Allegheny County Crime Laboratory Improvement Program

• NCJ Number: 215113
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 25 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This report presents a progress report from the Alleghany County Crime Laboratory Improvement Program, which received a National Institute of Justice grant to develop a regional audio/video forensic lab.

Abstract

The three project objectives were to: (1) fully develop an audio/visual forensic lab to accommodate the increasing needs of local and regional law enforcement agencies; (2) determine best practices for establishing a regional audio/visual forensic lab; and (3) educate and inform local law enforcement officers how to obtain better quality images and sound from their equipment. Outcomes achieved toward these goals included the full development of the Audio/Visual Forensic Unit with personnel, training, and equipment. A total of 403 evidence submissions were processed by the lab during the 24-month period between January 2003 and December 2004, which assisted 71 law enforcement agencies in nearly 400 investigations. Survey results revealed that 68 percent of respondents believed the processed evidence was helpful to their investigation. Other outcomes include the completion of the Best Practices Guide for the development of regional audio/visual forensic labs and the convening of an Open House to educate and inform officers about image and sound equipment. Moreover, detective analysts employed by the lab have worked with every officer who has submitted evidence to educate them on how to reduce problems related to audio and visual recordings. Personnel updates for the Audio/Visual Forensic Unit are presented and the report contains flyers describing the Audio/Visual Forensic unit development project, videotape evidence collection guidelines, the request for processing form, the survey administered to law enforcement officers, flyers about the Open House, and the 2004 Year End Report for the lab. Tables