Monthly Archives: June 2014

Gov. Rick Snyder to sign bill to speed rape kit testing

Posted on June 26, 2014 | Comments Off on Gov. Rick Snyder to sign bill to speed rape kit testing

Gov SnyderLANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder plans to tour a Michigan State Police forensic lab in Lansing today and sign legislation intended to speed the testing of rape kits in Michigan.
House Bill 5445, which Snyder is to sign at the Michigan State Police Forensic Science Lab, creates the Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act.

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Posted in DNA Legislation

Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division Earns Highest Level of International Accreditation

Posted on June 26, 2014 | Comments Off on Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division Earns Highest Level of International Accreditation

Washoe CoThe Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division just achieved a higher level of professional credibility by earning a higher level of agency accreditation. The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) presented their International Certificate of Accreditation to staff from the Sheriff’s Forensic Science Division during a ceremony this morning at the Sheriff’s Office on Parr Boulevard.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News

NIST Names Members to First Forensic Science Standards Board

Posted on June 26, 2014 | Comments Off on NIST Names Members to First Forensic Science Standards Board

NIST Forensics LogoAs part of its efforts to improve the scientific basis of forensic evidence used in courts of law, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have made the first appointments to a new organization dedicated to identifying and fostering development and adoption of standards and guidelines for the nation’s forensic science community.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News

DNA testing helps identify 20 missing Uttarakhand flood victims

Posted on June 24, 2014 | Comments Off on DNA testing helps identify 20 missing Uttarakhand flood victims

uttarakhand-floodsThe relatives of around 5,000 people, who were reported missing and feared dead in the floods and landslides in Uttarakhand in June 2013, have been asked to send their blood samples to undertake DNA testing for identification of bodies.
The Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) has already undertaken DNA profiling of mortal remains of around 550 victims that were sent by the Uttarakhand government and completed the profiling in 400 cases, CDFD Director, J. Gowrishankar told reporters here on Monday.

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Posted in Mass Disaster, Missing Persons

Hollywood tackling issue of untested rape kits

Posted on June 24, 2014 | Comments Off on Hollywood tackling issue of untested rape kits

GATCHOLLYWOOD — — The DNA evidence implicating a rape suspect languished in a Hollywood police refrigerator for nearly three years.
Investigators finally submitted the DNA for testing earlier this year — one month after suspect Kareem Malcolm was implicated in another rape in Boston.
The rape kit was discovered last year during an audit of the Hollywood Police Department. The audit, ordered by new Chief Frank Fernandez, turned up 94 untested rape kits.

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Posted in Backlogs, Cold Cases

New world-class $14.5 million forensic labs for Victoria Police

Posted on June 23, 2014 | Comments Off on New world-class $14.5 million forensic labs for Victoria Police

touch DNAMinister for Police and Emergency Services Kim Wells today joined with Victoria Police to officially open a new $14.5 million state-of-the-art complex that will provide police with the latest in forensic technology.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News

FY 2014 NIJ DNA Arrestee Collection Process Implementation Grants Program

Posted on June 23, 2014 | Comments Off on FY 2014 NIJ DNA Arrestee Collection Process Implementation Grants Program

Justice DeptThe U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding under the FY 2014 NIJ DNA Arrestee Collection Process Implementation Grants Program. This program furthers the Department’s mission by offering assistance to eligible States with existing designated DNA database laboratories to help defray the costs associated with the implementation of DNA arrestee collection processes, to improve the capacity of laboratories that conduct DNA analysis of DNA database samples.

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Posted in Funding

Maryland’s DNA database records 3,500th hit

Posted on June 23, 2014 | Comments Off on Maryland’s DNA database records 3,500th hit

Maryland State policeGovernor Martin O’Malley today announced another milestone for Maryland’s DNA database, highlighting its role as an invaluable tool in the State’s success in driving down violent crime and homicide to three decade lows and in achieving the State’s goal to reduce violent crime by 20 percent by 2018.

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Posted in Backlogs, Cold Cases

LabCorp to process Greensboro police DNA requests

Posted on June 23, 2014 | Comments Off on LabCorp to process Greensboro police DNA requests

touch DNAA year and a half ago, local law enforcement agencies were close to creating a region-wide database for DNA evidence found at property crimes.
But Bill Britt, the owner of DNA:SI in Burlington, died in January 2013, and his business closed. Police have been looking for a DNA laboratory ever since.

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Coming soon to a city near you!

Posted on June 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Coming soon to a city near you!

Promega Tech TourJoin your colleagues at a workshop hosted by Promega on the forensics workflow and the challenges it brings. The half-day seminar will feature presentations by leaders in the forensic community, as well as updates on the latest technologies and products from Promega.
Learn about the newest tools designed to meet the new CODIS standards, for both casework and databasing efforts, including:

• PowerQuant™ System: A New Robust DNA Quantification System
• PowerPlex® Y23 System: Tales from a Casework Laboratory
• Maximizing Success with Challenging Samples
• Mixture Interpretation and Statistics
• DNA Backlog Reduction Strategies
• The Latest Advances in Forensic Technologies
The half-day seminar is free of charge to individuals working in forensics and paternity laboratories. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Space is limited, so be sure to register early!
To learn more or to register, go to www.promega.com/techtour2014.
Sincerely Yours,
The Promega Genetic Identity Team

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Central Park Five settle with NYC for $40 million for wrongful conviction

Posted on June 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Central Park Five settle with NYC for $40 million for wrongful conviction

Manhattan SkylineNEW YORK, June 20 (UPI) –Five men convicted of the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger, a ruling that was later overturned, have settled with New York City for $40 million for their undeserved imprisonment.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News

Plan to build ‘CSI Elephant’ uses DNA forensics to track poachers

Posted on June 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Plan to build ‘CSI Elephant’ uses DNA forensics to track poachers

SataoThe shocking news that Satao, the much-loved African Elephant who lvied in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park, has been killed and butchered for his tusks highlights once again the terrible and unsustainable toll of poaching elephants for their ivory.

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Alleged misconduct at Houston crime lab prompts review of 185 murder and other cases

Posted on June 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Alleged misconduct at Houston crime lab prompts review of 185 murder and other cases

Helix3HOUSTON — Test results of evidence used in scores of criminal cases in the Houston area, including in capital murder convictions, are being reviewed after the work of a DNA lab technician has come into question, according to Harris County prosecutors.

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N.J. Senate committee OKs bill allowing DNA collection in minor crime convictions

Posted on June 20, 2014 | Comments Off on N.J. Senate committee OKs bill allowing DNA collection in minor crime convictions

DNA HelixPolice would be able to collect DNA from people convicted of minor crimes, a move that would greatly expanding the number of those required to provide samples, if a bill approved Thursday becomes law.

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Posted in DNA Legislation

Skeleton Found At Rhode Island Construction Site Was Man Who Vanished In 1982

Posted on June 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Skeleton Found At Rhode Island Construction Site Was Man Who Vanished In 1982

An advertising showing a skeleton for thA construction crew renovating a building on Prairie Avenue in south Providence last July found a human skeleton buried under a concrete basement floor at the bottom of what used to be an elevator shaft.

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Posted in Cold Cases