Post by Helen Dagner on Apr 19, 2011 17:46:49 GMT -5
State Police: Limited Detroit crime lab can work
Posted on April 19, 2011 at 01:26:28 PM by Helen Dagner
Kym Worthy: The Wayne County prosecutor
Written by
GINA DAMRON AND JOE SWICKARD
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
It's the "CSI" television drama effect: Jurors want assurances that evidence has been thoroughly examined and expect to hear about DNA, so prosecutors say they need such items as shell casings tested for fingerprints, which forensic experts say can be difficult to detect.
But with Michigan State Police crime labs overburdened with a backlog of cases, officials now are trying to encourage law enforcement to make smarter choices about what items from crime scenes are submitted for testing.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, though, is criticizing the State Police for foregoing plans to build a full-service crime lab in the new Detroit public safety headquarters planned for a former casino building in favor of a facility with more limited evidence-processing capabilities and space for training officers.Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Monday that the proposal was "backstabbing."
"They are supposed to be partners," she said, "not an impediment."
But John Collins, director of the State Police forensic science division, said the effort will help law enforcement determine what is most important, so less time is spent processing evidence that has scientifically lower values.
"We know that the philosophy of collecting everything not bolted to a wall is a recipe for failure," he said of how some crime scenes are treated. "It's about making smart decisions."
Detroit, county press for a full crime lab
Detroit and Wayne County officials say a move by the Michigan State Police to abandon plans for a full-service crime lab in the city's new police headquarters may be to the detriment of public safety.
An official with the State Police said Monday that the new lab will handle some evidence processing, such as fingerprints, drug testing and ballistics, and will have space for law enforcement training.
Detroit Deputy Mayor Saul Green said the decision is not in the best interest of public safety. "We still believe that what make sense, based on the volume of evidence that comes out of the city of Detroit and its neighbors, that a full-service lab is what makes sense," he said.
But the deluge of evidence needing to be processed is one thing State Police are trying to address.
John Collins, director of the forensic science division of the State Police, said there's an effort to focus on the concept of triaging evidence by encouraging law enforcement officers to make smarter choices about what items need to go to the crime lab.
The city, though, in its opposition, is not standing alone. The Southeastern Michigan Chiefs of Police and Michigan Sheriffs' Association have expressed support of a full-service lab, as has the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
William Winter, president of Wayne County's criminal defense bar, said the lab's creation mattered more than its location.
"There are a whole lot of cases where we are not able to get critical evidence," Winters said. "I don't care how they get it done, we just want the work done fairly and accurately."
Coping with caseload
The State Police received approval from the Legislature last year to build a $15-million crime lab in the new public safety headquarters, which will occupy the former MGM Grand Detroit building.
The State Police began taking on Detroit's caseload two years ago after the city's lab, rife with problems, was shuttered. Now, nearly half of the caseload coming into State Police crime labs from southeast Michigan is from Detroit, Collins said. The city, he said, makes up about 20% of the MSP lab caseload statewide.
Collins said the allocated money now will be broken up, with more than $7 million used to expand the MSP Northville facility and roughly $5.3 million for the Detroit lab, which, as now proposed, would have about 12 employees.
"What we're looking to do in this Detroit facility, as much as possible, is to get as much of that processing done before it comes to the Northville laboratory," Collins said.
The Detroit lab, he said, won't handle DNA testing, which State Police want to keep consolidated to the labs that currently handle that practice, including Northville.
Another $2 million in funds will be used at the Lansing lab.
Collins said the state owns the Northville property, but in Detroit, the proposal has been to lease the space.
A debate over change
Collins said resources have gone to process evidence such as testing shell casings for fingerprints, which are difficult to detect, or checking a firearm for fingerprints after it has been taken from a suspect.
In one Detroit case, Collins said, several bags of clothing taken from a home were turned over to the Northville lab in the hopes of finding a victim's blood. On it, he said, was a note: "Please find DNA."
It can be time-consuming just to process one piece of clothing, Collins said. "We are really trying to encourage a change of practice," he said.
But Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said a lab can't infringe on a prosecutor's decision of what evidence will be presented at trial by "picking and choosing what tests they are going to make.
"It's not their determination of what tests to conduct," Worthy said.
Green, the deputy mayor, said the city is willing to work with State Police on issues of evidence collection.
Worthy said her office wants shell casings tested because jurors -- many of whom are fans of "CSI" and similar crime shows and aware of real-life cases that have turned on scientific testing -- want assurances that evidence has been thoroughly examined.
Other prosecutors seconded that notion.
"Jurors are looking for it in everything from murders to shoplifting," said Paul Watson, chief assistant prosecutor in Oakland County. "All our prosecutors are facing demands for scientific evidence. So, in a sense, it's not just budget, it's jurors' expectations, too."
In Macomb County, Prosecutor Eric Smith said, it took 11 months to get DNA results for the recently concluded Todd Pink murder case. Smith said his office got the results just three days before Pink went to trial in the murders of Carrie Seils and her 3-year-old son Skyler.
He said Pink's conviction may not have hinged on a lab test, "but you want to go to trial with all your guns loaded."
Posted on April 19, 2011 at 01:26:28 PM by Helen Dagner
Kym Worthy: The Wayne County prosecutor
Written by
GINA DAMRON AND JOE SWICKARD
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
It's the "CSI" television drama effect: Jurors want assurances that evidence has been thoroughly examined and expect to hear about DNA, so prosecutors say they need such items as shell casings tested for fingerprints, which forensic experts say can be difficult to detect.
But with Michigan State Police crime labs overburdened with a backlog of cases, officials now are trying to encourage law enforcement to make smarter choices about what items from crime scenes are submitted for testing.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, though, is criticizing the State Police for foregoing plans to build a full-service crime lab in the new Detroit public safety headquarters planned for a former casino building in favor of a facility with more limited evidence-processing capabilities and space for training officers.Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Monday that the proposal was "backstabbing."
"They are supposed to be partners," she said, "not an impediment."
But John Collins, director of the State Police forensic science division, said the effort will help law enforcement determine what is most important, so less time is spent processing evidence that has scientifically lower values.
"We know that the philosophy of collecting everything not bolted to a wall is a recipe for failure," he said of how some crime scenes are treated. "It's about making smart decisions."
Detroit, county press for a full crime lab
Detroit and Wayne County officials say a move by the Michigan State Police to abandon plans for a full-service crime lab in the city's new police headquarters may be to the detriment of public safety.
An official with the State Police said Monday that the new lab will handle some evidence processing, such as fingerprints, drug testing and ballistics, and will have space for law enforcement training.
Detroit Deputy Mayor Saul Green said the decision is not in the best interest of public safety. "We still believe that what make sense, based on the volume of evidence that comes out of the city of Detroit and its neighbors, that a full-service lab is what makes sense," he said.
But the deluge of evidence needing to be processed is one thing State Police are trying to address.
John Collins, director of the forensic science division of the State Police, said there's an effort to focus on the concept of triaging evidence by encouraging law enforcement officers to make smarter choices about what items need to go to the crime lab.
The city, though, in its opposition, is not standing alone. The Southeastern Michigan Chiefs of Police and Michigan Sheriffs' Association have expressed support of a full-service lab, as has the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
William Winter, president of Wayne County's criminal defense bar, said the lab's creation mattered more than its location.
"There are a whole lot of cases where we are not able to get critical evidence," Winters said. "I don't care how they get it done, we just want the work done fairly and accurately."
Coping with caseload
The State Police received approval from the Legislature last year to build a $15-million crime lab in the new public safety headquarters, which will occupy the former MGM Grand Detroit building.
The State Police began taking on Detroit's caseload two years ago after the city's lab, rife with problems, was shuttered. Now, nearly half of the caseload coming into State Police crime labs from southeast Michigan is from Detroit, Collins said. The city, he said, makes up about 20% of the MSP lab caseload statewide.
Collins said the allocated money now will be broken up, with more than $7 million used to expand the MSP Northville facility and roughly $5.3 million for the Detroit lab, which, as now proposed, would have about 12 employees.
"What we're looking to do in this Detroit facility, as much as possible, is to get as much of that processing done before it comes to the Northville laboratory," Collins said.
The Detroit lab, he said, won't handle DNA testing, which State Police want to keep consolidated to the labs that currently handle that practice, including Northville.
Another $2 million in funds will be used at the Lansing lab.
Collins said the state owns the Northville property, but in Detroit, the proposal has been to lease the space.
A debate over change
Collins said resources have gone to process evidence such as testing shell casings for fingerprints, which are difficult to detect, or checking a firearm for fingerprints after it has been taken from a suspect.
In one Detroit case, Collins said, several bags of clothing taken from a home were turned over to the Northville lab in the hopes of finding a victim's blood. On it, he said, was a note: "Please find DNA."
It can be time-consuming just to process one piece of clothing, Collins said. "We are really trying to encourage a change of practice," he said.
But Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said a lab can't infringe on a prosecutor's decision of what evidence will be presented at trial by "picking and choosing what tests they are going to make.
"It's not their determination of what tests to conduct," Worthy said.
Green, the deputy mayor, said the city is willing to work with State Police on issues of evidence collection.
Worthy said her office wants shell casings tested because jurors -- many of whom are fans of "CSI" and similar crime shows and aware of real-life cases that have turned on scientific testing -- want assurances that evidence has been thoroughly examined.
Other prosecutors seconded that notion.
"Jurors are looking for it in everything from murders to shoplifting," said Paul Watson, chief assistant prosecutor in Oakland County. "All our prosecutors are facing demands for scientific evidence. So, in a sense, it's not just budget, it's jurors' expectations, too."
In Macomb County, Prosecutor Eric Smith said, it took 11 months to get DNA results for the recently concluded Todd Pink murder case. Smith said his office got the results just three days before Pink went to trial in the murders of Carrie Seils and her 3-year-old son Skyler.
He said Pink's conviction may not have hinged on a lab test, "but you want to go to trial with all your guns loaded."