THE CRIME LAB MINUTE
November 12, 2007
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Announcement
West Virginia University is offering a one week training program to be held in San Diego, CA. Tuition, lodging, airfare and some meals are covered by a grant from the National Institute of Justice. The deadline to enroll is November 30, 2007.
The Research Triangle Institute has recently received a grant to develop and deliver on-line continuing education programs to the forensic community. ASCLD/LAB recognizes the potential value that this opportunity offers to crime laboratories and is assisting RTI in the delivery of a survey on the continuing education needs of crime laboratories.
Please take a few moments to follow the link below to a brief survey about your professional continuing education needs. This information will help us to determine the needs and plan for future continuing education opportunities. The survey is approximately 10 questions and should take only a few minutes to complete. If the link below is not active, simply copy and paste the link into your browser page. If you have any issues with the survey please contact pstout@rti.org.
Thank you for your participation, your input is very valuable.
Forensic Science in the News
California
Internal probe fails to dispel cloud from county crime lab
Editorial concerning independent investigations of crime labs.
Minnesota
Anoka County hopes the third time is the charm for crime lab funding
The crime lab is necessary because of the backlog of evidence at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) lab in St. Paul.
Michigan
State rep says 2 crime labs could be saved
If they looked a little deeper, lawmakers could easily find a way to save the $2 million needed to keep open the Michigan State Police’s Sterling Heights and Marquette crime labs, one state representative said.
Texas
Money for new El Paso crime lab approved
That measure will provide $7 million for the Texas Department of Public Safety to build a new crime lab in El Paso.
New DPS Center Approved for McAllen
With the newly passed proposition, though, the lab will expand from its current 5,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet and will add additional crime analysts.
Voters OK funds for local crime lab
Voter approval of Proposition 4 will fund a new $10 million facility for Corpus Christi's DPS crime lab.
Colorado
The Denver Post - City's red-letter day
In early returns about 63.1 percent of voters supported that measure that would build a new $39.3 million crime lab.
Minnesota
Forensic science club mixes facts with fun
The club takes students beyond the TV show in crime scene investigations.
Maryland
Defender spotlights faulty forensics
Patrick Kent, chief of the forensics division at the state public defender's office, is trying to discredit what he sees as bad science.
New Mexico
State crime lab hopes to trim backlog
The supervising forensic scientist says she hopes all the pending cases will be processed by next spring or summer, thanks to some new hires.
Pennsylvania
Blood splatter, glass turned into art
The artistic efforts of a local glassmaker will make a simple thing as blood splatter a piece of art for a Wisconsin crime lab.
Wisconsin
Murder case on slow pace
It's anybody's guess how much urgency Rock County's worst crime in history has at an out-of-state laboratory.
Colorado
Masters Files: The DNA of Physical Evidence
Old clues in the Hettrick homicide might become helpful—if they’re not first lost or destroyed.
Texas
Some suggest shutdown of HPD's DNA lab
As problems continue to mount for HPD’s troubled crime lab, some are questioning if it is worth it.
Texas
HPD crime lab's integrity questioned
These are supposed to be new days for the troubled HPD lab, but a whistleblower who resigned has said the lab still has trouble.
California
Crime lab's work backed
Rejecting evidence that a crime lab examiner's erroneous conclusions caused the wrongful conviction of a robbery suspect, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has cleared the examiner of any scientific error.
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