What Every First Responding Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence

This self-paced training course is designed for first responding officers and is intended to provide interactive training that covers basic information about the identification, preservation and collection of DNA evidence at a crime scene. Recommended practices covered may not be applicable to all situations or crime scenes. You should apply local department or agency procedures or applicable laws that govern the use, collection, and processing of DNA evidence.

The objectives of the course are to educate senior-level law enforcement decisionmakers on the policy and practice issues associated with the effective use of DNA analysis so they will have the knowledge to:

• Streamline investigative processes
• Implement best practices for handling "cold hits"
• Identify the probative value of evidence and prioritize DNA evidence
• More effectively leverage limited resources
• Interact more efficiently with crime laboratories to set expectations and manage caseloads
• Understand the time and resources required from the lab to test different categories of evidence
• Avoid the steep costs that can impact the agency, the public and the practitioner's career if procedures aren't properly implemented