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The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recognizes the significant impact forensic science has on the criminal justice system with the August Vollmer Excellence in Forensic Science Award. This award, created to honor the proactive, innovative use of forensic technologies by law enforcement, was awarded at the annual IACP conference in New Orleans, LA, last month. The four winners include:
Category: Current or Past Contribution to Forensic Science by Police Agency
Recipient: National Forensic Academy (NFA)
Accepting the award: Mr. Dan Baker, Executive Director
The National Forensic Academy (NFA) is a nationally available training facility that provides accredited education in both the theory and practice of forensic investigation by recognized experts in their respective fields.
The goal of the NFA is to reduce substandard forensic evidentiary procedures and unfortunate inequalities in law enforcement training opportunities. The NFA has established a world-class Forensic Science entity that fosters research, provides training, and encourages the development of forensic technologies, which will serve the best interests of the criminal justice system in the United States. In realization of this goal, under the development of the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville Police Department, the foundational and unparalleled National Forensic Academy began its first training session in September 2001. Drawing upon recent developments in forensic science, the NFA provides a unique program that brings detailed training in contemporary investigative techniques and skills to local law enforcement agencies across the country.
Category: Innovation in Forensic Technology
Recipient: Broward Sheriff’s Office Regional Crime Laboratory
Accepting the award: Sgt. James Kammerer
The Broward Sheriff’s Office - Regional Crime Laboratory created the Blood Stain Collection Kit. The purpose of the kit was envisioned to become an agency-wide deployment of an advanced crime-fighting tool. This tool would equip all Deputy Sheriff’s with a kit that facilitated the recovery of DNA related evidence from crime scenes involving property crimes.
In January of 2003, 2000 kits were received in the initial stage of this initiative. Eight hundred and ninety-nine (899) individual Deputy Sheriff’s were trained to collect blood and other body fluids from the scene of property crimes. As a result of these training sessions one thousand six hundred and ninety (1690) kits were deployed for use throughout Broward County. As of January 2007, two hundred thirty seven (237) Blood Stain Collection Kits have been submitted to the crime laboratory for analysis, of which one hundred ninety three (193) Blood Stain Collection Kits contained viable DNA material(s). This is a DNA Evidence Collection impact success rate of 81%, value vs. no value of all kits submitted.
Category: Significant Investigative Value in a Major Crime
Recipients: Cecilia Doyle, Deb Depczynski and Barb Wilson (deceased) (The Forensic Science Center at Chicago)
Accepting the award: Cecilia Doyle & Deb Depczynski (award winners) and Chief John Koziol (Palatine Police Department )
In the 1993 seven employees of Browns Chicken and Pasta Restaurant were murdered in Palatine, IL. The offenders fled hours before the discovery of the victims and there was little physical evidence nor live witnesses. In 1997, newly developed STR DNA technology was used to analyze the remains of a chicken meal that had been served 8 minutes after closing, around the time of the murders. Illinois State Police Crime Lab analysts Cecilla Doyle, Deb Depczynski and Barb Wilson (who has lost her battle with ovarian cancer) worked on the case and confirmed results leading to the first solid lead in over 4 years. In 2002, the Task Force received a call from a woman claiming to be an ex girlfriend of one of the killers. A DNA swab was obtained from the boyfriend and from a possible accomplice (who was a former employee of the restaurant) and a match was made to the DNA extracted from the chicken bones in 1997. On May 16th, both individuals were arrested and gave confessions regarding the nine year old crime. In the end, early DNA technology and work done by Cecilla Doyle, Deb Depczynski and Barb Wilson brought this case to a successful resolution.
Category: Current or Past Contribution to Forensic Science by an Individual
Recipient: Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer
Accepting the award: Not present
Mr. Jerry Bruckheimer has dedicated much of his television production career to airing dramatic shows that highlight reality based issues in criminal justice and forensic science. He produces a variety of television shows that provide realistic and often real cases, which have dramatically increased awareness on the part of society regarding the importance of forensic science.
Mr. Bruckheimer’s shows have significantly influenced the criminal justice system and forensic science in the following ways: Increased interest in careers in policing, influenced policy (for example the increased funding to address the backlog of DNA evidence is clearly linked to the social expectations that physical evidence be used to solve crimes in a timely fashion), increased the quality and quantity of applicants to academic programs in criminal justice and forensic science, encouraged victims to come forward now that they understand that physical evidence can make a difference in prosecuting those who commit crimes and in protecting society, made juries more sophisticated regarding forensic evidence such as DNA.
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