Forensics Laboratory

The Forensic Laboratory in focus
by Michael Giberson

In June 2003, the various units that provide forensic services to the Sheriff's Office were consolidated into one unit, the Forensic Laboratory. The Forensic Laboratory now consists of the following units:

Property and Evidence

Crime Scene

Crime Scene Reconstruction

DNA/Serology

Firearms/Toolmark

Narcotics Analysis

The Director of Forensic Services executes overall supervision of the Forensic Laboratory and reports directly to the Central Field Services Bureau Captain. Two Senior Identification Technicians supervise the Crime Scene Unit and the Property and Evidence Unit. The Supervising Criminalist supervises the DNA/Serology, Firearms/Toolmark, and Narcotic Analysis Units. Crime Scene Reconstruction is a collaborative effort by all sections in the Laboratory, and supervision of these cases will be assigned according to the particular needs of the case.

The old terms, "Identification Bureau" and "Technical Services," with respect to the Crime Scene Section of the Forensic Laboratory, no longer exist. The Jail Identification Unit has been detached and placed under the administrative authority of the Jail Bureau.

HISTORY OF FORENSIC SERVICES

The consolidation of forensic services is best understood in context with the history of forensic services in the Sheriff's Office.

Prior to 1986, sworn deputy sheriff's who bore the title of "Criminologist" staffed the Identification Bureau, or "I Bureau," and processed all major crime scenes. In that year the first civilian Identification Technicians were promoted from the Jail Identification Unit as the first phase of transitioning from sworn to civilian crime scene personnel. This was done primarily as a cost saving measure. As each Criminologist retired, he was replaced with a civilian Identification Technician. The last sworn person, who was the Senior Criminologist in charge of Technical Services, retired in March 2003.

The Forensic Laboratory started with one Criminalist in 1973. It was housed in the basement of Headquarters, directly across the hall from the Identification Bureau. The complementary duties of the Forensic Lab and Technical Services meant that the two units had to work closely together. This was aided by their close proximity. The Laboratory gradually added staff until it had one Supervising Criminalist and three Criminalist Specialists. The Forensic Laboratory outgrew its quarters in the basement of Headquarters and in 1998 it moved into new quarters at 1256 Divisadero, sharing the building with the Sheriff's Office Training Unit. The Forensic Lab and Technical Services continued to work together, but the physical separation of the two units inevitably made communication and mutual support more difficult.

The retirement of the Supervising Criminalist and the Senior Criminologist within a span of two years provided a perfect opportunity to incorporate the two units under one director to resurrect the close physical and professional relationship they once enjoyed. The Sheriff approved this action and it took effect on June 9, 2003. The Director of Forensic Services manages the Forensic Laboratory at the level equivalent to lieutenant, reporting directly to the Captain of the Centralized Field Services Bureau.

MISSIONS AND OBJECTIVES

The stated mission of the Forensic Laboratory remains the same: to provide for its clients the timely, accurate, and reliable scientific examination of physical evidence, followed by the clear, unbiased and objective interpretation of analytical findings.

The objectives of the Laboratory are:

To provide forensic analysis, interpretation, and testimony to law enforcement agencies and courts within Fresno County;

Establish a system of case prioritization, which takes into account the needs of the Sheriff’s Office and the Criminal Justice System;

Provide an unbiased, scientifically objective work product that is responsive to the Sheriff’s Office and the Criminal Justice System; and

Maintain an integrated approach to the evaluation of case material.

The incorporation of crime scene investigation and other duties provided by the former Technical Services Unit enhances the Forensic Laboratory's efforts to pursue its missions and objectives. Budgetary issues, training standards, development of standard methods and procedures, communication, proficiency testing and quality assurance, common certification, all serve to further the goals and objectives of the Forensic Laboratory and of the Sheriff's Office. In addition, the Laboratory is actively striving toward certification by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD), necessary for obtaining various types of federal and state grant funding.

PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE UNIT

In 1986, the Property and Evidence Unit was placed under the supervision and control of the Senior Criminologist, where it remained until the recent merger of the Forensic Lab and Technical Services. The Property and Evidence Unit is responsible for the custody, documentation, and preservation of all physical evidence seized or obtained by the Sheriff's Office. The placement of the Property and Evidence under the control of the Director of Forensic Services makes perfect sense when one realizes that all physical evidence collected by the Crime Scene Unit and destined for analysis in the Forensic Laboratory must first be booked into Property. The best physical evidence in the world becomes useless if it is not documented, preserved, and stored correctly. The Property and Evidence Unit provides this treatment – accurately, completely, and without fail.

Two Identification Technicians, supervised by a Senior Id Technician, staff the Property and Evidence Unit, which is located in the Headquarters basement. This unit is, frankly, understaffed and overworked, particularly when one considers that thousands of items of evidence and property are stored in over thirty locations throughout the metropolitan area. A testament to the efficiency of the Property and Evidence Unit is that it has never (permanently) lost a single piece of physical evidence. The care and nurturing of the Property and Evidence Unit is of vital role for every person in the Sheriff's Office because the unit provides direct and critical services for every employee who deals with physical evidence and property. Got a couple of found bicycles? Call Property. Got a ton of recovered agricultural chemicals? Call Property. Seized a hundred thousand dollars in cash? Call Property. Stereos, drugs, computers, firearms, rape kits, bloody mattresses, tons of marijuana, thousands of items of property of every conceivable description, etc., etc., are all documented, secured, and stored by the Property and Evidence Unit, to be safely preserved until it is needed for court or returned to its rightful owner. And the Chain of Possession is always right…

CRIME SCENE UNIT

The Identification Technicians of the Crime Scene Unit are the front-line troops of the Forensic Laboratory. Virtually every piece of physical evidence from every major crime is identified, collected, documented, preserved, packaged and booked into the Property and Evidence Unit by an Identification Technician. But this is not all they do. Every Identification Technician receives hundreds of hours of specialized training in crime scene investigation, latent fingerprint comparison, footwear and tire impression comparison, serial number restoration, crime scene photography, and crime scene reconstruction.

Nine ID Technicians staff the Crime Scene Unit, working three shifts to provide around-the-clock crime scene response for the entire office. A Senior Identification Technician supervises them. In addition to field calls, the ID Technicians provide expert services in the following areas:

Latent fingerprint processing and examination (including entering fingerprints into the Cal ID automated fingerprint identification system),

The restoration of obliterated serial numbers on firearms and other serial number-bearing devices such as stereos, televisions, and appliances,

Photography and physical evidence collection at post-mortem examinations,

Examination and identification of shoe and tire tracks collected from crime scenes,

Processing, packaging and preserving fragile or easily destroyed evidence such as biological materials destined for examination by the DNA/Serology Unit,

Separation and packaging of expended bullets and cartridge casings collected from shooting scenes, readying them for examination by the Firearms/Toolmarks Unit,

Lifting latent fingerprints from narcotics packaging prior to analysis by the Narcotics Analysis Unit.

A specialized unit within the Crime Scene Unit is the Video and Electronic Services unit, which provides a host of services, including crime scene videography, video surveillance, the production of training tapes, and public service videography for office staff.

In addition to providing the services described, members of the Crime Scene Unit are always ready to respond instantly to homicides and other major crimes at the request of detectives from the Persons Crimes Unit. They also respond to requests for crime scene investigation assistance from other police agencies in Fresno County.

All these tasks are performed at professional levels that qualify the Identification Technicians as expert witnesses in court. It seems almost impossible to do with only nine technicians.

DNA/SEROLOGY UNIT

The fastest growing and potentially most useful forensic tool in the Forensic Laboratory is the science of DNA analysis. Conventional typing of genetic markers such as the ABO blood group system, and of the polymorphic blood enzyme sub-systems such as PGM, have given way completely to the typing of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). The only exceptions are the identification of the semen-specific protein P30 in semen stains, and species identification of bloodstains.

The conventional biological fluid typing systems are generally limited to the typing of blood, saliva, and semen. DNA analysis is much more versatile and can be performed on virtually any tissue containing nuclear DNA material: blood, saliva, muscle tissue, semen, vaginal secretions, bone, skin tissue, feces, urine, and hair. In addition, the DNA methods currently in use in the Forensic Laboratory utilize a DNA amplification technique, making them extremely sensitive. DNA analysis, unlike the old enzyme systems, requires only small amounts of evidence material.

Because DNA analysis is so sensitive and complex, it requires extraordinary skill and training on the part of the Identification Technician who collects the biological material at the scene, as well as the Criminalist who analyzes it in the laboratory. The Identification Technicians in the Crime Scene Unit are specifically trained in the collection techniques. The two Criminalists who specialize in DNA analysis hold Masters of Science degrees, in addition to the Bachelor of Science degree normally required of a Criminalist.

A new DNA analysis system, called STR (for Short Tandem Repeat), is currently undergoing validation and is scheduled to go on line in 2003. This will effectively allow the conclusive identification of individual persons; the chance of finding two persons with the same DNA type in the STR system is approximately one in a trillion, or the equivalent of about one million planet earth populations.

The development of the ability to conclusively identify a person by their DNA is comparable to the quantum leap made in the science of identification in the early 1900s, when the science of fingerprints supplanted the Bertillon measurement system. In fact, DNA typing is potentially even more useful than fingerprints; the estimated probability of any two persons having the same fingerprint pattern is 1 in 67 billion, or the equivalent of only about ten earth populations.

FIREARMS/TOOLMARK UNIT

The analysis of firearms related evidence is one of the mainstays of the Forensic Laboratory, with two Criminalists specializing in this unique area of expertise. In addition to conventional firearms comparison examinations, the Laboratory administers one of the five National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) sites in the Central Valley, and provides research and testing services of duty ammunition for the Sheriff’s Office.

Toolmark and Firearms Comparison Examination

Conventional firearms evidence comparison and examination consists of the familiar identification of bullets and cartridge casings collected at crime scenes by Identification Technicians in the Crime Scene Unit. This type of identification is as powerful in identifying a firearm as latent fingerprints are in identifying a person.

Firearms comparison is actually a specialized area of the science of toolmark identification. The identification of a screwdriver used to pry open a door may seem mundane when compared to the identification of a homicide bullet, but it can be just as important in the prosecution of criminal cases such as burglaries.

Improper collection and handling of firearms and tools can diminish their usefulness for identifying impression evidence made by them. Toolmarks and expended bullets are particularly susceptible to damage if handled improperly. The Identification Technicians of the Crime Scene Unit are trained to collect firearms and tools, as well as expended bullets and cartridge casings, and toolmarks, in a manner that does not damage them.

Other common forensic examinations involving firearms are:

Distance determination of a firearm from the target,
Terminal ballistics (gelatin testing),
Function testing (useful in accidental shooting determinations)
General Rifling Characteristics (GRC) determination, which provides the probable identity of a firearms model based on the measurement of class characteristics found on fired bullets and cartridge cases.

NIBIN (IBIS) Services

The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) is a joint FBI-ATF-Local resource program that enables participating law enforcement agencies to store shooting-related data and test-fire exemplars from recovered firearms in one common system capable of performing comparisons and producing probable matches. Using the automated ballistics imaging technology of the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS), a network of repositories for all crime guns has been developed that parallels the Automated Fingerprint Analysis System (AFAS) system maintained by the FBI and used by CalID.

Images of bullets and cartridge casings from crime scenes, as well as test-fired bullets and cartridge cases from firearms seized by law enforcement, are entered into IBIS, which then compares them to similar images in a database maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Probable matches, or “cold hits,” from other IBIS sites in California are automatically reported back by ATF. Several thousand “cold hits” have been achieved nationwide by the system since its inception in the early nineties.

The Forensic Laboratory possesses one of the five IBIS terminals in the valley. The other three are located at the California Department of Justice Laboratory in Fresno, Stockton Police Department, the Kern County District Attorney's Crime Lab in Bakersfield, and the Sacramento County District Attorneys Crime Lab in Sacramento. The IBIS site in Kern County is connected to the NIBIN network in the Los Angeles area. The other four IBIS sites in the valley, as well as others in the Bay Area and Reno, share a common network administered by the ATF Laboratory in Walnut Creek, California.

The Forensic Laboratory currently test-fires and enters into IBIS every firearm seized by Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Other Fresno County law enforcement agencies submit their firearms and related evidence to the DOJ Fresno Laboratory for entry.

NARCOTICS ANALYSIS UNIT

The Forensic Laboratory provides continuous and routine controlled substances analysis service for every law enforcement agency in Fresno County, with the exception of Fresno Police Department. The controlled substance analysis program is unique within the State of California, in that virtually every drug sample submitted to the Narcotics Analysis Unit for analysis is analyzed, and a report issued to the requesting agency, on the same day it is submitted. A conclusive report of analysis accompanies virtually every controlled substance complaint submitted to the District Attorney’s office for filing, freeing the investigator and the prosecutor (as well as the defense attorney) to concentrate on other probative issues.

The controlled substance analysis program is so rapid and streamlined that in 1998, the Director of the Forensic Services Section of Scotland Yard visited the Forensic Laboratory to see how it was accomplished! In 2002, the Narcotics Analysis Unit analyzed approximately 2500 cases.

The two Criminalists who perform controlled substance analysis are currently funded under the Drug Suppression and CAL-METT grants.

CONCLUSION

Consolidation of all forensic services into the Forensic Laboratory provides many benefits to the Sheriff’s Office and the Laboratory. Elevation of the Director of Forensic Services to the lieutenant level gives him a solid ability to manage all facets of forensic science and evidentiary issues, and provides for equal voice with other units in matters regarding budget and planning. Elimination of the vague and sometimes confusing dichotomy between the Laboratory and (former) Technical Services helps to define and clarify the role of the Forensic Laboratory within the Sheriff's Office. Placing the Identification Technicians and the Criminalists in the same unit provides the opportunity to standardize methods and procedures of physical evidence collection, preservation and analysis, as well as training in those procedures. It also increases the scope and flexibility of the Forensic Laboratory, eliminates duplication of effort, and strengthens communication and support between field and laboratory personnel, thereby broadening the knowledge base and expertise of the Forensic Laboratory and the Sheriff's Office as a whole.

For the present, the Crime Scene Unit and Property and Evidence Sections are still housed in the basement of headquarters. The DNA/Serology, Firearms/Toolmark, and Narcotic Analysis Sections are located at 1256 Divisadero, Fresno, next to the Training Unit.

The following telephone numbers are excerpted from the Sheriff’s Office Telephone List:

FORENSIC LABORATORY

Director of Forensic Services Mike Koop: (559) 233-0308

Crime Scene Unit

Senior Identification Technician Mary Tigh: (559) 488-3754
Senior Identification Technician John Bawcom: (559) 488-3756
Office Assistant Jennie Anaya: (559) 488-3093
Fax Machine: (559) 488-3762

DNA/Serology, Firarms/Toolmarks, Narcotics Analysis Units

Supervising Criminalist Michael W. Giberson: (559) 233-0308
Office Assistant Donna Ramirez: (559) 233-0308
Fax Machine: (559) 233-1149

Specialty Teams

Forensic Laboratory

History of Forensic Services
Missions & Objectives
Property & Evidence Unit
Crime Scene Unit
DNA/Serology Unit
Firearms/Toolmark Unit
Narcotics Analysis Unit
Conclusion
Contact Information

Evidence being examined in the laboratory by Criminalist Specialist Brenda Markham and ID Technician Lisa Baretta

Director of Forensic Services Michael Koop fires a bullet into the bullet capture device

Director of Forensic Services Michael Koop

Firing a bullet into the bullet capture device

Forensic Lab Technologist Robert Benavides loads the gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer (GC/MS)

Forensic Lab Technologist Robert Benavides tests drugs

ID Technician Hector Tello examines clothing with the Alternate Light Source (ALS)

ID Technician Pat O' Brien and his crime scene van

ID Technician Pat O' Brien photographs a shotgun pattern on a wall

Intern Andrew Halverson entering data into the Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS)

Senior ID Technician John Bawcom demonstrates the operation of the semi-automatic pistol

Senior ID Technician Mary Tigh

Supervising Criminalist Michael Giverson on the comparison microscope

ID Tech Vicente Guerrero examines a sexual assault kit

The DNA Analyzer

ID Tech Vicente Guerrero matching fingerprints

Supervising Criminalist Michael Giberson & Senior ID Technician John Bawcom