When Ken left St. Louis the week of 7/23/2011, there was a heat index warning of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. When he arrived in Morocco it was in the upper 70s; a good indication to him of the potential changes that would be available to us for this project. Joining Ken in Morocco were his collages from the States, Lou Hartman of Crime Lab Design and Benjamin Perillo, Senior Forensic Advisor for ICITAP. We were asked to evaluate a proposed forensic laboratory site, develop a program for the agency, test-fit the agency’s program into the building’s floor plans, and make a recommendation as to the potential use of the proposed building as a crime lab.

Day 1: We arrive in Casablanca on Sunday afternoon, de-plane and clear customs, meet our driver, and make our way to the Hyatt hotel. We check-in, shower, and crash; eat some dinner at the French restaurant in the hotel; and do a little prep work for Monday’s meetings with the Director and Section Heads of the crime lab. Our scope is to help the Moroccan Police with a potential relocation of the existing forensic laboratory facility to a proposed site including a partially constructed building that was originally intended to support government activities of a neighborhood/ section of Casablanca, Prefecture Hay Hassani Ain Chock.

Day 2: After a somewhat restful night’s sleep we make our way to the existing crime lab in Casablanca. We are greeted with handshakes and the traditional French greetings by the Director and his administration, which we returned. Everyone is gracious and helpful.We are also introduced to Mr. Mohamed Benkiran, an architect with ArchiLab selected to retrofit the proposed building into a crime lab; including representatives from other government offices and a newly developed Quality Control Section focused on ISO accreditation. The objective today is to revisit the project’s expectations and tour the proposed building and site. In broad strokes we reviewed current and future staffing needs, forensic services to be offered, and the concept of this facility as the national lab in Casablanca with satellite labs throughout Morocco.