An FBI Laboratory Publication
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Quantico, Virginia
The FBI Laboratory 2006 Report may also
be viewed online at http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/lab2006/labannual2006.pdf [28.6
Mb]
Table of Contents
Message from the FBI Laboratory Director
Investigative Services
Chemical-Biological Sciences Unit
Chemistry Unit
Combined DNA Index System Unit
Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit
DNA Analysis Unit I
DNA Analysis Unit II
Automated Analysis
National Missing Person DNA Database
Regional Mitochondrial DNA Laboratory Program
Firearms-Toolmarks Unit
Latent Print Operations Unit
Latent Print Support Unit
Photographic Operations and Imaging Services Unit
Questioned Documents Unit
SoleSearcher
Special Projects Unit
Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center
Trace Evidence Unit
Response Services
Explosives Unit
Evidence Response Team Unit
Human Scent Evidence Team
Hazardous Materials Response Unit
Research and Development Services
Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit
Administrative and Support Services
Administrative Unit
Evidence Control Unit
Facility Services Unit
Planning and Budget Unit
Security Team
INNOVARi
Quality Services
Quality Assurance and Training Unit
Community Service
Message from the FBI Laboratory Director
Exemplary service has
always been the primary goal of the FBI Laboratory, and in 2006,
FBI Laboratory Division employees recommitted
themselves to providing the highest quality forensic response and
analysis services to our “customers”—the local,
state, and federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies that
use FBI Laboratory services.
The FBI Laboratory supports local,
state, and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies
in terrorism and criminal investigations.
Much of our work occurs off-site: Laboratory employees respond
to crime scenes to perform such tasks as searching for victims,
gathering evidence, taking photographs, or providing much-needed
support and assistance at the scene. The backbone of the Laboratory,
however, is a cadre of educated, experienced, and qualified
forensic examiners who assist investigators in their efforts to
bring
criminals to justice while providing closure to victims and
their families.
At the same time, in keeping with the FBI’s
primary mission of preventing terrorist attacks, the FBI Laboratory
examines literally
hundreds of thousands of pieces of evidence through the Terrorist
Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC). The TEDAC is a multiagency
effort that employs personnel from law enforcement, military,
and civilian agencies and whose work touches numerous units in
the
Laboratory, including the Evidence Control, Explosives, Latent
Print, DNA, Firearms-Toolmarks, and Trace Evidence Units. The
analyses performed on TEDAC evidence now represent the Laboratory’s
primary and most demanding caseload.
In 2006 the Laboratory implemented
a new quality management system and is working toward renewing
its accreditation through the
American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation
Board (ASCLD/LAB). Under the new quality system, the FBI Laboratory
will seek accreditation under the ASCLD/LAB-International Program,
which is based on internationally recognized standards. The
International Program contains more stringent criteria than the
original accreditation
program and places a greater emphasis on customer service.
The
American people expect their intelligence and law enforcement
agencies to protect and to serve them. The FBI Laboratory remains
committed to the highest quality service for its intelligence
and law enforcement agency customers in order to support their
ongoing efforts to keep America safe.
Dr. Joseph A. DiZinno
Director
FBI Laboratory
Quantico, Virginia
Investigative Services
The units described in this section have a primary mission of
supporting FBI investigations. Most of the units analyze evidence
obtained from crime scenes and major incidents, including plane
crashes and natural disasters. Other units support FBI casework
by providing photographic services or creating models and exhibits
that can be used to conduct an investigation, support courtroom
testimony, or plan an event. Some of the units maintain databases
that help the FBI and other law enforcement agencies solve crimes,
identify missing persons, and exonerate the innocent.
Chemical-Biological Sciences Unit
The Chemical-Biological
Sciences Unit (CBSU) was created to enhance the FBI’s ability
to conduct and direct forensic analyses of hazardous chemical,
biological, and radiological evidentiary
materials resulting from terrorist acts involving the use of
weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Critical to the success
of this mission are the development and validation of methods
to
analyze threat agents and establish a thoroughly vetted supporting
laboratory network that provides a wide range of analytical
capability and expertise.
CBSU’s Biology, Chemistry, and Nuclear Programs have developed
analytical methods that identify and characterize biological pathogens
and toxins, hazardous chemicals, and radiological and nuclear materials.
CBSU’s research and development efforts focus on the validation
of existing pathogen identification assays, the development and
evaluation of novel molecular and genetic methods for characterizing
biological agents, and the identification of trace compounds in
evidentiary samples.
CBSU has formalized partnerships with a variety of government,
academic, and private laboratories to conduct very specific examinations
of FBI evidence. These partner agencies include:
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California.
• Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• The Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland.
• The Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina.
• The U.S. Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick
Air Force Base, Florida.
• The U.S. Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center,
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
• The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases, Fort Detrick, Maryland.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, Riverdale, Maryland.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection
Service, Office of Public Health Science, Eastern, Midwestern,
and Western Laboratories.
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National
Bioforensic Analysis Center, Fort Detrick, Maryland.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Enforcement
Investigations Center, Lakewood, Colorado.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Forensic Chemistry
Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
CBSU also has developed a Hazardous Evidence Analysis Team (HEAT),
a group of experienced FBI Laboratory examiners and technicians
who receive advanced training to work with hazardous evidence (chemical,
biological, and radiological evidentiary materials too hazardous
to be handled at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico). The HEAT has
more than 60 active members from 12 separate units within the FBI
Laboratory, including CBSU, the Chemistry Unit, both DNA Analysis
Units, the Explosives Unit, the Firearms-Toolmarks Unit, the Hazardous
Materials Response Unit, both Latent Print Units, the Photographic
Operations and Imaging Services Unit, the Questioned Documents
Unit, and the Trace Evidence Unit.
Examinations of hazardous evidence are conducted at FBI partner
laboratories. The HEAT has designated laboratory space at the Savannah
River National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
to work with radioactive evidence. Infectious or biologically contaminated
evidence analysis is conducted at the National Bioforensic Analysis
Center. Chemical weapons analysis is conducted at the Edgewood
Chemical Biological Center.
CBSU continues to coordinate with the FBI’s partner laboratories
to secure additional laboratory facilities to use for the forensic
analysis of WMD materials. In November 2006 the FBI Laboratory
and the Savannah River National Laboratory held a ribbon-cutting
ceremony for the Radiological Evidence Analysis Laboratory Suite
(REALS). The suite provides forensic laboratory space where radiologically
contaminated items can be examined by the HEAT. The preparation
and deployment of dedicated space at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory also has been completed.
Construction has begun on the Sample Receipt Facility at the Edgewood
Chemical Biological Center. The facility—which is funded
jointly by the Department of Homeland Security, the Army, and the
FBI—will provide facilities for the safe handling of chemical
and biological weapons materials, forensic examination of contaminated
evidence, and analysis of chemical weapons compounds. Completion
is scheduled for summer 2008.
In 2006 CBSU’s Chemistry Program developed and validated
an analytical method for the attribution of spore-related material.
A novel procedure was created using state-of-the-art instrumentation
and appropriate recommendations from the Scientific Working Group
on the Forensic Analysis of Chemical Terrorism (SWGFACT). Evidentiary
material
was analyzed by CBSU personnel in direct support of the FBI’s
investigation into the 2001 anthrax mailings.
Personnel in the Biology Program oversaw the forensic analysis
in several FBI cases involving the extraction of the toxin ricin
from castor beans. Samples were sent to partner laboratories to
characterize the ricin present in the samples. In support of the
FBI’s anthrax investigation, the Biology Program continued
to develop and validate a number of molecular assays designed to
detect specific differences within the DNA of anthrax that could
be used as a comparison to other collected samples. These assays
were then applied to evidentiary samples, which have provided useful
information to field investigators in their quest to find the source
of the material.
CBSU’s Nuclear Program coordinated the forensic analysis
of radiological evidence in several FBI cases, which included collaboration
with international law enforcement agencies. The partnerships CBSU
establishes with other agencies have a far-reaching effect in the
communities they serve. As the FBI and its partner agencies increase
their knowledge of hazardous materials, these substances pose less
of a threat to the world around us.
Chemistry Unit
The Chemistry Unit may be one of the most diverse
units in the FBI Laboratory. The unit is composed of five subunits:
the General
Chemistry Subunit, the Paints and Polymers Subunit, the Toxicology
Subunit, the Metallurgy Subunit, and the Instrument Operation
and Support Subunit. Each subunit is staffed with personnel
who have specialized, formal education and training. The staff
examines
a wide array of substances, including writing inks, lubricants,
self-defense sprays, paint, adhesives, tapes, dyes from bank
security devices, drugs and poisons in biological specimens,
metals for elemental composition, and structural materials
for failure analysis. The unit also identifies unknown substances
and conducts investigations involving commercial product tampering.
The unit maintains approximately $6 million worth of analytical
instrumentation in order to offer these vast services to its
customers. The diversity of the Chemistry Unit is reflected
in
the variety of cases worked in 2006.
Caribbean Cartel
A long-running investigation of a Caribbean-based drug-trafficking
organization resulted in the arrest of several individuals in the
Washington, D.C., area over the past few years. Various items of
evidence seized from the subjects were submitted to the Laboratory
for analysis. In response to a series of submissions made during
the period 2004–2005, the Chemistry Unit examined numerous
items (including digital scales, coffee grinders, microwave ovens,
and trash) for the presence of drug residues. Testimony regarding
the identification of cocaine and heroin residues on the seized
items was presented at trial in district court in Washington, D.C.,
in March 2006. The defendants in the case were found guilty and
sentenced to life in prison.
Murder in Baton Rouge
Michelle Sparks, 17, disappeared from her Erwinville, Louisiana,
home on October 22, 2004, while doing chores. The local FBI field
office helped West Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies
search for the teen. Her body was found two weeks later in a nearby
canal, wrapped in carpet and badly decomposed. The cause of death
was blunt-force trauma to the head. An anthropologist at Louisiana
State University recovered black material from fractured areas
of the victim’s skull. This black material was submitted
to the Laboratory’s Chemistry Unit for examination, along
with paint from the suspected murder weapon—the head of a
shovel. The black material was examined and identified as paint.
It was also visually and chemically consistent with paint from
the head of the shovel submitted for comparison. In March 2006
a Chemistry Unit forensic examiner testified to these results in
the subject’s murder trial. The subject was convicted of
second-degree murder with the mandatory penalty of life without
the possibility of parole, probation, or suspended sentence.
Mivacurium Murders
In February 2001 several unexplained deaths occurred at Nocona
Regional Hospital in Nocona, Texas. In that same time frame the
hospital noticed that several vials of mivacurium chloride, a strong
paralytic drug, were missing. The local FBI field office immediately
assisted in this investigation, and a suspect was developed. The
Chemistry Unit was contacted to aid in the mivacurium analysis.
At the time the Laboratory did not have a method to analyze this
drug or its metabolites.
The Chemistry Unit quickly developed and validated a method for
mivacurium analysis. Initial work on the evidence was directed
toward identifying residues of the drug in syringes, intravenous
tubing, and empty vials. When this evidence was found to be positive
for the drug, the task turned toward the analysis of 10 exhumed
bodies submitted in the investigation. When traces of mivacurium
were identified in all 10 bodies, the deaths were reclassified
from natural causes to homicide. A nurse suspected of injecting
the victims with mivacurium eventually pleaded guilty to the charges.
In October 2006 she was sentenced to life in prison.
Carjacking Case
In May 2006 an attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, reported that
she had been kidnapped, forced to withdraw funds from her bank
account, and then taken to a crack house by the suspect so that
he could buy crack cocaine. She further reported that she had been
bound and raped while at the crack house. The victim also said
that the suspect had blown crack cocaine smoke in her face at least
five times to force her to inhale the drug. The suspect in turn
claimed that the sexual contact was consensual and that he and
the attorney had smoked crack cocaine together on several occasions
prior to the incident in question. The Chemistry Unit was asked
to analyze hair from the victim to determine if she was a habitual
drug user, as suggested by the suspect.
The FBI Laboratory continues to strive to improve its analytical
methods. Even though the Chemistry Unit has analyzed samples for
cocaine for almost two decades, the unit viewed this request as
an opportunity to improve its method in order to find even lower
amounts of cocaine in hair than it previously had been able to
find. After a thorough validation of the improved method, the Chemistry
Unit tested the victim’s hair sample. The results indicated
that the attorney did not have a history of long-term cocaine use.
Because of these findings, the suspect was federally charged and
found guilty on three counts, including carjacking and possession
of a deadly weapon while committing a felony.
Phoenix Metals U.S.A. II
As the price of gold and other precious metals increases, a dramatic
increase typically occurs in the number of fraudulent schemes developed
to defraud investors. Accordingly, the FBI has been increasingly
focused on these types of crimes.
In one such case, a shell company doing business as Phoenix Metals
U.S.A. II began offering investors the opportunity to invest in
a proprietary process the company claimed could economically extract
precious metals from volcanic ash. The company set up a sham mining
operation at an extinct volcanic site in the Nevada desert and
began to convince people to invest in its schemes. Investors were
further convinced after being shown metal bars reputed to be dore
metal. Commonly obtained as a by-product of copper refining, dore
is a mixture of silver, gold, and other precious metals. Ultimately,
those misled into investing in the project lost millions of dollars.
The FBI Laboratory was asked to assist in this investigation and
a number of other related precious-metal scams. Alleged dore bars
were provided for analysis of their precious-metal content. The
Chemistry Unit analyzed the bars and determined that they contained
only trivial amounts of silver with little to no other precious-metal
content. Interestingly, the analysis showed that the base-metal
content of copper and iron in the bars exceeded the value of any
precious metals present. Similarly, it was established through
an independent expert that volcanic ash does not contain economically
useful levels of precious metals.
The principal subject of the investigation was convicted in a
federal trial in Las Vegas in May 2006 and is now serving a lengthy
prison term. In addition, the government seized assets from the
company worth more than $5.5 million.
Flash Act
In the course of an investigation in the New York area, the FBI
excavated the concrete foundation of a Brooklyn parking garage.
The remains of an individual were found buried under the garage
floor. The individual was believed to be Israel Greenwald, a jeweler
who had been reported missing two decades earlier. The excavation
also revealed a number of small corroded lumps of metal. At the
request of investigators, these items were forwarded to the Laboratory
for identification.
The Chemistry Unit analyzed the metallic lumps to reveal that
they were the remains of a wristwatch, pocket change, and a New
York City subway token. Restoration of the subway token determined
that it was a type last accepted by the New York City subway system
on January 1, 1986. The brand and manufacturer of the watch were
also established at the investigator’s request.
In April 2006 two retired New York City police detectives were
convicted in a federal trial on numerous charges stemming from
the investigation, which determined that the detectives were working
for a New York organized crime family.
Combined DNA Index System Unit
In September 2006 Timothy William Brown, an inmate at the Corcoran
State Prison in San Jose, California, was literally hours away
from being paroled when DNA testing linked him to the 1979 rape
and murder of Virginia Correa. Twenty-seven years after Correa’s
murder, her family may finally have closure on this case, thanks
to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
The FBI Laboratory’s CODIS Unit directs both the CODIS Program
and the National DNA Index System (NDIS). The CODIS Program allows
forensic DNA laboratories to store, maintain, and search DNA profiles
from crime scenes, offenders, and missing persons. The CODIS Unit
provides to partner agencies the CODIS software as well as enhancements,
support, training, help-desk services, and a yearly national meeting
for all CODIS administrators. International law enforcement laboratories
also may receive CODIS software to help them establish a DNA database
program. Forty law enforcement laboratories in 26 countries now
have the CODIS software.
CODIS’s three-tiered hierarchy of databases includes the
NDIS, which is the highest, followed by the State DNA Index System
(SDIS) and the Local DNA Index System (LDIS). There are currently
178 NDIS participating sites consisting of 126 local laboratories
and 52 state laboratories, including the FBI Laboratory and the
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory. The NDIS contains
DNA profiles contributed by participating federal, state, and local
forensic DNA laboratories and currently contains more than 4 million
profiles of offenders, crime scenes, and missing persons.
The success of CODIS depends on maintaining a database of a state’s
convicted offender profiles and using it to solve crimes for which
there are no suspects. Today all 50 states have laws requiring
that offenders convicted of sexual offenses and other violent crimes
provide DNA samples. These DNA samples are analyzed and entered
into the state and national DNA databases.
CODIS uses several indexes to generate investigative leads in
cases where biological evidence is recovered from the crime scene.
The Offender Index contains profiles of individuals convicted of
felony offenses and other crimes and also includes profiles of
arrested persons if state law permits such collection. The Forensic
Index contains DNA profiles developed from crime scene evidence,
such as semen stains and blood. There are also three missing-person-related
indexes. The Relatives of Missing Persons Index contains DNA samples
voluntarily contributed from the relatives of missing persons and
is searched against the Unidentified Human Remains Index and the
Missing Persons Index.
When a DNA profile of a suspect is developed from crime scene
evidence, the laboratory searches the DNA profile against the Forensic
and Offender Indexes. If a match occurs in the Offender Index,
the laboratory will confirm the sample and release the identity
of the suspected perpetrator. If a match occurs in the Forensic
Index, the laboratory has linked two or more crimes, and the law
enforcement agencies involved in the cases
can pool investigative information and resources. The chart below
depicts how the CODIS system works.
How the CODIS system works |
Forensic to Forensic |
Convicted Offender
to Forensic |
Missing Persons |
Matches between samples in the Forensic Index can link crime
scenes together, possibly identifying serial offenders. Based
on a match, agencies in multiple jurisdictions
can coordinate their respective investigations and share leads
developed independently.
|
Matches between a forensic sample and the Offender Index
provide investigators with the identity of a perpetrator. After
CODIS identifies a potential match, qualified DNA analysts
in the laboratories contact each other to validate or refute
the match. |
Combines the us DNA to identify or match biological specimens
in cases of missing persons. e of nuclear DNA with mitochondrial |
The charts below depict the statistics tallied by CODIS through
the 2006 calendar year.
CODIS Statistics Through 2006 |
Category |
Total Number |
Investigations Aided |
43,156 |
Forensic Index Hits |
9,529 |
Offender Index Hits |
32,439 (28,163 at SDIS and 4,276 at NDIS) |
NDIS Statistics Through 2006 |
Category |
Total Samples |
Offender Index |
3,977,433 |
Forensic Index |
160,582 |
Participants |
Domestic Laboratories |
178 state and local laboratories plus NDIS |
International Laboratories |
40 laboratories in 26 countries |
Training |
1,173 individuals in more than 220 laboratories have received
CODIS training. |
Investigations CODIS has aided from 2001 through 2006 |
|
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
Offender Profiles |
750,929 |
1,247,163 |
1,493,536 |
2,038,514 |
2,826,505 |
3,977,433 |
Forensic Profiles |
27,897 |
46,177 |
70,931 |
93,956 |
126,315 |
160,582 |
Investigations Aided |
3,635 |
6,670 |
11,220 |
20,792 |
30,455 |
43,156 |
Forensic Hits |
1,031 |
1,832 |
3,004 |
5,147 |
7,071 |
9,529 |
Offender Hits Total |
2,371 |
5,032 |
8,269 |
13,855 |
21,519 |
32,439 |
National |
167 |
638 |
1,151 |
1,864 |
2,855 |
4,276 |
State |
2,204 |
4,394 |
7,118 |
11,991 |
18,664 |
28,163 |
CODIS Facts
• CODIS began as a pilot project in 1990.
• The DNA Identification Act of 1994 formalized the FBI’s
authority to establish a national DNA index for law enforcement.
• NDIS
became operational in October 1998.
• The CODIS database originally
was used to collect only the DNA of convicted sex offenders.
• The
primary purpose of CODIS is to help solve crimes in which there
are no suspects.
•
CODIS contains only information
necessary for making matches; it does not contain
any personal
identifying information—including names, dates
of birth, Social Security numbers, criminal history, or case-related
information.
•
A CODIS profile consists of a specimen identifier, an
identifier for the laboratory responsible for the profile, a DNA
personnel identifier associated with the analysis, and the actual DNA characteristics
(DNA profile).
•
Only noncoding regions of a person’s DNA are used
to develop a profile because those regions
give absolutely no genetic
information about race, medical history, or predisposition to disease.
•
A “hit” is
a match that provides law enforcement with an investigative lead that would not
otherwise have been developed.
•
CODIS is designed so that forensic laboratories
have control over their own data.
•
State law governs which specific crimes
are eligible for CODIS.
•
All 50 states have passed DNA legislation authorizing
the collection of a DNA profile from convicted offenders for submission
to CODIS.
•
Identical twins have the same DNA profile.
•
DNA is
present in white blood cells, not red blood cells, which lack nuclei.
•
Saliva
itself does not contain DNA, but cells that line the inner cheek and contain
DNA
are almost always found in saliva.
Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit
A
drug dealer codes the list of his best customers; a member of
a terrorist cell hoping to strike in the United States sends
an encrypted e-mail to his cohorts; a prison inmate sends a
coded message to his brother on the outside, confessing to a crime.
All of these possible scenarios involve the work of the Laboratory’s
Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU). The CRRU
supports all FBI investigative programs by examining manually
encrypted records and communications from a variety of sources.
The case described below illustrates some of the unit’s
work.
400-Year-Old Cipher Used to Send Murder Hit
On August 26, 1997, an innocent-looking letter announcing the
birth of a grandson was mailed from the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Supermax facility in Florence, Colorado, to an address in California.
However, the writer of the letter was not a new grandpa, and the
letter was anything but innocent. The letter was written by a senior
member of the Aryan Brotherhood (AB) prison gang, and secretly
imbedded within the characters of the letter was an AB declaration
of war against black inmates throughout the federal prison system.
Shortly after the letter was sent, AB operatives in a federal prison
in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, executed a carefully coordinated, simultaneous
attack on black inmates, killing two and severely wounding four.
Eight years after the Lewisburg murders, 40 members of the Aryan
Brotherhood were caught up in a sweeping federal Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) indictment in California.
The 1997 letter containing the enciphered declaration of war was
recognized as a key piece of evidence and submitted to the CRRU
for analysis and decryption.
In May 2006 a cryptanalyst/forensic examiner from the CRRU explained
the complex encipherment process to a federal jury in Southern
California. The message was enciphered using a double encryption
method developed by Sir Francis Bacon (1562–1626). The Baconian
cipher was designed as a method of concealing a secret message
within a larger body of text referred to as “covertext.” The
first step of the
encipherment involved replacing each character of the secret message
with a unique string of “A” and “B” values
from the chart below. For example, to encipher the word “BACON,” each
character is replaced with five A’s and B’s as follows:
“Plaintext”: B A C O N
“
Ciphertext”: BABBB BBABB BBBAA AAABB ABAAA
In the second step,
the string of A and B values is matched to each letter of the
covertext and is used to determine the style
of writing used for each letter. Covertext characters assigned
an A value will appear in one style, and the covertext characters
assigned a B value appear in a different style. In the submitted
document, plaintext was recovered by assigning an A to covertext
letters appearing as Roman type and assigning a B to the covertext
letters appearing as italicized or cursive writing.
The ciphertext string of A and B values was then parsed into groups
of five and deciphered as follows:
BBBAA AAABB ABAAA BABAB BABAA ABABA AABAA
C O N F I R M
AABAA BABBA ABBAA ABBAA BBABB BAABB BABBA
M E S S A G E
The complete message was a confirmation of an order
to coordinate the murder of black inmates from the District of
Columbia:
CONFIRM MESSAGE FROM CHRIS TO MOVE ON DC
Message Cipher |
Plaintext |
Ciphertext |
Plaintext |
Ciphertext |
A |
BBABB |
N |
ABAAA |
B |
BABBB |
O |
AAABB |
C |
BBBAA |
P |
AABAB |
D |
BBABA |
Q |
ABAAB |
E |
BABBA |
R |
ABABA |
F |
BABAB |
S |
ABBAA |
G |
BAABB |
T |
AABBB |
H |
BBAAA |
U |
ABABB |
I |
BABAA |
V |
ABBAB |
J |
BAAAA |
W |
ABBBA |
K |
AAAAB |
X |
ABBBB |
L |
AAABA |
Y |
BBBBA |
M |
AABAA |
Z |
BBBAB |
The CRRU decryption was a key piece of evidence linking the Aryan
Brotherhood leadership in Colorado with the murders in Pennsylvania,
and the jury found the four defendants guilty on multiple charges
of murder, extortion, and racketeering.
DNA Analysis Unit I
The DNA Analysis Unit I (DNAUI) performs serological and nuclear
DNA analyses on biological evidence collected from crime scenes.
Serological analysis involves examining evidence for the presence
of biological materials such as blood and semen. Nuclear DNA analysis
involves further characterizing biological material through DNA
typing in an effort to determine if a particular individual is
or is not the source of the DNA present within a biological material.
Nuclear DNA analysis is also performed on evidentiary materials
that may not require serological testing, such as cigarette butts,
cans, bottles, and envelopes.
DNAUI also maintains the Federal Convicted Offender (FCO) Program.
The FCO Program oversees the collection and processing of samples
from any individual convicted of a federal felony. The DNA- typing
results from these samples are entered and uploaded into the National
DNA Index System (NDIS) for nationwide database searches. The FCO
Program began in mid-2001. During the first four years of its existence,
the FCO Program received approximately 100,000 samples. New legislation
passed by Congress in November 2004 increased the number of samples
received the following year by an additional 100,000, bringing
the total to more than 200,000. The FCO Program is currently using
robotics and automation to process the high volume of samples required
by the new legislation.
DNAUI personnel often provide training on the science behind serology
and nuclear DNA analysis as well as on the collection and preservation
of evidence to be submitted for serological and nuclear DNA examinations.
Other instruction given involves the quality assurance measures
required for laboratories that perform DNA analysis. More than
2700 court officials and law enforcement and forensic laboratory
personnel were trained by DNAUI personnel in 2006 through separate
in-services, schools, seminars, and conferences.
Several DNAUI personnel are also involved in the administration
of two of the scientific working groups: the Scientific Working
Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) and the Scientific Working
Group on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (SWGSTAIN). DNAUI personnel
serve as chair, vice chair, or members of various committees of
the two working groups, where technical information and potential
improvements to the disciplines are discussed among experts in
the related fields.
Homicide, Assault, and Arson in the Virgin Islands
Renell Lettsom was charged with homicide, assault, and arson in
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The victims in this case were
a father, David Geiger, and his son, Nathan, who was 14. David
died as a result of a brutal assault. Nathan survived his injuries;
however, he now suffers from memory loss and seizures as a result
of the incident. Nuclear DNA testing was performed on blood evidence
recovered from the Geiger household, as well as from the mouth
area of a water jug found at the scene. Nuclear DNA profiles developed
from both sets of evidence samples matched the DNA profile from
the suspect charged with the offense. In August 2006 the defendant
was convicted of all charges and sentenced to life in prison without
parole.
DNA Analysis Unit II
The FBI Laboratory’s DNA Analysis Unit II (DNAUII) examines
a different type of DNA than the DNAUI. While the DNAUI examines
nuclear DNA, the DNAUII examines mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Mitochondrial
DNA is inherited only from the mother, and the cells may contain
thousands of copies of mtDNA. For this reason, even old items of
evidence and small pieces—such as hair, bones, and teeth—may
be analyzed for their mtDNA content. Mitochondrial DNA analysis
also makes it possible to identify missing persons through their
maternal relatives.
Because mtDNA can link missing persons to their relatives, the
DNAUII participates in the National Missing Person DNA Database.
The unit also has program responsibility for the Regional Mitochondrial
DNA Laboratory Program and the SWGDAM mtDNA Population Database.
Serial Suspect Stopped
On the morning of March 25, 2004, Garland Hall broke into the
apartment of a University of Michigan student. He attempted to
rape her, but she fought him off. Before fleeing the victim’s
residence, Hall stole her laptop computer. Soon after the attack,
police arrested Hall driving with his car lights off. He was in
possession of the student’s laptop, as well as the cell phone
of a victim of a previous home invasion. After Hall’s arrest,
the police discovered that he was wanted on a warrant for window
peeping. He was also the prime suspect in a series of home invasions
and sexual assaults involving University of Michigan and Eastern
Michigan University students.
A judge ruled that the search of the vehicle was illegal, making
the laptop inadmissible as evidence. Hall pleaded guilty to lesser
charges and served several months in jail.
Hours before the attack on the University of Michigan student,
an Eastern Michigan University student had been attacked and sexually
assaulted in her home. The suspect left near the crime scene a
knit hat that the victim was later able to identify. A hair was
found on the hat and analyzed by the DNAUII. The mtDNA sequence
from the hat matched that of Garland Hall. After several trial
delays, Hall finally went to trial in October 2006 on charges of
first- and third-degree sexual assault and first-degree home invasion.
An examiner from the DNAUII testified to the mtDNA results, and
Hall was subsequently convicted on all charges. This suspected
serial sexual assaulter will now serve many years in prison.
Automated Analysis
The
DNAUII validated two robotic platforms that automate the analysis
of the entire control region of mtDNA. Two Biomek 2000 robotic
workstations perform DNA extraction and preparation for polymerase
chain reaction amplification. Amplification and mtDNA sequencing
are accomplished using the TECAN Genesis Freedom robot. These robotic
systems have greatly decreased the time required to perform mtDNA
analysis on population database samples in the DNAUII. The robotic
platforms are able to expeditiously process bloodstains and buccal
swabs to enter into the SWGDAM mtDNA Population Database. In the
future, automated analysis also will benefit the National Missing
Person DNA Database by allowing the processing of samples from
relatives of missing persons submitted for entry into the database.
The National Missing Person DNA Database
Established in 2000, the National Missing Person DNA Database
(NMPDD) Program provides investigators with an opportunity to identify
missing and unidentified persons on a national level. It
contains three indexes in which DNA profiles can be entered: Biological
Relatives of Missing Persons, Unidentified Human Remains, and Missing
Persons. Both of the FBI Laboratory’s DNA Analysis Units
perform DNA analysis on samples for these indexes.
Since the program’s inception, the DNAUII has completed
1058 missing-person cases submitted by local, state, and federal
agencies. These have resulted in 130 mtDNA associations for samples
from the Unidentified Human Remains and Biological Relatives of
Missing Persons Indexes. In 2006, 340 cases were submitted to the
NMPDD for analysis, and the DNAUII processed 370 cases for mtDNA
analysis.
In addition to processing cases, members of the NMPDD have been
active in educating the forensic and law enforcement communities
about the value of this program to investigators of missing-person
cases. Presentations detailing the purpose of the program and submission
guidelines were provided to various agencies and organizations,
including the National Association of Medical Examiners, International
Homicide Investigators, and the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid
Deployment Teams. NMPDD examiners also participated in a series
of conferences sponsored by the National Institute of Justice concerning
the identification of missing persons. The conferences targeted
a diverse audience, ranging from law enforcement officers, forensic
scientists, coroners, medical examiners, and family members of
individuals who have been missing a long time.
Regional
Mitochondrial DNA Laboratory Program
To enhance the nation’s capacity to perform mtDNA analysis
in forensic and missing-person cases, the FBI Laboratory partners
with four regional crime laboratories in Phoenix, Arizona; Meriden,
Connecticut; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Hamilton, New Jersey. Prior
to the regional laboratories’ inception in 2003, the FBI
Laboratory was the only crime laboratory in the United States providing
no-cost mtDNA examinations to state and local law enforcement agencies.
Since the program began accepting casework in late 2005, more
than 285 cases have been assigned to the four regional laboratories.
The work provided by the regional laboratories has produced investigative
leads for local law enforcement and aided in the identification
of unidentified human remains. The first testimony by a regional
laboratory analyst took place in New Hampshire in 2006, and several
subpoenas have been received for testimony across the United States.
Each of the four laboratories underwent external audits in 2006
to gain approval to upload mtDNA profiles into the National Missing
Person DNA Database.
Firearms-Toolmarks Unit
When a subject uses a
weapon or a tool to commit a crime, personnel in the Firearms-Toolmarks
Unit (FTU) examine the evidence. Evidence
in a typical case may include weapons such as rifles, pistols,
and shotguns; silencers and other muzzle attachments; magazines;
holsters; and both fired and unfired cartridges. Firearms-related
evidence—including lead and other metal fragments, shot
wads, shot cups, and bullets—also may be removed from
bodies at autopsy and submitted to the unit. Toolmark evidence
includes
everything from screwdrivers and crowbars to sheet metal, safety-deposit
boxes, and pieces of human bone and cartilage.
Forensic firearms examinations involve determining whether a bullet,
cartridge case, or other ammunition component was fired using a
particular firearm. Bullets and ammunition components are microscopically
compared with each other and with any number of firearms to determine
whether an association exists between the items submitted as evidence
and items whose origins are known. Forensic toolmark identifications
involve determining whether a particular tool produced a particular
mark. Micro- and macroscopic features of toolmarked items are compared
with known and questioned tools that may have produced them.
FTU personnel also perform other examinations, including trigger-pull
tests, function tests, full-auto conversion tests, shot-pattern
examinations, gunshot residue examinations on victims’ clothing,
ejection-pattern testing, trajectory analysis examinations, silencer
testing, and serial-number restorations.
To help achieve its mission, the FTU maintains two reference collections:
the Reference Firearms Collection and the Reference Ammunition
File. The unit’s firearms collection contains more than 5600
handguns and shoulder firearms. The ammunition file includes more
than 16,000 military and commercial ammunition specimens from both
domestic and international manufacturers.
In addition to examining evidence in the Laboratory, FTU examiners
also assist field agents and other federal, state, local, and international
law enforcement agencies. FTU personnel support FBI investigations
and administrative inquiries, providing crime scene trajectory
reconstruction and analyses. Training and liaison with national
and international forensic laboratories and law enforcement agencies
also represent important components of the FTU’s mission.
Latent Print Operations Unit
The Latent Print Operations Unit (LPOU) comprises six teams of
forensic examiners, an Administrative Review Program, and a Case
Flow Management Program. Forensic examiners conduct friction ridge
examinations, produce written reports of their findings, present
expert testimony in legal proceedings, and provide training and
field support to national and international law enforcement personnel.
The Administrative Review Program Manager reviews all reports issued
by the LPOU. The Case Flow Management Program Manager ensures efficient
work flow by coordinating case assignments. The Case Flow Manager
also handles questions from the field regarding evidence submissions.
Identifying a Serial Rapist
Local law enforcement officers and FBI investigators formed a
task force in Mobile, Alabama, to investigate the activities of
a serial rapist. In February 2005 the Evidence Response Team (ERT)
from the FBI’s Mobile Field Office was called to process
a crime scene for evidence. The ERT found a latent palm print on
the wall over the victim’s bed. In March 2005 the print was
submitted to the LPOU for comparison.
Johnny Moffett had been arrested in previous assaults, but there
had never been any physical evidence linking him to the crimes.
Moffett’s prints were submitted to the LPOU for comparison
with the palm print from the victim’s bedroom. The LPOU examiner
identified the palm print from the crime scene with the submitted
palm prints of Moffett and reported the identification the same
week. In September 2006 the examiner testified in the trial. The
palm print was the most important piece of physical evidence linking
Moffett to the crime. He was given four life sentences for first-degree
rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, and burglary.
Latent Print Support Unit
The Latent Print Support
Unit (LPSU) covers five program areas. The Integrated Automated
Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)
Program coordinates, tests, evaluates, and implements new IAFIS
hardware and software from the latent print perspective and
coordinates with the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services
(CJIS) Division and the criminal justice community on all latent-print-related
IAFIS issues. The IAFIS Program is currently working with the
CJIS Division on a number of joint issues, most notably, the
design of the next generation of IAFIS, known as Next Generation
Identification.
The Major Incident Management Program serves as the point of contact
to deploy the Disaster Squad and other special operations teams.
The Standards and Practices Program manages the quality assurance
program for the LPOU and LPSU. This includes drafting, implementing,
and maintaining the Latent Print Quality Assurance Manual and the
Latent Print Operations Manual. The Technology Development Program
operates the Latent Print Digital Imaging System and coordinates,
tests, evaluates, and implements advances in biometric technology
to improve friction ridge analysis.
The Training Program manages all aspects of training for both
the LPOU and the LPSU. This comprehensive training program covers
training for latent print physical scientists/forensic examiners;
in-service training for both FBI employees and law enforcement
personnel from outside agencies; continuing education training
for latent print employees; latent print training for Indian Country
Evidence Task Force and Evidence Response Team personnel; and training
for new agents at the FBI and DEA academies.
The LPSU’s five programs ensure the continued high quality
of friction ridge examinations, as well as compliance with FBI,
Laboratory Division, and accreditation board policies, procedures,
and guidelines.
Disaster Squad Deployments: Iraq and Afghanistan
The bodies of service members killed in combat are shipped to
Dover Air Force Base Mortuary for identification and burial preparation.
In 2006, 52 examiners from the LPOU and LPSU were deployed to
Dover for 216 days. Along with other members of the Disaster Squad,
they examined the bodies or body parts of approximately 1000 soldiers
killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, identifying 813 victims by their
fingerprints. In addition to identifying soldiers, the Disaster
Squad also identifies the bodies of civilians killed in the war.
Photographic Operations and Imaging Services Unit
The Photographic Operations and Imaging Services Unit (POISU)
coordinates and manages photographic services for the FBI. These
services include operational, investigative, and forensic photography;
technical assistance; camera and darkroom equipment procurement
and repair; and forensic imaging training. Although digital imaging
techniques have become standard practice, POISU also uses traditional
silver-based methods to capture, process, and produce photographic
images.
Managing both the FBI Photographic Program and the Field Photographic
Program involves overseeing more than 125 full-time and backup
photographers in the FBI’s 56 field offices. In addition,
POISU provides investigative and forensic photography, imaging,
and photographic-processing support for federal, state, local,
and international law enforcement investigations.
POISU is divided into three separate subunits with very distinct
and specific responsibilities.
The Operations and Training Subunit provides photographic support
and services to the Laboratory, FBI Headquarters divisions, and
all FBI field offices. Scientific and technical photographers in
this subunit deploy to major crime scenes, agent-involved shootings,
and other operational or investigative events. The increase in
terrorism-related investigations means that scientific and technical
photographers must deploy to document scenes involving chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive devices. This
subunit also provides a large percentage of the photographic training
conducted in the FBI. These classes include new agents, field photographers,
and outside agencies and cover virtually every aspect of forensic
imaging.
The Photographic Equipment and Support Subunit has many responsibilities.
Personnel assigned to this subunit design and install photographic
camera concealments; procure, disseminate, and repair photographic
equipment, including digital darkrooms with video workstations;
manage field-office equipment transitions and upgrades; and manage
all photographic production for the FBI. This subunit annually
produces more than 1.5 million images in both hard copy (photographic
prints in sizes ranging from 4 by 6 inches to 4 by 8 feet) and
in digital form (CDs and DVDs). This subunit also oversees three
regional photographic minilabs, in Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco.
The Photographic Services Subunit oversees the Portrait and Events
Studio at FBI Headquarters, the Tactical Site Survey Program, the
Aerial Photography Program, and the Technical Imaging Group. The
Portrait and Events Studio photographs special events and official
portraits for executive management and documents the anniversaries
and retirements of FBI personnel. Personnel assigned to the Tactical
Site Survey Program work directly with the FBI’s Hostage
Rescue Team, Special Weapons and Tactics Teams, and other government
agencies, such as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,
to create virtual walk-throughs of special-event venues or high-risk
locations. The Aerial Photography Program provides vertical images
of infrastructure, crime scenes, special-event venues, and other
areas for investigative and tactical planning. The eight photographers
assigned to the Technical Imaging Group (TIG) use digital and conventional
forensic photographic techniques to capture, process, and print
high-quality images of latent fingerprints for the Laboratory’s
Latent Print Units. In addition to conducting criminal casework,
TIG photographers also capture a high volume of latent impressions
in support of the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center.
Questioned Documents Unit
The Questioned Documents Unit (QDU) serves
the law enforcement community by providing forensic support to
federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies. The QDU conducts a variety
of examinations on crime scene evidence submitted to the Laboratory.
These include analysis of handwriting, typewriting, shoe prints,
tire treads, alterations, obliterations, rubber stamps, plastic
bags, and shredded documents.
Combating Identity Theft
The QDU was integral in the successful prosecution of a major
theft ring that operated out of Cleveland, Ohio, and surrounding
states. The case, United States v. Richard Tisdale et al., involved
an organized ring of shoplifters who used the stolen identities
of children to conceal their true identities and launder nearly
$1 million in proceeds through federally insured financial institutions
in Ohio. Tisdale and members of his group stole computer merchandise
from stores throughout Ohio and surrounding states, then sold the
merchandise to a Cleveland-based, Russian-born computer store owner,
Gregory Khabner. Khabner repackaged the stolen merchandise and
sold it at discounted prices to other Russian store
owners and the general public. Tisdale, whose extensive criminal
history dates back more than 40 years, manufactured drivers’ licenses,
Social Security cards, and other identity documents for himself
and members of his theft ring using the identities of children
and, in one case, a kidney dialysis patient at the Cleveland Clinic.
The QDU examined a laminated Social Security card and 13 copies
of Social Security cards that were found in a hotel room where
Tisdale manufactured his fraudulent documents. Through microscopic
examination of the laminated card and the 13 copies, the QDU determined
that the cards originated from a color ink-jet office machine.
The questioned Social Security card was compared side by side with
genuine Social Security cards from the QDU standards file.
The QDU determined that the questioned card was a counterfeit.
The 13 copies appeared to be at various stages of manipulation
in an effort to counterfeit Social Security cards. On one copy,
the Social Security number and cardholder’s name were obliterated
with correction fluid. Using special lighting techniques, the QDU
was able to decipher the obliterated name and Social Security number,
which were later revealed to be those of the suspect’s brother,
Jon Tisdale. The QDU compared this manipulated copy to the counterfeit
card and was able to positively identify it as the model for the
counterfeit.
A QDU examiner testified at Tisdale’s trial in Akron, Ohio.
This testimony was crucial in supporting the identity-theft charges.
Richard Tisdale was sentenced to 15 years’ incarceration,
to be followed by 3 years’ supervised release. In addition
to Tisdale’s conviction, the investigation resulted in guilty
pleas from Tisdale’s brother, Jon Tisdale, and Gregory Khabner,
both of whom are currently serving prison time for their roles
in the scheme. The Government also obtained a conviction against
Tisdale’s girlfriend, Andrea Dent, who participated in the
identity thefts and shoplifting and refused to cooperate during
the investigation.
SoleSearcher
SoleSearcher is an innovative investigative tool the QDU uses
to help determine the brand name or manufacturer of footwear from
questioned footwear impressions left behind at crime scenes. Hundreds
of these database searches are requested annually by law enforcement
agencies in cases that range from burglary to terrorism. The database
contains more than 11,000 different shoe outsole designs from more
than 370 different footwear manufacturers from around the world.
New outsole images are added to the database daily. With so many
different manufacturers and a majority of shoes being manufactured
overseas, keeping up with all of these shoes is a monumental task.
SoleSearcher was designed using different design icons commonly
found on the outsole of shoes. These different design icons are
placed on a blank shoe canvas to resemble the questioned footwear
impressions. The image is then searched through the database using
the specific criteria. If the database produces a shoe outsole
that is consistent with the questioned impression, a printout of
this shoe outsole is sent back to the contributor. If the contributor
has or develops a suspect or a person of interest, the contributor
can use this print during a search to obtain the shoes needed to
conduct further footwear examinations.
SoleSearcher Success Story
Over the years, SoleSearcher has provided valuable leads to investigators
and law enforcement agencies around the country. One case in particular
involved a double homicide that occurred in New Hampshire.
Two Dartmouth professors, Suzanne and Half Zantop, were found
brutally murdered in their home in Hanover, New Hampshire. At the
crime scene, investigators located a bloody footwear impression
that did not match either of the victims’ shoes. This bloody
footwear impression was submitted to the FBI Laboratory in an attempt
to determine the brand name or manufacturer. The impression was
searched through the database, and a possible match was located.
The footwear impression matched a VASQUE-style boot in the database.
Descriptive information concerning the type of boot that left the
bloody footwear impression was sent back to the investigators.
Two teenagers were soon developed as suspects. When investigators
asked one of the suspects, Robert Tulloch, if he owned a pair of
VASQUE boots, he answered yes. Investigators collected the boots,
compared them to the impression left behind at the crime scene,
and determined that one of Tulloch’s VASQUE boots had made
the bloody impression. Tulloch pleaded guilty to life in prison
without parole. The other suspect, James Parker, cooperated with
police but still received a sentence of 25 years to life.
The History of the Footwear Reference Collection
The FBI Laboratory’s first footwear reference collection
dates back to around 1935. This collection consisted of a series
of photographs of shoe soles and heels. These photographs were
placed in file cabinets according to manufacturer. The reference-file
searches were all conducted by hand. Back in the 1930s, this collection
was considered complete because all shoes at that time were manufactured
in the United States. The shoes were primarily dress shoes and
perhaps a small number of casual shoes. Specialty athletic shoes
were not introduced until the 1950s and 1960s.
The first computerized footwear database was introduced in the
mid-1980s and was housed on a mainframe computer system. In the
early 1990s, the footwear database was placed on a personal computer.
The manufacturer would send in catalogs, and these outsole images
would be scanned into the database. At that time, the database
had approximately 2000 outsole images. Today, the database contains
more than 11,000 images. In the future, the Laboratory plans to
make SoleSearcher available through a secure network so other law
enforcement agencies may electronically contribute and search footwear
images in the database.
Special Projects Unit
The Investigative and Prosecutive
Graphic Unit (IPGU) and the Structural Design Unit (SDU) worked
closely for years to produce a multitude
of two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) operational
and demonstrative materials. These items are used to provide
direct investigative, operational, and prosecutorial support
for FBI agents and U.S. attorneys. Additionally, when circumstances
warrant, these services are also provided to state and local
law enforcement. In 2006 the IPGU and the SDU were merged to
form the Special Projects Unit (SPU) in order to more efficiently
serve the criminal justice community.
Forensic Facial Imaging
In 2006, SPU personnel handled numerous cases requiring the production
of facial imagery. These included requests for the preparation
of artist composite drawings, 2-D and 3-D facial reconstructions
from skeletal remains, postmortem drawings, and digital photographic
retouches and manipulations. This imagery was provided in direct
support of FBI counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal
investigations and was used both domestically and internationally.
In addition, support was provided for the Department of Defense
and intelligence personnel on the ground in Afghanistan, Somalia,
and Iraq.
The following images were prepared through witness interviews
and used to locate individuals wanted by the FBI. These individuals
were located as a direct result of these drawings.
To further enhance and expand its response capabilities in the
facial-imaging arena, in 2006 the SPU entered into a working agreement
with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) on several
research projects. When completed, these projects will help lay
a new foundation for many areas of facial imaging. One of these
projects involves the 3-D scanning of human skulls that also have
available life photos of those same individuals from the Anthropological
Research Facility at UTK. The data collected from these scans will
be used to develop a highly accurate reference database that will
be used by forensic anthropologists and artists. This process will
more clearly delineate the influence the skull has on the life
appearance of the deceased individual. Information gained through
this research will also be used in ongoing research to create a
computer program that will produce lifelike images from skeletal
remains in an automatic manner and with accurate and consistent
results.
The images below depict SPU personnel collecting digital data
of skeletal remains at the Anthropological Research Facility at
UTK.
An associative research proposal will work to develop a national
database of all facial reconstructions, which currently number
more than 40,000 unidentified individuals. This database will provide
the platform through which any examiner can search all of the forensic
reconstruction imagery entered into the database.
Situational Awareness and Special-Event Support
SPU personnel provide a wide array of specialized support in the
areas of situational awareness and special-event management. This
support comes in the form of 3-D laser scanning and LIDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging), 360-degree spherical video, panoramic photography,
GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping, and interactive presentations.
Most SPU efforts in this area go toward the documentation and digital
reconstruction of the sites of major events or venues. The product
prepared by SPU is used by command and tactical personnel for documenting
venues to determine ingress and egress points, breaching points,
sniper and counter-sniper locations, emergency evacuation plans,
helicopter landing areas, desirable routes of travel, and other
important information.
In 2006, SPU personnel responded to numerous requests for these
types of services, such as operational/tactical packages for the
NBA All-Star Game, the NFL Super Bowl, the MLB All-Star Game, the
Kentucky Derby, the Little League World Series, and the Rose Bowl
and Rose Parade, as well as the documentation of the football stadium
and two basketball arenas at The Ohio State University.
The image below of Dolphin Stadium was “stitched” together
using multiple scans to form a complete 3-D digital reconstruction
of the stadium. This completed image is being used by operational
and security personnel for event planning and security.
Crime Scene Survey, Documentation, and Reconstruction
Throughout the year the SPU prepared numerous crime scene reconstructions
in both 2-D and 3-D. Many of the requests for these services required
unit personnel to travel to crime scenes and physically conduct
site surveys and secure digital documentation data. These data
enabled personnel to produce both physical and digital scale models
and exhibits. To accomplish these duties, unit personnel use a
wide array of equipment and methodologies, ranging from traditional
manual equipment and methods to state-of-the-art digital and laser
data-collection devices. Three-dimensional, high-resolution laser
scanners were used to survey and document crime scenes that required
high-end digital data collection. Often these types of scenes need
to be accurately documented and reconstructed in order to show
line of sight, bullet trajectories, evidence/debris disbursement,
or the movement and relative location of individuals, vehicles,
and other objects.
The SPU works closely with all of the operational entities within
the FBI. However, its primary customers are the field Evidence
Response Teams (ERTs) and the Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU)
in the Laboratory. Through this working relationship, SPU personnel
provide support for all of the major crime scene investigations
conducted by the FBI. Twenty FBI field office ERTs have personnel
who are specially trained in the use of the Total Station survey
equipment. A forensic engineer on staff in the SPU, along with
personnel from the ERTU, oversees the operation of the field’s
Total Stations. As a result of this working relationship, in 2006
two to three submissions of Total Station data were received from
each field team, totaling approximately 60 field-wide submissions.
Each one of these was reviewed and processed for the participating
field ERT survey team. In addition to the operational support provided
by the SPU, unit personnel also provided training for the Total
Station to ERT personnel.
Demonstrative Evidence
The SPU’s production of demonstrative evidence for courtroom
presentation is as significant as its investigative and operational
support efforts. This is exemplified by the support provided by
the unit following the attacks of September 11, 2001. From the
time the first airplane slammed into the World Trade Center until
Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced, SPU personnel produced hundreds
of investigative and prosecutive items. These ranged from simple
organizational charts, to the building of physical scale models
of the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, to the creation of
complex, digitally interactive displays that exhibit time-sensitive,
multilayered interactions between individuals and events. These
interactive presentations often included video and audio clips,
scanned images of documents, digital telemetry from aircraft, and
typed transcripts of telephone conversations. SPU’s efforts
in this area proved to be a major reason why the sentencing phase
of Moussaoui’s trial was successful.
Throughout the year SPU personnel routinely produced items of
demonstrative evidence that proved pivotal to the successful outcome
of many prosecutions. To accomplish this, unit personnel traveled
to field locations, conducted interviews, met with investigators
and prosecutors, and reviewed evidence and data. Through these
efforts, they were able to create charts, maps, diagrams, models,
and numerous types of trial aids and exhibits.
Training
During 2006 the SPU provided both basic and advanced training
for FBI, state, local, and international law enforcement personnel.
This training included traditional courses held at the training
academy in Quantico, Virginia, as well as seminars and workshops
at various venues throughout the United States. These included
Forensic Facial Imaging; Crime Scene Survey, Documentation, and
Reconstruction; the Florida Division of the International Association
for Identification Annual Educational Training Conference; the
42nd Annual Forensic Dental Identification and Emerging Technologies
Seminar; the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar;
the Society of Manufacturing Engineers annual meeting; the Law
Enforcement Executive Development Seminar; Total Station training
for the Lebanese Police; training for FBI Field Photographers;
Evidence Response Team Total Station training; and Evidence Response
Team Bullet Trajectory training.
The SPU was also involved in the establishment and oversight of
technology and programs directly related to its area of expertise.
In this capacity, unit personnel were involved in or served on
the following committees: the Imaging Technology Coordinating Committee,
the International Association of Forensic and Security Metrology,
and the International Association for Identification.
Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center
Every day, sophisticated
homemade bombs explode in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places
around the globe. These improvised explosive devices,
or IEDs, sometimes claim hundreds of victims, both military and
civilian. To stem the flow of attacks, the Terrorist Explosive
Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) is working diligently to identify
the terrorists and organizations that make and detonate these
deadly devices.
Established at the FBI Laboratory in 2003, the TEDAC comprises
personnel from law enforcement, intelligence, and military agencies.
TEDAC experts examine thousands of pieces of evidence—often
tiny fragments—to determine the form and function of the
IEDs and, if possible, who built them.
The information developed at the TEDAC is compiled in a secure,
accessible, central database and also serves as the basis for intelligence
reports issued by the center. By functioning as a repository for
both physical evidence and intelligence on IEDs, the TEDAC provides
vital information to the intelligence community and especially
to U.S. and allied military forces fighting in Iraq and other overseas
operations.
The work of TEDAC personnel is sensitive and includes successes
that may never be published in the news. However, the people who
depend on TEDAC’s efforts both in the United States and abroad
can rest assured that TEDAC personnel are working hard to accomplish
their mission of keeping U.S. interests and allies safe.
Trace Evidence Unit
Physical contact between two people or between a person and an
object often results in the transfer of trace materials. Identifying
and comparing these materials may link a suspect to a victim or
a crime scene.
The Trace Evidence Unit (TEU) identifies and compares
these trace materials. Scientific examinations of physical evidence
include
the areas of hairs, fibers, fabric, cordage, soil, glass, building
materials, feathers, wood, gemstones, and physical anthropology.
Unit personnel also provide expert testimony relating to these
examinations in legal proceedings, provide training to the
law enforcement community, provide forensic field support in FBI
cases, and develop and implement new technologies to enhance scientific
examinations.
In support of the caseworking mission of the FBI Laboratory, in
2006 the TEU completed analysis on approximately 11,000 items of
evidence in 2700 cases. These cases were received from city, county,
state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies. Approximately
1700 cases were completed in support of the Terrorist Explosive
Device Analytical Center, while approximately 200 cases were completed
in support of the Indian Country Evidence Task Force. Each case
may have involved several examinations and literally thousands
of pieces of evidence.
To support the mission of training, the TEU sponsored or participated
in numerous ventures. Members of the unit taught one- to two-week
courses in hair and fiber analysis and Indian Country crime scene
analysis to audiences in Quantico, Virginia; Asheville, North Carolina;
Tucson, Arizona; and Marquette, Michigan.
To support the mission of FBI field offices, TEU personnel assisted
in crime scene response in two body-recovery operations, lending
assistance in the areas of forensic anthropology and mineralogy.
In support of the Regional Mitochondrial DNA Laboratory Program,
the TEU trained one hair examiner who will work in one of the four
regional laboratories. These laboratories partner with the FBI
Laboratory to augment their capacity for mitochondrial DNA analysis
in forensic and missing-person cases.
Pit Bull Predators
Dorothy Sullivan, age 82, was fatally mauled by three pit bulls
in her yard in Spotsylvania, Virginia. The dogs also killed Sullivan’s
shi tzu, Buttons. The TEU examined evidence recovered from the
stomachs of the pit bulls and found hairs consistent with hairs
recovered from the victim’s hairbrush. The owner of the dogs,
Deanna Large, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. This
case marks the State’s first successful prosecution of involuntary
manslaughter in connection with a dog attack.
Response Services
These units respond to incidents all over the world. They have
specialized expertise and resources that allow them to work with
hazardous materials and other dangerous substances. Working with
other agencies, they can quickly and safely contain a scene and
conduct their investigation while keeping others safe.
Explosives Unit
The Explosives Unit (EU) has several broad areas of responsibility.
The first area deals with the examination of evidence associated
with bombing matters. The unit conducts forensic examinations of
IEDs, incendiary devices, and their respective remains and provides
expert witness testimony in court regarding the results of these
examinations. These examinations involve the identification and
intended function of the components used to construct the devices,
including detonators, initiators, explosives, wires, tapes, containers,
electronic components, timing mechanisms, and power sources.
The EU’s mission includes direct field support in bombing
matters and bombing crime scene investigations, as well as searches
of bomb factories and safe houses in which bombs or bomb components
may be encountered. The unit conducts liaison with domestic and
foreign manufacturers of explosives and maintains the Explosives
Reference File (ERF) and the Explosives Reference Tool (EXPeRT)
database to support forensic examinations. In addition, the EU
conducts training in bombing crime scene investigations and researches
new methods of analysis to help ensure the continued leadership
role the FBI Laboratory has come to play in terrorist bombing matters.
The EU also performs chemical analyses to determine the type of
explosive used in an improvised explosive or incendiary device.
This includes analyzing bulk substances and the residues left behind
after an explosive detonates. Finally, the unit assists investigators
in determining if debris from a fire of suspicious origin has an
accelerant present.
In 2006 the EU provided forensic and/or technical assistance for
several international bombing crime scenes/searches. The unit also
provided training to more than 200 federal, state, and local investigators
on bombing crime scene investigations. In addition, the EU provided
financial support and subject-matter experts in support of the
FBI’s Large Vehicle Bomb Post-Blast Course. The only one
of its kind, the course provides critical training for U.S. military
personnel; federal, state, and local investigators; and numerous
international law enforcement partners.
In September 2004 the FBI’s Memphis Field Office received
information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that Demetrius
Van Crocker was attempting to obtain materials to construct a bomb,
which he intended to detonate in a federal or state courthouse.
Crocker, a Tennessee farmhand with an IQ of 85, met with a cooperating
witness, who recorded several conversations confirming Crocker’s
intent. The initial investigation exposed Crocker’s right-wing
beliefs, which are closely aligned to such groups as the Ku Klux
Klan and other white supremacist/neo-Nazi organizations. While
discussing his plans
to bomb a courthouse, Crocker said, “The country needs to
be taken back by the people.” Crocker also expressed his
deep hatred of the U.S. government.
On October 25, 2004, special agents from the Memphis Field Office
arrested Crocker in Jackson, Tennessee, after he met with an FBI
undercover agent. During the meeting, the undercover agent provided
Crocker with an inert canister of sarin gas and a block of inert
C-4 plastic explosive, represented as being stolen from a military
installation in Louisiana. A small quantity of live explosive was
actually placed in the inert C-4 block at the request of the prosecutor.
Later that same day, agents executed a search warrant at Crocker’s
residence in McKenzie, Tennessee, and discovered items believed
to be intended to construct an IED. These items consisted of a
12-inch metal pipe, an end cap, an inert hand-grenade body, hobby
fuse, and two pounds of low-explosive powder. All of the items
were submitted to the Laboratory for analysis to determine the
chemical composition and whether they could be assembled into an
IED.
The chemical analyses performed on the low-explosive powders identified
them as black powder and Pyrodex. Together with the other items
seized from Crocker’s residence, these explosives could have
been used as the main charge of an IED.
On April 12, 2006, two Explosives Unit examiners traveled to Jackson,
Tennessee, and provided testimony in U.S. district court about
the conclusion of the evidence analyzed. Demetrius Van Crocker
was convicted on April 16, 2006, and subsequently sentenced to
30 years in prison.
Evidence Response Team Unit
The
Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU) has supported the operations
of field office Evidence Response Teams (ERTs) since the unit’s
inception in 1992. The ERTU provides training, crime scene equipment
and supplies, and on-scene support to the ERTs in all 56 FBI field
offices. These teams have grown in size over the years and currently
consist of 1160 primary team members. The ERT program facilitated
more than 2000 ERT responses during 2006.
The ERTU services all field offices by providing:
• An annual
budget for crime scene supplies and equipment.
• Mobile
command posts and other specialty crime scene vehicles and trailers
to use at crime scenes.
• Sophisticated
tools, including forensic light sources, laser transit systems,
digital cameras, and laptop computer technology.
The ERTU provides
other critical services, to include:
• Numerous basic and advanced forensic training courses
for all field ERT personnel.
• Operational ERT support and
consultation to field offices upon request.
The ERTU also provides support to outside agencies. This has included
training and consultation regarding the establishment of protocols
associated with processing crime scenes and Sensitive Site Exploitation
operations.
ERTU Specialized Response Capabilities
Underwater Search and Evidence Response Teams (USERT): In 2006
ERTU’s USERT Program supported approximately 30 underwater
evidence operations involving FBI and state and local investigations.
These included a coordinated ERT USERT operation in the “Red
Zone” in Iraq to search for evidence in a major criminal
investigation.
Forensic Canine Teams: Human Scent Evidence Team
and human-remains detection canines are provided to field ERTs
across a broad spectrum
of FBI investigations, including buried-body searches, child abductions,
and domestic terrorism cases. In 2006 the ERTU actively initiated
an in-house canine capability by procuring the first of two bloodhounds
and adding two Forensic Canine Operations Specialists (humans)
to its staff. The addition of a human-scent collection and identification
capability illustrates the emerging technologies and cutting-edge
techniques sought by the ERTU to enhance FBI forensic capabilities.
In 2006 the ERTU coordinated the joint deployment of USERT and
forensic canine resources to Tennessee in a search for a missing
child. ERTU personnel also provided on-scene support during search
operations.
Human Scent Evidence Team
Created in 1999, the Human Scent Evidence Team uses specially
trained human-scent evidence canine teams and scent collected from
evidence to provide investigators with the ability to accurately
trace the path of offenders away from the crime scene, to identify
conspirators, to eliminate uninvolved suspects, and to minimize
unnecessary investigative efforts, thus reducing the time and work
hours needed to bring an investigation to a successful conclusion.
In the United States, at least five federal agencies and the military
train and use detector canines to find bombs, accelerants, drugs,
and food. However, the FBI is the only federal agency that collects
human-scent evidence and uses human-scent evidence canines as
an investigative tool. Although this program is relatively new
to the FBI, many European nations have organized human-scent
canine programs, in which the collection and use of human-scent
evidence is defined by governmental regulations. Police departments
in the United States routinely use tracking dogs
to chase fleeing suspects, but the collection of human scent evidence
for use throughout an investigation is a new concept for U.S. law
enforcement.
Canine Collar
During the evening of September 30, 2005, in a home in Floyd County,
Iowa, an argument occurred during a methamphetamine drug transaction
between Jesse Patchin and James Dean Raymond. Following the argument,
Patchin left the residence on foot. Approximately 40 minutes later,
Raymond picked up a knife and drove away with Charles Gallmeyer.
On the morning of October 1, 2005, Patchin’s girlfriend
noticed blood in her car. Patchin was never seen alive again.
Canine Colleagues
Some
FBI employees start young. Lucy, Mia, and Tinkerbelle were
only 12 weeks old when they came to work for the FBI
Laboratory. Who are these eager employees? Members of the
FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team.
The basic training process for a human-scent evidence canine
takes approximately one year and begins when the dog is only
about 12 weeks old. Starting from this early age, the dogs
are taught a short game of chase. It begins simply enough:
the trainers run away from the puppies and allow the dogs
to catch them. As the dogs grow, the distance of the chase
extends. The trainers begin hiding at various points along
the chase route to teach the dogs to use their nose and not
their eyes. This phase of training culminates with a blind
certification test on a 24-hour-old trail where the dog-handler
team must accurately follow the trail and identify the person
who laid it.
The FBI’s advanced training program takes place
when the dogs are between one and two years old. In this
period,
the canines are taught to smell odors collected from objects
and accurately indicate to their handlers the presence or
absence of a matching odor on the ground. This technique
permits the FBI Human Scent Evidence Team to compare odors
collected from a crime scene to suspects and indicates a
match or nonmatch.
Since its inception, the Human Scent Evidence Team has
conducted 1258 scent checks on 44 deployments in 30 cases,
including
15 violent crime investigations, 12 terrorism cases, and
1 foreign counterintelligence investigation. With natural
instincts and dogged determination, the FBI Laboratory’s
youngest employees sniff out evidence wherever it may lie.
|
On November 5, 2005, the Evidence Response Team Unit’s Human
Scent Evidence Team used a scent pad collected from Jesse Patchin’s
clothing and recorded a positive scent match at the location of
the drug transaction. The subsequent trail traveled from this location
into a corn field along a country road. Positive responses were
also recorded in the corn field using pads collected from Raymond’s
clothing.
In January 2006 the State of Iowa reached a cooperation agreement
with Gallmeyer that included Gallmeyer’s disclosing the location
of Patchin’s body. Gallmeyer said that on the night of the
homicide, as he and Raymond were driving back to the city, they
saw Patchin walking along a gravel road. Gallmeyer led investigators
to the exact location where the ERTU’s Human Scent Dog Team
had previously followed the scent from the residence and then to
Patchin’s body. According to a witness, Raymond admitted
that after he and Gallmeyer had caught up with Patchin on the gravel
road, Raymond had gotten out of the car and slit Patchin’s
throat. They later moved Patchin’s body.
Hazardous Materials Response Unit
Responding to threats and incidents involving hazardous chemical,
biological, radiological, and nuclear materials, including weapons
of mass destruction (WMD), requires specialized expertise. The
Laboratory’s Hazardous Materials Response Unit (HMRU) has
the knowledge and experience needed to handle these delicate investigations.
In addition to providing threat assessments to FBI field offices,
legal attachés, and Headquarters divisions, the HMRU provides
on-site support to all FBI investigations involving hazardous materials.
In addition, the HMRU oversees on-site safety at high-hazard crime
scenes, such as collapsed structures and confined spaces, and supports
response operations that may involve hazardous materials.
The HMRU provides training, certification, and oversight for the
27 Hazardous Materials Response Teams (HMRTs) operating in FBI
field offices. The more than 350 response personnel currently assigned
to the HMRTs require response equipment, medical monitoring, and
specialized training.
The
main goal of HMRU/HMRT training is to produce members who are competent
to enter hazardous materials
crime scenes, in compliance
with federal regulations. All HMRU/HMRT employees are required
to complete the HMRU Hazardous Materials Operations Course
and WMD Crime Scene Course, which teach the students how to respond
safely and effectively to a hazardous materials crime scene.
Other training—including Basic Microbiology and Biological
Threats, Chemistry of Hazardous Materials, and Radiological Crime
Scene Investigation Training—is offered to HMRT members
based on the requirements of their position. In 2006 the HMRU
trained approximately 466 HMRT members. In addition, the HMRU
trained approximately 3000 local, state, and federal officials
during conferences and exercises. Approximately 700 international
students received training from the HMRU in cooperation with
the International Training and Assistance Unit of the FBI’s
Training Division, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division,
and the Department of Defense’s International Counterproliferation
Program.
At the September 2006 International Symposium on Agroterrorism
in Kansas City, Missouri, participants received training on the
incident command system and the science behind field-screening
hazardous materials. The training also covered the unit’s
Hazardous Materials Response Base of Operations Vehicle.
In 2006 the HMRU deployed on 57 missions, completed 190 scientific
assessments, and provided operational advice via 219 conference
calls. Success for the HMRU program is linked to close and effective
working relationships within the FBI, with other government agencies,
and in academia. Some notable HMRU deployments for 2006 include
the following cases.
In January 2006, members of the HMRU provided
presentations on WMD awareness at a meeting of the FBI’s
Richmond Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). Following
the meeting, the Richmond
WMD Coordinator was approached by an officer of a local police
department who had recognized that a photograph of castor seeds
(the source of the toxin ricin) was similar to seeds the department
had observed during a local crime scene search. As a result,
the JTTF opened a WMD investigation, and the HMRU and HMRT members
from the Norfolk Field Office searched for materials associated
with the production of ricin.
The HMRU responded to an anthrax incident in the New York area
in February 2006. This incident received a significant amount of
media coverage because of the unknown nature of how the individual
became exposed to Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.
The victim made drums from animal pelts, and the pelts potentially
were contaminated with environmental B. anthracis spores. The HMRU
conducted an environmental sampling mission in support of public
health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in several
areas that were potentially contaminated with spores.
In July 2006 the Rochester Resident Agency of the FBI’s
Buffalo Field Office requested the assistance of the HMRU to help
the Rochester Police Department and the Department of Environmental
Conservation investigate a case involving an individual who had
recently been evicted from his apartment. Upon entering the individual’s
residence, the eviction server noticed a large quantity of dangerous
chemicals, including picric acid and mercury. Subsequent investigation
determined no terrorism nexus; however, the HMRU and HMRTs were
requested to provide scientific, technical, safety, and HAZMAT
expertise to the Rochester Fire Department, the Rochester Police
Department, and the Department of Environmental Conservation to
assist them in successfully and safely resolving the incident.
Research and Development Services
Research and development form the foundation of the FBI Laboratory’s
investigative services. The scientific breakthroughs developed
in the Laboratory not only help the FBI solve cases but also advance
the forensic sciences. Working with scientists from other government
agencies and academia enhances the expertise of others while simultaneously
benefiting the Laboratory. The Laboratory’s work with international
agencies leads to the development of global solutions to the crime
problems facing the world today. The Counterterrorism and Forensic
Science Research Unit leads the Laboratory’s efforts in these
areas.
Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit
The Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit (CFSRU)
researches, develops, and delivers new technologies and methodologies
to advance forensic science and combat terrorism. To achieve this
mission, CFSRU scientists work with scientists at other government
agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the
CIA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Examples
of recent research accomplishments include a comprehensive study
on the use of specialized techniques for disarming improvised explosive
devices; the development of software to decipher manually encrypted
ciphers and interpret codes; the creation of technically engineered
designs and prototypes of packaging to contain and transport radiologically
contaminated evidence; and the production of portable containment
devices to permit safe, effective forensic examination of contaminated
evidence.
In 2006, unit personnel, together with participants in the Visiting
Scientist Program managed within CFSRU, executed more than 100
research and development projects, presented findings at numerous
national and international technical conferences, and submitted
six manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
CFSRU scientists are leading experts in their respective fields
and provide valuable advice and guidance to both the FBI and other
law enforcement agencies as requested. In addition to its role
in research and development, CFSRU provides advanced scientific
training through specialized forensic classes offered to state
and local law enforcement personnel. In 2006, CFSRU personnel conducted
specialized classes with both interactive classroom lectures and
hands-on laboratory exercises in such subjects as infrared spectrometry,
forensic mitochondrial DNA analysis, and chromatographic methods.
As part of the CFSRU’s outreach effort to assist state and
local crime laboratories, unit personnel provided updates
on active research at the 34th Annual Crime Laboratory Development
Symposium held in Atlanta. The update featured six technical presentations
by CFSRU personnel: the Permanence of Friction Ridge Skin Detail;
Immunoassays for Body-Fluid Identification; Detection of Cocaine-N-Oxide
and Other Cocaine Metabolites in Hair by Liquid Chromatography-Mass
Spectrometry; Creation of an Automotive Carpet Fiber Database;
Development and Validation of an Automated Biometric Handwriting
Comparison System for Forensic Document Examinations; and Use of
Three-Dimensional Imaging for Quantitative Comparison of Toolmarks.
In addition, 26 technical scientific posters were presented on
subjects related to anthropology, chemical analysis, counterterrorism,
nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, document analysis, explosives, fingerprint
examination, microbiology, photography, serology, toxicology, and
trace evidence.
Cooperative International Teamwork
CFSRU participated in the Forensic Review Panel coordinated by
the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI). Subject-matter
experts reviewed a protocol developed by the Russian precious-metal
industry and the Russian Forensic Science Federation for determining
the source of materials used in the processing of platinum-group
metals. The goal of the panel was to come to a decision concerning
the acceptability of this protocol in European courts, establish
documentation concerning its forensic validity, and make suggestions
for possible improvement. Sourcing of these materials is important
because stolen platinum-group metals have been used to finance
organized criminal enterprises, including those supporting international
terrorism.
Cryptanalysis Support System
CFSRU assisted in the development of the Cryptanalysis Support
System (CRYSS), a machine-driven, cutting-edge tool that assists
cryptographers in deciphering manually encrypted ciphers written
in
various languages and symbols. The program was installed for casework
use in 2004, and since that time, it has been used to assist in
deciphering more than 80 messages. In recognition of the significance
of the program, Laboratory employees in CFSRU, the Cryptanalysis
and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), and the IT Coordination Group
who worked on the project received a Director’s Award for
Outstanding Scientific Achievement. CFSRU continues to support
the CRRU with recent enhancements to the software aimed at applying
the knowledge learned in developing CRYSS to the interpretation
of codes.
Reality Enhancement/Facial Approximation by Computational Estimation
An automated, three-dimensional facial-reconstruction system has
been developed under external contract, and the beta version is
now undergoing validation. Reality Enhancement/Facial Approximation
by Computational Estimation (RE/FACE) is a cutting-edge software
program that provides facial approximation of human remains. This
software has the potential to revolutionize the identification
of unknown skeletal and decomposed remains of missing persons and
victims of crime, mass disasters, and war, thereby providing assistance
to all national and international investigative and law enforcement
agencies.
Messenger RNA Profiling of Human Body Fluids
Conventional methods of body-fluid identification use a variety
of labor-intensive, technologically diverse serological techniques.
Fully differentiated cells, such as blood lymphocytes or epithelial
cells lining the oral cavity, have a unique pattern of gene expression,
which is characterized by the relative presence and abundance of
specific messenger RNA (mRNA) species. Using an RNA-based assay
to identify biological stains offers several advantages over conventional
methods, including greater specificity, simultaneous analysis through
common assay format, the potential for automation, and decreased
sample consumption.
CFSRU is actively working to develop and validate a set of mRNA
assays that can be used to identify human saliva, blood, semen,
vaginal secretions, and menstrual blood. As proof of concept, CFSRU
managed an external contract to develop a 15-plex reverse transcription-polymerase
chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, which is being optimized for use
by the DNA Analysis Unit I. Through the Visiting Scientist Program,
post-doctoral-level scientists are performing research to facilitate
transition of the multiplex RT-PCR to routine casework. A method
is being developed to coextract DNA and RNA from forensic samples
that will allow practitioners to determine the source of a stain
both in terms of genetic identity and body-fluid composition from
a single sample.
Trace Volatile Organic Compound Analysis
Detection of trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by canines
for human odor/scent, human remains, narcotics, and explosives
determinations is an important component of investigative law enforcement
and forensic analysis. The use of canines for explosives or narcotics
detection has a proven success rate; however, in these instances,
the canines are trained on only a few compounds. Canines have been
trained specifically to remember human odor on living persons and
have been successful in matching suspects to proffered odor evidence.
In this case, it has been determined that an ensemble of existing
compounds could be responsible in a match-to-sample scenario. Criminal
cases involving missing persons have been resolved by the ability
of trained canines to store a victim’s unique chemical signature
and track this specific ensemble to crime scene locations or buried
remains.
For human-scent detection, it would be beneficial for law enforcement
to reproduce, via analytical instrumentation and methods, the capability
of the canine to extract and detect trace-level VOCs from the air
in nearly real time. This requires determining the target compounds
and their respective concentrations. A method using analytical
instrumentation has been developed and evaluated for the rapid
detection and identification of trace-level VOCs. The new adaptive
sampler can determine trace VOCs while working in the same air-flow
regime as the canine. Optimization experiments are underway to
further improve potential field use of the device.
Microbial Rosetta Stone
CFSRU managed the development of a comprehensive database for
microbial forensics that will provide law enforcement personnel
with the ability to quickly obtain relevant information on a wide
variety of biological threat agents and to store analytical data
in an easily retrievable format. The Microbial Rosetta Stone (MRS)
database system offers a repository of information on threat agents
and will soon be deployed to multiple users. The system will provide
the FBI with a resource that helps define the landscape of microbial
threat agents and supports diagnostic assay development and characterization.
The database gives law enforcement personnel a repository of information
on biological agents that can be queried for risk-assessment analysis
of threat incidents and assist with response planning.
An extensive amount of data on human, agriculture, and livestock
pathogens and biological toxins that may be used as threat agents
has been added to the system. A mass spectrometry literature collection
describing analytical methods for detecting bacteriological samples
has been compiled and incorporated into the system. The MRS will
enable documenting and tracking biochemical and genomic signatures
for pathogens and provide users with a place to store, identify,
query, and compare those signatures. The potential usefulness of
the MRS system is evident by interest shown by other government
agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Food
and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Visiting Scientist Program
The Visiting Scientist Program provides a direct connection between
the FBI Laboratory and academia. Visiting Scientists—who
include university students, postgraduates, and faculty from institutions
outside the FBI—work with CFSRU staff to enhance the FBI
Laboratory’s research and development capabilities, meet
the mission and needs of the Laboratory, and enhance their own
education by participating in forensic research initiatives in
the CFSRU laboratories using state-of-the-art equipment. In this
way, Visiting Scientists not only increase their research contribution
within their chosen field of study but also participate in a unique
professional development opportunity.
With an experienced CFSRU scientist to guide and mentor them,
Visiting Scientists work on one or two projects designed to meet
the needs of the Laboratory’s operational units. After a
program lasting from three months to three years, participants
submit detailed reports and technical papers for publication in
peer-reviewed scientific journals. In 2006 program funding allowed
the FBI to offer this opportunity to 45 Visiting Scientists representing
30 academic institutions. These scientists included 2 university
faculty members, 15 postdoctoral fellows, 3 doctoral students,
6 master’s recipients, 8 master’s students, 5 bachelor’s
recipients, and 6 undergraduate students.
Through a cooperative effort with the Department of Defense, the
Visiting Scientist Program was expanded in 2006 to include military
graduate students from the Uniformed Services University of the
Health Sciences (USUHS). Six USUHS students participated in CFSRU
research designed to meet the needs of the Laboratory’s operational
units while simultaneously providing opportunities for scientific
research suitable for incorporation into the students’ dissertations.
This cooperative effort advances FBI research needs while helping
to ensure a cadre of professionally trained and educated military
scientists.
The Visiting Scientist Program was the focal point of an award
established in 2006 to honor the commitment of Dr. Dwight E. Adams,
former Director of the FBI Laboratory, to forensic science research
and, in particular, to the training and development of future forensic
scientists. The Dwight E. Adams Award recognizes a participant
in the Visiting Scientist Program for exceptional scientific achievement
and performance of research and development that address one or
more priorities defined by the Director of the FBI. This award
was presented for the first time in 2006 to Dr. Billy W. Acon,
in recognition for outstanding performance during his tenure as
a Visiting Scientist. Dr. Acon received a certificate and monetary
award, and his name was engraved on a plaque currently on display
in the Laboratory.
Additional information on the Visiting Scientist Program is located
at http://www.fbijobs.gov/242.asp.
Administrative and Support Services
These units play a vital role in supporting the mission of the
FBI Laboratory. They ensure that the Laboratory has sufficient
resources to operate, facilitate the efficient flow of evidence
through the Laboratory, keep Laboratory employees safe and healthy,
and maintain security on the premises, among other essential functions.
Administrative Unit
The Administrative Unit (AU) supports the mission of the FBI Laboratory
by coordinating, directing, and facilitating various programs and
initiatives in the areas of administration, personnel, hiring,
and mail services.
The AU’s administrative responsibilities include the following
areas:
• Awards.
•
Ethics.
• Equal Employment Opportunity,
Employee Assistance, and Upward Mobility Programs.
• Fleet
management.
• Forensic examiner training, certification, and
service agreements.
• Honors interns.
• Inspections.
• Manual
revisions.
• Student loan repayment.
The AU’s personnel
and hiring responsibilities include:
• Promotions, transfers, and reassignments.
• Internal
and external hiring initiatives.
• Staffing and funded staffing
levels.
• Organizational charts and reorganization matters.
• Career-board
coordination for special agent and professional support personnel.
• Promotional
criteria and performance-based action oversight.
• Changes
to and/or creation of position descriptions.
• Work-life matters,
to include leave restoration, work-at-home options, alternate work
schedules, and part-time employment.
• Availability-pay certification.
• Executive
management requests.
• Resource Management and Allocation
Committee coordination and facilitation.
The AU’s Mail Services group provides in-house, full-service
mail and shipping services for the entire Laboratory, to including
mail metering; loading-dock functions; confidential-trash disposal;
and incoming and outgoing shipments
via the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, and other courier services.
The AU’s areas of responsibility are highlighted in the
following 2006 endeavors.
In February 2006 the FBI’s Security Division requested changes
to the organizational structure and reporting requirements of the
Laboratory’s security positions. As a result, in May 2006,
security personnel were reassigned to the Laboratory’s Operational
Support Branch, and the Administrative and Security Unit became
the Administrative Unit. This change in staffing has allowed the
AU to devote additional time and effort to the Division’s
ongoing and constantly evolving human resource requirements, various
policy compliance issues, and coordination of various programs
under the unit’s purview.
In 2006 the AU also helped the Human Resources
Division redesign the FBI’s recruiting Web site http://www.fbijobs.gov.
The goal of the project was to make the site more user-friendly,
intuitive,
and informative, as well as more attractive to candidates, thus
increasing the number of quality individuals hired. Toward that
end, the AU reviewed and updated a collection of documents describing
the Laboratory’s scientific positions. This project also
involved reviewing, editing, and revising approximately 23 unit
descriptions for a Laboratory Web page http://www.fbijobs.gov/311143.asp
that links to the FBI’s main job Web site. The Laboratory’s
page provides a synopsis of unit functions and positions, as well
as their requirements, and represents an excellent tool to generate
a greater interest in career opportunities in the Laboratory.
The FBI Laboratory must maintain a cadre of experienced and certified
forensic examiners. Because of the amount of time and expense
involved in training and certifying forensic examiners, the AU
received oversight responsibility for the new examiner training
and qualification process. The AU implemented a new Forensic
Examiner Training Agreement Program (FETAP), which included establishing
the program’s policies, procedures, and guidelines. The
FETAP provides a flexible framework and training for experienced,
court-qualified forensic examiners. As such, each Laboratory
unit with forensic examiners requires an individualized training
plan to document as trainees earn the status of fully qualified,
FBI-certified forensic examiners. This training plan includes
evaluations and assessments of each trainee’s previous
training, experience, and expertise; identification of areas
needing improvement and the design of individually tailored training
plans to address these areas; oral boards; moot courts; and certification.
Evidence Control Unit
The FBI Laboratory’s focal point for evidence services is
its Evidence Control Unit (ECU). The ECU’s mission is to
provide quality service to its evidence contributors as well as
to provide supporting services to all evidence-examining units
within the Laboratory.
As the FBI Laboratory’s central point for the administrative
management of evidence, the ECU acts as a liaison between FBI Laboratory
staff and contributing agencies to provide information regarding
the status of their cases. This best practice is demonstrated in
major and high-profile cases where a single point of contact in
the ECU coordinates all evidence received and provides real-time
status checks to contributors, as well as to Laboratory management,
as the case moves through the FBI Laboratory.
Special programs also are in place to benefit and support frequent
contributors of evidence to the FBI Laboratory. The District of
Columbia’s Washington Metropolitan Police Department and
the Indian Country jurisdictions represent two such contributors.
The FBI Laboratory employs a task-force-like approach to process
the large number of cases received in these matters. The ECU supports
these major evidence programs by designating a “Request Coordinator” to
coordinate, track, and administratively manage the evidence received.
This service enables the contributing agency to discuss and exchange
information regarding cases, discuss the various forensic services
available, and obtain up-to-the-minute case status.
As a service to FBI field offices, the ECU provides leadership
and guidance to field evidence technicians regarding the proper
handling of evidence through its Field Evidence Program. The FBI’s
Field Evidence Program Manager sets policy and provides to FBI
field offices—as well as other federal, state, and local
law enforcement agencies—guidance and direction in the receipt,
storage, packaging, and proper transfer of evidence. As mandated
by the Code of Federal Regulations under the Department of Transportation,
the Field Evidence Program sponsors training in packaging and shipping
hazardous materials. Evidence technicians responsible for packaging
or shipping hazardous materials are required to receive this training
every two years from a school certified by the U.S. Department
of Transportation’s Transportation Safety Institute.
The ECU’s role in carrying out these administrative evidence
services is vital to developing and fostering relationships and
communication with the law enforcement community and significantly
aids in the timely movement of evidence throughout the FBI Laboratory.
Facility Services Unit
The Facility Services Unit (FSU) handles facility, physical security,
and health and safety matters in the Laboratory building and other
facilities used by the Laboratory Division.
The Facilities group comprises mostly maintenance personnel. These
employees maintain, repair, and alter Laboratory Division facilities
and also provide oversight for contracts that cover maintenance,
repair, or alteration of the facilities. The group also oversees
space-management issues and coordinates with architectural and
engineering firms for facility studies and designs.
Electronics technicians (ETs) maintain and modify the Laboratory’s
electronic systems, including internal and external local area
networks, access and intrusion systems, internal telephone communications
equipment, and video teleconferencing equipment. ETs also help
establish secret and top-secret communication to meet the Laboratory’s
needs for access to military and other government sites throughout
the world.
The Health and Safety Group (HSG) ensures compliance with federal,
state, and local occupational, environmental, nuclear, and transportation
regulations in the operation of a forensic laboratory. This group
supports investigative efforts with local, state, and international
law enforcement agencies through the application and receipt of
special permits for the movement of hazardous materials into and
out of the Laboratory, while sharing technical health and safety
information with local and state forensic laboratories.
This group also manages the Laboratory’s fitness center and
arranges for inspections of the Laboratory’s food-service
facility. Finally, the HSG is home to the Health Services Office,
staffed by contract nurses responsible for daily medical visits
as well as routine fitness-for-duty physicals and physicals for
personnel who deploy throughout the world to support FBI investigations.
Planning and Budget Unit
The Planning and Budget Unit (PBU) manages all phases of planning,
budgeting, acquisition, project management, auditing, and inventory
and supply services for the FBI Laboratory. These essential services
support the Laboratory’s mission and the FBI’s strategic
planning efforts. Using state-of-the-art tools that include real-time,
web-based financial and project management information and automated
templates and reports, the PBU ensures that Laboratory investments
are well planned, fully funded, successfully implemented, and appropriately
managed.
During 2006 the PBU enhanced the web-based financial system used
to capture, track, and manage Laboratory investments. These enhancements
included spending-plan forecasting and additional project management
tools. These improvements help Laboratory managers plan their financial
investments and track the health, status, and completion of their
projects. Project management standards were refined to integrate
the best practices of investment management and ensure project
excellence and success. The PBU also established the Major Acquisition
Review Committee and the Research Council to serve as standardized
review mechanisms for approving, managing, and controlling Laboratory
projects to ensure their compliance with project management standards.
During the year the PBU processed more than 6800 financial transactions
and managed expenditures totaling $66 million.
Security Team
Security represents an essential component of every FBI division,
and the Laboratory has some of the strictest security measures
of any FBI facility. To ensure that security remains a top priority,
in 2006 the Security Team, which previously had been part of the
Administrative and Security Unit, became a separate entity, reporting
directly to the Deputy Assistant Director of the Operational Support
Branch.
The Security Team administers the many aspects of the Laboratory’s
security program. These include classification issues, communications
security, briefings and debriefings, access requests, five-year
reinvestigations and associated personnel security interviews,
international travel, contacts with foreign nationals, the foreign-national
visitor program, requests for sensitive compartmented information
(SCI) clearances and associated briefings, security compliance
issues, and SCI facility accreditation and compliance procedures.
In addition to providing continuing advice to Laboratory employees
on security-related issues, in 2006 the Security Team accomplished
the following objectives:
• Created a Security Awareness Program,
with an accompanying bimonthly security awareness newsletter
to provide reference material and advice to all Laboratory employees.
•
Automated
the Security Awareness Annual Briefings to allow employees to access
them on the team’s intranet site.
• Created
databases to track and ensure compliance with the rules for unescorted
visitor access, contractor access, and international travel.
•
Enhanced the Laboratory’s
physical security by changing procedures that affect the physical
surveillance of the Laboratory facility.
• Wrote a new Continuity of Operations Plan for the Laboratory
and facilitated an exercise to ensure that the Laboratory continues
to fulfill its mission, even in times of crisis.
INNOVARi: The FBI Laboratory’s Business Process Management
Initiative
In 2006 the FBI Laboratory embarked on an ambitious project to
improve its forensic examination business processes and to create
a work-flow and information management system. The project is
called INNOVARi, from the Latin word innovare, meaning “to
renew.” Its purpose is to provide visibility into the work
activities being performed, to manage the information that is
collected and produced as a result of forensic examinations,
and to track and manage the individual items of evidence that
are examined by the FBI Laboratory. INNOVARi provides the traditional
features of a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS),
but because of the integrated work-flow features that enable
the oversight and management of the entire forensic examination
process, it exceeds the functionality of a LIMS.
The FBI Laboratory uses business process management, or BPM, for
its INNOVARi project because BPM provides a holistic approach to
improve the performance of organizations. BPM uses a methodology
to analyze an organization’s business processes to identify
inefficiencies and uses information technology or automation to
enable performance improvements. Furthermore, BPM is considered
an instrument used within change efforts or interventions as part
of the management discipline of Organization Development. The methodology
used as part of INNOVARi is called Value Stream Management, and
the automation software used to manage the business processes is
called BizFlow.
As a part of its project to help create and develop its work-flow
and information management system, the FBI Laboratory deployed
a pilot phase involving two of its forensic business units: the
Trace Evidence Unit and the Evidence Control Unit. Ten business
processes between the two units were modeled, analyzed, improved,
and then automated into the INNOVARi application. Overall user
feedback regarding the INNOVARi application has been positive,
and wider adoption is planned. Over the next two years, the remaining
forensic examination units will undergo BPM methodology facilitation,
and their business processes will be integrated into the INNOVARi
application.
The FBI Laboratory is committed to the forensic community by not
only examining evidence but also providing guidance on quality
assurance issues and offering training opportunities and literary
resources to assist law enforcement personnel in performing their
job duties. The Laboratory maintains its accreditation with the
American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation
Board (ASCLD/LAB) and thus continues to offer unparalleled quality
services. This section outlines the Laboratory’s commitment
in these areas.
Quality Assurance and Training Unit
In the Quality Assurance and Training Unit (QATU), three groups
work cohesively to provide for the betterment of the forensic sciences.
QA staff members ensure that the Laboratory maintains compliance
with the ASCLD/LAB accreditation requirements. The Training group
organizes specialized classes in many areas of forensic analysis.
The third group is the Library, whose personnel provide timely
technical information to law enforcement and forensic science personnel
both inside and outside the FBI. The Library maintains a diverse
assortment of reference materials and also produces several forensic
science publications.
Quality Assurance
QA personnel support the caseworking units of the FBI Laboratory
by providing guidance on the quality system. QA staff created the
Quality Assurance Manual and the Laboratory Operations Manual,
which serve as the core of the quality system. Both manuals were
revised in 2006 for compliance with the ASCLD/LAB-International
Accreditation Program for which the Laboratory will undergo assessment
in 2007. QA personnel also coordinate the calibration and maintenance
of the many items of analytical equipment used in the Laboratory.
QA staff members also manage the Proficiency Testing Program for
the caseworking units of the Laboratory. Proficiency tests represent
an essential requirement for maintaining accreditation as well
as ensuring that forensic scientists remain proficient in their
analytical abilities. Additionally, the QA staff performs audits
to verify that Laboratory personnel are following established policies
and procedures.
Training
The Training staff of QATU organizes the Specialized Forensic
Science Training Program, which offers forensic science courses
to Laboratory employees as well as law enforcement personnel. In
addition, Training personnel facilitate scientific working group
(SWG) meetings by scouting locations for the meetings and coordinating
travel arrangements through FBI field offices for attendees. SWGs
comprise members of the forensic community who meet regularly to
discuss issues within a forensic discipline and initiate improvements
for the types of analyses performed by those attending.
An integral part of the QATU’s Training sector is the planning
of the annual Crime Laboratory Development Symposium. This conference
provides training for the managers of federal, state, and local
forensic laboratories. It also serves as a forum for exchanging
ideas and solutions to problems that many laboratories encounter.
Library
The FBI Laboratory Library provides scientific literature and
reference services to Laboratory personnel as well as state and
local forensic scientists. Informational sources are provided as
electronic resources, monographs, print journals, and other documents
that support evidence examinations, prepare examiners for courtroom
testimony, and facilitate the research and development of techniques
used in forensic analyses. The Library currently maintains more
than 8000 scientific books and 400 periodical subscriptions.
Library
staff members also produce several publications that are available
to members of the law enforcement community in print
and on the Internet. The Laboratory’s online, peer-reviewed
forensic science journal, Forensic Science Communications, includes
research papers, technical articles, case studies, and other information
of interest to forensic science and law enforcement professionals.
The Handbook of Forensic Services offers guidelines and protocols
for the collection, preservation, packaging, and shipment of evidence
to the Laboratory. Other publications produced by Library staff
include the Processing Guide for Developing Latent Prints and
the FBI Laboratory’s annual report.
Annual Crime Laboratory Development Symposium
The 34th Annual Crime Laboratory Development Symposium was held
May 8–11, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Georgia Tech
College of Management, in association with the Carlson School of
Management from the University of Minnesota. More than 240 managers
and laboratory directors attended workshops devoted to the symposium’s “Organizational
Communication” theme.
Presenters included educator and author
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith; Bill Jefferies, who specializes in human
and organizational behavior; David Maxfield, an expert in personality
theory and interpersonal
skill development; and Associate Professor of Literature at Georgia
State University Dr. Paul Voss. Attendees had the opportunity
to interact with other members of the forensic community and took
away a greater understanding of how to communicate
with their colleagues.
Community Service
Perhaps more than any other profession, law enforcement has a
built-in service component. Employees know that they serve their
communities every day. And, yet, they always strive to do more.
FBI Laboratory employees are involved in several community service
projects to reach out to the local community and beyond.
School-Supply Drive
Returning to school after summer vacation may not be a treat for
the kids, but at the FBI Laboratory, the start of the new school
year is fun. Staff members relive their own school days by purchasing
their favorite school supplies and donating them to the local school
system. Every year, this donation of backpacks, paper, pencils,
markers, and other items helps the students start their school
year off right.
Holiday Food Drive
In its 2006 holiday food drive to benefit the local food bank,
the FBI Laboratory collected 303 pounds of food, enough to provide
approximately 228 meals for families in need. The donations went
to the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, which provides meals to residents
in Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties of Caroline, King
George, Stafford, and Spotsylvania.
Junior Scientist Program
FBI Laboratory staff nurture budding scientists in the Laboratory’s
Junior Scientist Program. Twice a month, volunteers from the Laboratory
visit a local elementary school to present topics relevant to the
students’ science curriculum. The students also receive information
and guidance on
conducting research and presenting the findings in the school’s
yearly science fair, which is judged by FBI Laboratory volunteers.
The program culminates in a graduation ceremony at the FBI Laboratory.