THE CRIME LAB MINUTE

March 3, 2008

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Announcement

The ASCLD website has been updated with information regarding our upcoming symposium. Please visit www.ascld.org and click the symposium link to view this update.

Forensic Science in the News

Australia

Huge backlog' at DNA crime lab

A massive backlog of work at the Forensic Science Centre means DNA evidence from the Glenys Heyward murder case will not be analysed until October.

Great Britain

Forensic science to catch tippers

Techniques normally associated with murder cases including finger-printing and collecting DNA samples from rubbish are just some of the tools being used to catch the tippers (illegal dumping).

Illinois

Suspect arrested for murder of former Rockwood resident

DNA hit implicates man who was not a suspect in first investigation of 1991 murder.

Wisconsin

New fingerprint analysis leads to charges in 10-year-old rape

An FBI analysis of fingerprints led to new evidence in a nearly 10-year-old rape case, but the discovery is also raising questions about why state investigators didn’t find the evidence years ago.

Florida

CSI Slowdown: Crime Labs Could Be Victims Of State Budget Cuts
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said during a Cabinet meeting that if expected budget cuts go through, a backlog in DNA testing that had largely been eliminated will return, and other crime scene analysis will also suffer.

Utah

Our hair tracks our wanderings
Discovery may have profound meaning for crime scene forensic investigators.

Louisiana

Acadiana Crime Lab: Small Clue Solves Murder
One small town and one small clue that helped solve a double murder.

Wisconsin

State AG says progress being made on crime lab backlog
State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen appears to be keeping one of his biggest campaign promises to reduce the backlog of DNA evidence waiting to be tested.

General

The Reality of Fingerprinting Not Like TV Crime Labs
While the TV shows typically depict instantaneous results, running a print through the FBI's database of 53 million files takes close to two hours.

Nevada

Sheriff lauds fundraising effort for lab
The fundraising brought in the $150,000 needed to test a backlog of DNA samples.

New Jersey

A prime time to fight crime, with science
Instead of grizzled police detectives with a hunch, the new rock stars in crime fighting are the forensic scientists made famous by TV shows like "CSI.