FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | NIJ | Friday, January 28, 2000 | 202/307-0703 |
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT RELEASES GUIDE ON CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
Guide Called for by Attorney General Reno to Improve Evidence Collection Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) today released a new guide to help law enforcement officers identify, collect, and preserve useful physical evidence. The new guide, "Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement," was developed by a working group of practitioners and experts from across the nation, in response to Attorney General Janet Reno's interest in improving evidence collection and handling practices.
"With our increasing ability to use high-tech lab work to solve crimes, it is more important than ever that crime scenes be properly handled by law enforcement," said Attorney General Reno. "With guides such as this one, we are giving state and local officials tools to use to help convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent."
In 1995, Attorney General Reno asked NIJ to study cases in which convicted sex offenders were later exonerated by DNA testing. Based on the outcome of this study, she then asked NIJ to study how evidence could be better gathered and processed for more accurate identification of offenders. NIJ Director Jeremy Travis initiated a technical working group on crime scene investigation to identify recommended practices for the identification, collection, preservation, and use in court of physical evidence, including DNA evidence, blood and bloodstain patterns, fingerprints, tool marks, trace evidence, and trajectory evidence. The guide being released today is the product of this working group.
"The Attorney General's personal interest in crime scene technology has prompted us to bring together law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and forensic science analysts to take an in-depth look at how to recover and preserve vital physical clues," said NIJ Director Travis. "This group of experts has created a guide that reflects the best current thinking in the field."
The working group is composed of 44 members representing law enforcement, prosecution, the defense bar, and forensic science. The recommendations in the guide were developed with input from all four disciplines, and are designed to increase the likelihood that key evidence is recovered and available for analysis by forensic scientists and for use in court. The guide is being released in conjunction with a meeting of the technical working group in Washington, D.C. on January 28, 2000. A list of working group members, including their hometowns, is attached.
The report is available on the NIJ Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij. For printed copies, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 1-800/851-3420. NIJ is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which provides information on criminal justice programs, research, and statistics at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov. Media should call Mike McCarthy of OJP's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703.
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NIJ 00-49
National Crime Scene Planning Panel
Dr. Jose R. Almirall
Susan Ballou
Paul Carroll
Elizabeth Farris
Jo Ann Given
Marjorie Harris
Larry McCann
Dr. Joseph L. Peterson
Elliot Spector
Ann Talbot
James T. "Tom" Thurman
Hal R. Arenstein
Dexter J. Bartlett
Eric Buel
Jeff Cover
Elizabeth Devine
Henry Escobar
Jerry N. Estes
James Estrada
Drew Findling
Nan Horvat/John Sarcone
N. Michael Hurley
Gary L. Kaldun
Joe Marchan
Joseph John Moseley, II
Robert Mullins
Steve Nash
Kathryn Normington-Hollenbach
Galen Paine
Michael J. Rafferty
Eugene Rifenburg
Gary A. Rini
Heidi Robbins
Darrell Ryan
Norman Shapiro
Clarene Shelley
Gregory Smith
Richard Stanek
Brad Townsend
Larry Turner
Stephen Weichman
James Wiser
Larry Wood
John Yarbrough
International Forensic Research Institute
Florida International University
Miami, Florida
Montgomery County Crime Laboratory
Rockville, Maryland
Chicago Police Department (Retired)
Big Pine Key, Florida
Hampden County District Attorney's Office
Springfield, Massachusetts
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Norfolk, Virginia
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice
Division of Forensic Science
Richmond, Virginia
Virginia State Police (Retired)
Richmond, Virginia
University of Illinois
Department of Criminal Justice
Chicago, Illinois
Center for Police and Security Training
Suffield, Connecticut
Albuquerque Police Department
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, Kentucky
Law Offices of Hal Arenstein
Cincinnati, Ohio
Illinois State Police
Bureau of Crime Scene Services
Joliet, Illinois
Vermont Department of Public Safety
Crime Laboratory
Waterbury, Vermont
Anne Arundel County Police Department
Millersville, Maryland
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Scientific Services Bureau
Los Angeles, California
San Antonio Police Department
San Antonio, Texas
District Attorney General
10th Judicial District
Athens, Tennessee
San Antonio Police Department
San Antonio, Texas
Law Offices of Drew Findling
Atlanta, Georgia
Polk County Attorney's Office
Des Moines, Iowa
Oregon State Police
Forensic Services Division
Springfield, Oregon
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
St. Paul, Minnesota
Texas Department of Public Safety
Crime Laboratory
McAllen, Texas
Chicago Police Department
Chicago, Illinois
New Haven Police Department
New Haven, Connecticut
Marin County Sheriff's Department
San Rafael, California
Wyoming State Crime Laboratory
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Public Defender's Office
Sitka, Alaska
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Ft. Myers, Florida
Oneida Nation Police
Munnsville, New York
American Institute for Police Science
Elkhorn, Nebraska
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles, California
Nashville Police Department
Nashville, Tennessee
New York State Defender's Association
Middletown, New York
Lakewood Police Department
Lakewood, Colorado
Camden County Prosecutor's Office
Camden, New Jersey
Minneapolis Police Department
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Corona Police Department
Corona, California
Jackson Police Department
Crime Laboratory
Jackson, Mississippi
Teton County Attorney's Office
Jackson, Wyoming
Mount Pleasant Police Department
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Smyrna Police Department
Smyrna, Georgia
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Commerce, California