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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Los Angeles County Grand Jury
• 2007-2008
Finding 2 There were rented refrigerated trailers used for the storage of forensic evidence to be processed by the
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 6 findings
F2
Page 277
There were rented refrigerated trailers used for the storage of forensic evidence to be processed by the crime lab that are parked at the loading dock of the Scientific Investigation Division facility at Erwin C. Piper Technical Center, despite the fact that there is abundant empty floor space inside the facility.
F3
Page 277
The Property Division of the Los Angeles Police Department has a policy of retaining hundreds of thousands of items of evidence for 65 years.
F4
Page 277
The laboratory areas have emergency decontamination showers in the hall. We noted that there were no drains in the floor. It was explained that the flooded floor was easier to maintain than drains.
F5
Page 278
In the vehicle inspection areas, the doors do not adequately block outside light, permitting too much ambient light to be present for investigations requiring alternate light sources to reveal latent evidence.
F6
Page 278
There are only two allocated intern positions for graduate students to obtain work experience in the LAPD and LASD crime laboratories.
F7
Page 278
One of the considerations for the consolidation of the LAPD and LASD crime labs was to add more personnel in expanded quarters to alleviate the backlog of evidence testing, including DNA testing. A recommendation by a medical expert on sexual abuse suggested that analysis of DNA be prioritized in cases of rape, particularly in cases of rape by a perpetrator unknown to the victim.
Recommendations 6
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R2Page 277The Los Angeles City Department of General Services should request that the refrigerated storage area currently in use by the Scientific Investigation Division of the Los Angeles Police Department be reconfigured or expanded in the empty area presently assigned to the Scientific Investigation Division at that site, so that the leases of refrigerated trailers can be terminated, and the City of Los Angeles be no longer obligated to rent them or use valuable loading dock space at the Erwin C. Piper Technical Building.
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R3Page 277The Los Angeles Police Department should review their policy of retaining evidence in the property division for sixty-five years, and develop a policy of disposing of all items not needed for current trials or those in which a retrial could be ordered following a post-conviction appeal by a defendant.
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R4Page 277The Joint Powers Authority of the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center should review why there are no floor drains beneath the decontamination showers located in the hallways of the new crime laboratory This may allow run-off to travel into the various rooms of the building under the doors, some of which do not have adequate 269 2007-2008 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Final Report thresholds or weather-stripping at their base The governing authority should direct that appropriate refitting, if any, be done to redirect, capture and dispose of the runoff.
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R5Page 278The Joint Powers Authority of the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center should review why there are light leaks in the vehicle inspection areas that lessen the effectiveness of alternative light sources, the use of which is often necessary to discover evidence that is difficult to detect under traditional light sources. Appropriate refitting, if any, be should be done to eliminate the light leaks.
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R6Page 278The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department should hire additional interns from the California State University Los Angeles Department of Criminalistics, or other students in this same specialization at other universities.
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R7Page 278It is recommended that the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department should accelerate the analysis of stored DNA samples in rape cases where the assailant is unknown to the victim. 270 2007-2008 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Final Report EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: THE PUBLIC INFORMATION PART 2007-2008 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Investigative Committee John Gleiter, Chair Octavio “Toby” Chavez Richard Niederberg Dolores Rillos Arnie L. Spears 271 2007-2008 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Final Report 272 2007-2008 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Final Report EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: THE PUBLIC INFORMATION PART