Home | Glossary | Resources | Help | Contact Us | Course Map
Archival Notice
This is an archive page that is no longer being updated. It may contain outdated information and links may no longer function as originally intended.
Costs Associated With Investigative Efforts
Investigative efforts are as valuable as laboratory resources, and they can be just as costly.5,6
When forensic laboratory best practices are not implemented and followed, there is a risk that investigative efforts will be wasted chasing false or incomplete leads. Investigative efforts will be impacted if the laboratory performs the wrong type of testing or tests items that are not a priority. To minimize this risk, increased collaboration between case officers and laboratory personnel is required so that needs and expectations are clearly defined and understood.
Establishing a collaborative team can be difficult.
Click for more information on team building »
5 Simon Ashikhmin, Susan G. Berdine, Mitchell R. Morrissey and Greggory S. LaBerge, Effectiveness and Cost Efficiency of DNA Evidence In Volume Crime Denver Colorado Site Summary pp5,6 PDF download: 80kB • Visit the Denver District Attorney »
6 What Does It Take to Make a Collaboration Work? Lessons Learned Through the Criminal Justice System Project NIJ Publication (2004) PDF download: 284kB
Additional Online Courses
- What Every First Responding Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence
- Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes
- DNA – A Prosecutor’s Practice Notebook
- Crime Scene and DNA Basics
- Laboratory Safety Programs
- DNA Amplification
- Population Genetics and Statistics
- Non-STR DNA Markers: SNPs, Y-STRs, LCN and mtDNA
- Firearms Examiner Training
- Forensic DNA Education for Law Enforcement Decisionmakers
- What Every Investigator and Evidence Technician Should Know About DNA Evidence
- Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court
- Law 101: Legal Guide for the Forensic Expert
- Laboratory Orientation and Testing of Body Fluids and Tissues
- DNA Extraction and Quantitation
- STR Data Analysis and Interpretation
- Communication Skills, Report Writing, and Courtroom Testimony
- Español for Law Enforcement
- Amplified DNA Product Separation for Forensic Analysts