A crime laboratory, often shortened to crime lab, is a scientific laboratory, using primarily

forensic science Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases.

Lab personnel

A typical crime lab has two sets of personnel: *Field analysts – investigators that go to crime scenes, collect evidence, and process the scene. Job titles include: **Forensic evidence technician **Crime scene investigator **Scenes of crime officer (SOCO) *Laboratory analysts – scientists or other personnel who run tests on the evidence once it is brought to the lab (i.e.,

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

tests, or bullet striations). Job titles include: **Forensic Technician (performs support functions such as making reagents) **Forensic Scientist/Criminalist (performs scientific analyses on evidence) **Fingerprint Analyst **Forensic Photographer **Forensic Document Examiner **Forensic Entomologist

Crime labs

United States

In the United States, crime labs may be publicly or privately operated, although private laboratories typically do not respond to crime scenes to collect evidence. Public crime labs are organized at the city, state, or national level. A law enforcement agency that operates its own crime lab usually has access to a higher level laboratory for analysis of their evidence. Most states have their own crime labs, for instance Oklahoma has the OSBI, many other places have smaller yet sufficient crime labs. Crime labs simply do not have the funding or personnel resources to keep up with the large influx of cases being brought into the laboratory, as well as the backlog of cases already in existence. The

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

founded the first crime laboratory in the United States (1923), followed by the

Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. An agency of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is a member of ...

(1926), forerunner to the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Crime labs in popular culture

The term "crime lab" has become a part of popular culture, largely due to the TV dramas. Some of the more famous shows are: *''

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'' *''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'' *'' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and spin-offs '' CSI: Miami'' and '' CSI: NY'' *''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' *'' Quincy, M.E.'' – a 1970s television show featuring crime lab personnel and procedures. Several non-fiction television programs, document the resolution of criminal cases based on the scientific analysis of the evidence: *''

Forensic Files ''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was origin ...

Backlogged evidence issues

Due to the lack of funding and staff, delays in the ability to test cases has occurred creating a backlog in the analysis of evidence.Houck, M. M. (2020). Backlogs are a dynamic system, not a warehousing problem. Forensic Science International: Synergy, 2, 317-324. doi:10.1016/j.fsisyn.2020.10.003

References

External links

FBI Crime LabArkansas State Crime LabCensus of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories

Bureau of Justice Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of c ...

Forensic Science Laboratories: Handbook for Facility Planning, Design, Construction, and Relocation

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into Outline of p ...

US Postal Inspection Service Forensic Lab
- link to US and international forensic laboratories {{DEFAULTSORT:Crime Lab Forensic facilities