Most Wanted: Answers to Facility Issues

We’d like to challenge each one of you to define what your greatest forensic facility challenge is today. Here are some issues that we often hear about.

This article will discuss some of the pros and cons of leasing laboratory space and will ask some questions which can help you determine if it will work for you.

We were asked to evaluate a proposed forensic laboratory site in Morocco, develop a program for the agency, test-fit the program into the building’s floor plans, and make a recommendation as to the potential use of the proposed building as a crime lab.

We were asked to prepare a facility needs assessment for Lagos, Nigeria as part of the country’s focused effort to improve the use of forensic science to support law enforcement, criminal investigation, and the judicial system of Lagos State.

The International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program of the United States Department of Justice, through Military Professional Resources, Inc. contracted us to conduct an on-site review of a recently partially remodeled lab in South America. The following issues were identified and documented.

Smart facilities, including laboratories, can save space and energy (and therefore money) compared to traditional facilities. One area in which facilities are becoming increasingly smart is user identification.

An equipment survey of existing instrumentation in the laboratory is a valuable tool that will be referenced countless times by the project team during the planning and design of a renovation project or new forensic facility.

The swing into the digital era has changed the face of photography and consequently the need for an updated perspective when planning facilities for a photography section.

This article will provide design guidelines for toxicology laboratories that provide you with ideas on how you might better renovate your existing toxicology spaces or plan for these labs in a new space.

Forensic facilities often contain vehicle exam areas. A car may be dusted for fingerprints, paint from a hit and run may be sampled, or biological evidence may be collected. Vehicle exam spaces require planning and design to be most effective in supporting this collection of evidence.