latent print examiners work closely with the Crime
Scene Unit, CSU, and the Property Crimes Unit, PCU, to
process prints that were gathered at the scene or on
evidence that was brought back to the lab. The nature of
the crime that was committed determines which database
(local, state, or federal) the print will be processed
through for a possible match (hit). Murder grants entrance
into all 3 databases automatically. If a match is found
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within AFIS and the suspect is in custody the examiner is
able to compare the inked prints that were taken at the
time of processing with all of the latents from the scene.
If more information is needed major crime prints can be
acquired. These prints involve all friction areas of the
skin on the hand, which include the palm and the entire
finger.
The Firearms lab, also known as Ballistics, handles
all weapons that are brought into the Austin Police
Department. Within the lab, the examiners will inspect the
condition of all weapons that are brought into the
department. Any further inspection is at the District
Attorney’s discretion and will be processed accordingly.
Part of the inspection of the weapon includes test firing
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it to make sure it functions. The weapon is loaded with
ammunition from the labs reference collection and then
fired into the water tank within the range. The
projectiles are then inspected for signature rifling marks
from within the barrel. The cartridge case will also have
marks from the firing pin and could have marks from the
ejector and the extractor on its breech face (depending on
the type of weapon that fired the ammunition). These marks
can all be signatures from the weapon that fired the
projectile. The examiners will also process other weapons
and the marks that they make to hopefully match the weapon
with the evidence provided from the scene.
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The DNA lab typically receives the evidence first when
it reaches the unit from the field. This provides assurity
that evidence is not tampered with or damaged in any way.
When the serology technician receives the evidence they do
what they can to swab it for DNA information, while leaving
smooth areas where fingerprints could possibly be lifted
alone. The entire process can take a minimum of two weeks.
This is only if the technician is able to work on the one
case and ignore all others. Processing DNA requires 5
steps. All steps require 100% attention from the
technician. They have to extract the DNA from the sample,
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amplify the sample of DNA to make sure that there is enough
information for additional steps. They then have to
separate the fragment (double strand – single strand),
transfer the fragments to a nylon membrane and then finally
tag the information within the DNA strands to input into
CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) for a possible match.
Each unit has to bring their individual pieces to the
table to complete the entire puzzle. Depending on the case
that is presented, if one piece of the unit fails to follow
their protocols and process the evidence thoroughly, the
entire case could fail.
Regional Lab
During this latest budget crunch, the Austin Police
Department’s forensic lab director decided to start
investigating other fee for service labs across the country
for a project he is working on. The project is for a class
that he is taking at Texas State for management. He wanted
to know why these labs were created and what was their
affect on the community in which they serviced? Would it
be feasible for Austin’s crime lab to head in this
direction? The answers are not the same for every lab in
every community, but could it be a positive outcome for
Austin if this type of lab would be created for the area?
What type of fee schedule would have to be created in order
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to have the best possible outcome for the community and the
lab itself?
The economic structure of the past decade has caused
everyone to tighten their wallets. This includes all
government agencies including the local crime labs.
Forensic labs across the country are beginning to charge
fees for the services that they have always provided to
their communities free of charge. These fees are allowing
some labs to maintain and/or add on personnel to prevent
further backlog in cases. Fees vary anywhere from flat
fees of $50 - $100 per case or $45 for a simple blood
alcohol analysis kit to $325 per DNA specimen. In many
communities local agencies are now able to price shop
between private labs and the local government lab. Texas
labs are required to be fully accredited by The American
Society of Crime Laboratory Directors in order for the
evidence they process to be able to be used in court.
Therefore, there are not any private sector labs within the
state. Bexar County’s crime lab even charges for the time
the technician has to spend in court testifying for the
evidence they processed. For example, they charge $110 per
hour for a firearms examiner's testimony. Each lab has its
own fee schedule and has to determine the best manner in
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which to charge their customers so that it will be most
beneficial for everyone involved.
Charging fees for the services provided is not always
the answer to the problem, it could even make matters
worse. Mississippi began charging the local agencies that
they serviced, but were so backlogged with DNA evidence
that it took 6 plus months to process anything. So, the
local agencies decided to pay more to have the evidence
processed more rapidly. When the state’s lab caught up and
swore there would be no issue of backlog the local agencies
continued to use the private labs because they maintained
the turn around time that was needed to manage the cases.
Now, there is the argument of the inadequate use of tax
dollars. It is a sticky situation.
To meet the demands of the budget, lab directors could
fire several technicians so that they would not have to
charge for services. However, then there are the
possibilities that the lab will get backlogged again
because it no longer has the staff to handle the demands of
the local agencies. Most labs consider a case to be
backlogged if it is more than 30 – 60 days old. Labs are
hoping that by imposing fees they will be able to maintain
personnel and/or add on additional to assist with the
increased workload. Labs will have to make adjustments to
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their fee schedules annually to attempt to find the best
fit to the economy of the local market. At this moment due
to the budget crisis Austin’s forensic lab is unable to
replace personnel that leave. City officials have deemed
that the forensic unit is not a critical unit, therefore it
has enough of a budget to maintain only what is necessary
and every purchase is done under a magnifying glass to
determine how critical is that specific item to the unit.
This debate is becoming an issue here in Austin to
attempt to help DPS with their backlog of cases. The
future holds the answer and only time will tell. However,
a survey is going to be sent out to the agencies in the
area within the next month to test the feasibility of a
regional lab. All local agencies have been contacted and
said that they would participate in the survey; however, we
will have to see how many truly do and how they answer the
questions.
Mock Trial
Individuals within each unit are required to testify
in court at some point in time during their career.
Therefore, built into the ten week training course for the
Crime Scene Unit and the Property Crimes Unit is a mock
trial. During my internship I had the ability to witness
one of these trials. Becoming a Property Crimes (PC)
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Technician does not require a lot of previous experience.
All that is needed is a clean background and a bachelor’s
degree. The degree can be in anything from criminal
justice to psychology. The training to become a PC tech
comes to an end with the mock trial, providing the trainee
with an example of what they will go through on the stand
of a real trial. During their training, the technicians
are introduced to the new culture of the forensics unit.
They are provided with both classroom and field training to
learn their new skills and the protocols associated with
them. They learn how to arrive at a scene and then how to
photograph and process the scene. Evidence is to be
collected, organized, and processed in a clear and concise
manner. While processing the scene the technicians attempt
to acquire latent prints. Latent prints (typically finger)
are prints that are accidentally left behind and they
require some form of development.
As the training comes to a close the students have
written and practical testing to show off their newly
acquired skills. During their practical exams they are
given a mock crime scene to process. After processing the
scene, they have to put together all of the evidence and
then testify in court during their mock trial. The head of
the Property Crimes Unit (PCU) acquires other unit heads or
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senior level examiners from various units to assist in the
trial. He chooses individuals to serve as the judge,
defense, and prosecution for the trial. The students are
informed that this should be their toughest trial since the
defense attorney is harder on them than he legally can be
during a real court session.
Ten weeks of training now comes to a close as the
individual fights to stand their ground in front of a jury
of their peers. The jury consists of individuals from the
chemistry lab, firearms lab, and latent prints to name a
few who were invited to attend and critique the newest
members of the team. At the end of the trial the jury and
other members in the room critiques the PC technician’s
performance. Upon graduation the next day, the PC
technician is now officially acclimated and welcomed to the
new culture of the forensics unit. There is obviously
still a learning curve that was not fully achieved during
the ten weeks of training, but can and should be achieved
through experience over time in the field.
Applying for the internship position within Austin’s
Police department was done so with uncertain expectations.
I have attempted several jobs within my lifetime and have
yet to find something that suited me. I enjoy a good
challenge of having to put together the puzzle to see the
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big picture. There are not many career choices out there
that offer this. I have found this type of challenge
inside every lab within the forensics unit. Whether it was
finding unique identifying features within a fingerprint or
on a projectile or determining the components of a chemical
compound. Each lab has its own unique puzzle and the keys
to hopefully solve their piece. I was hoping to be able to
become a part of this inter-locking team permanently before
my internship was up, but thanks to the looming economy and
many budget shortfalls, there has been a hiring freeze for
every department of the city. I enjoyed working with the
entire team and learning something new from within every
lab.
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References
Lyle, Douglas P. 2004. Forensics For Dummies. Wiley Publishing Inc: Hoboken, NJ. Nickell, Joe and Fischer, John F. 1999. Crime Scene Methods of Forensic Detection. The University Press of Kentucky: Lexington, KY. Podlas, Kimberlianne 2006. “The CSI Effect”: Exposing the Media Myth.” Retrieved April 28, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=246022
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