Government Technology - February 2008 - (Page 21)

L.A. Builds Model Lab from crime scenes are difficult to interpret, according to Krane, due to degradation, contamination and small sample sizes. That leaves far more room for subjective analysis. “The reality is,” Marquis said, “that real crime is very messy, and in real life, it isn’t as crisp as it is on TV. It raises unrealistic expectations about technology that really does exist, and in a perfect world, we would be able to do it.” A new $102 million forensic science center in Los Angeles could be a model for future labs throughout the country. The 209,000-square-foot Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at California State University, Los Angeles, which opened in September 2007, means more room for new lab personnel, updated technology and the opportunity for some collaboration that has been absent. The old building was so cramped, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department didn’t have enough space to add all the forensics staff it needed. “And now we have this new concept that we’ve never had before — conference rooms,” said Barry Fisher, the county’s crime lab director. “So if a detective or district attorney comes down, you have some place to go as opposed to the hallway.” The county shares the facility with the Los Angeles Police Department, which should enhance relations between the two departments. “We’re not consolidating services, but we’re going to be sharing space,” Fisher said. “And the way the building is conﬁgured, the ofﬁce areas are all together and we expect that to cause a lot of really healthy dialog and collaboration.” Also exciting, Fisher added, is that the Cal State Los Angeles graduate program in forensic science is right in the building. “This gives us an opportunity to interact with the students, many of whom we hire, and to do research,” he said. “There are a lot of big pluses in doing this, and I expect this to be a model for labs all over the country and maybe beyond.” The new lab has room for 70 DNA analysts, enabling the county to more than double its number of analysts. Some cutting-edge technology will be added as well, including new DNA equipment and up-to-date ﬁngerprint technology, Fisher said. “We have some technology we’ve been using to visualize ﬁngerprints. It deals with alternative light sources and it’s more state-of-the-art than what we’ve been using,” he said. “We’re getting a whole bunch of new DNA equipment to replace some of the existing equipment we have which is getting old. And there is some newer equipment available that helps do some of the testing more quickly than we’ve been doing it.” Does It Matter? Shades of Gray Real-life crime lab equipment is big, bulky and not photogenic, according to Krane. “The equipment you see in CSI tends to be handheld and you get to focus more on the actor than the equipment.” And unlike television gadgetry, the results produced by real tools often are ambiguous. “In CSI, they have these sorts of magic lights they can shine on crime scenes that illustrate to them where the best evidence samples are,” Krane said. “Black light really does help illuminate things you wouldn’t see otherwise, but everything is simpler, easier and less complicated [on TV] — relative to what it is in the real world.” In real-life investigations, 50 percent to 75 percent of forensic evidence samples taken What’s the practical impact of the CSI Effect? Legal practitioners disagree. Defense attorney and DNA expert Robert Blasier downplays the danger. “I think the CSI Effect is grossly overrated,” said Blasier, who worked for the defense on both the Phil Spector and O.J. Simpson trials. “Both sides in a case usually talk about the fact that it’s not anywhere near close to real life. You always bring it up. “I just don’t think the jurors really confuse television with reality,” he continued. “If there’s a particular forensic test and you think a jury might have some unreal expectations, I always will bring it up in cross examination: ‘You understand that this is not television and you can’t get a DNA result over a 30-second commercial. It just doesn’t work that way, and the DNA technology is still relatively primitive.’” Barry Fisher, crime lab director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, called Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at California State University, Los Angeles. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAL STATE L.A. PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE 21 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - February 2008

Government Technology - February 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Screen Products Four Questions for... CSI Effect Bad Medicine Making Health Care Personal Cashing In GIS for Less Nabbing Speedsters First Person: Records Management Chatter Box Oregon Data Centers Go Green Products Two Cents Spectrum Up Close Personal Computing signal:noise Government Solutions - Spring 2008 Power Play Double Duty Cleaning House Twice Prepared Smart Move The Path to Success Foundation for Service

Government Technology - February 2008

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