Credit: State of Massachusetts
This week, starting on Sunday, is National Forensic Science Week, an annual observance to recognize and celebrate the contributions of forensic science professionals. This week-long event serves as an opportunity to raise public awareness about the vital role forensic science plays in the criminal justice system, from exonerating the innocent to identifying the guilty.
Laboratories across the country take this opportunity to recognize forensic professionals, showcase technology, collaborate and network, promote forensic science as a career, and advocate for evidence-based policies and practices.
Let’s take a look at what different organizations are doing to celebrate their hard-working forensic professionals during this special week.
Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory
This week, about 500 students will be visiting the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory not only to see but to do, as well. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection created a mock documentary called “Mystery on Prospect Trail” (see video below). After watching the video, the students will have to “solve” the case. This includes doing anything and everything an investigator would do—including gaining access to visitor-restricted areas of the laboratory.
In addition to the crime, the documentary takes students through each of the six divisions of the lab. The idea is to show students parts of the industry they didn’t know about—maybe even a specific career path—and some parts that are commonly misunderstood.
It’s not only students, though. The Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory has also opened its doors to state officials, lawmakers and other first responders in a week that is all about raising awareness and showcasing the work laboratory professionals do.
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police also had a big announcement this week in recognition of Forensic Science Week. On Tuesday, they announced plans to develop a state-of-the-art Crime Laboratory in Marlborough.
The board authorized a 20-year lease term with two 10-year extension options for the approximately 200,000-square-foot facility. This long-term lease approach enables the state police to obtain a much-needed facility several years faster than would be possible if the project had been delivered through traditional capital borrowing and public construction.
The new facility will consolidate the current Maynard and Sudbury crime labs into a single location. The lab will accommodate more than 250 employees and provide room for future growth. Construction is scheduled to begin early 2026, with the opening planned for the first quarter of 2028.
Michigan State Police
On Monday, the Michigan State Police launched a new public awareness campaign aimed at teaching parents and children how to safely navigate the digital world.
The “Opening the Door” campaign, led by the Michigan Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, includes a video public service announcement drawing attention to online predatory behavior like grooming and sextortion, and encouraging adults to be proactive in talking to their children about online dangers. Using federal funds, the video will be shared through a paid social media campaign that starts this week and runs through December.
DEA
No DEA investigation is complete without the science behind it—and forensic science turns DEA evidence into intelligence.
“It shows us how the drug landscape is changing—what's new, what's lethal, where it's coming from, and how it's made. This work strengthens our cases in court, supports legislative efforts like the TRANQ Act and HALT Fentanyl Act, and helps us save lives,” the Drug Enforcement Agency said in a press release.
To celebrate Forensic Science Week, the DEA invited the public to meet its scientists at the DEA Museum on Monday. Virtually, the agency is holding a live Q&As with its experts Tuesday through Thursday on LinkedIn. You can participate by sending a forensic science question to [email protected]. To wrap up the week, the public is invited to DEA Headquarters in Arlington for the Forensic Festival, a hands-on look at forensic science.
Texas Department of Public Safety
As part of National Forensic Science Week, the Texas Department of Public Safety is offering public tours at crime laboratories across the state. They are also celebrating the accomplishments of their personnel in the lab and in the courtroom.
During the past year, the Crime Laboratory Division processed 115,472 requests for forensic testing and uploaded 117,482 arrestee and offender DNA samples to CODIS. The Breath Alcohol program hosted 63 breath test operator schools and certified 930 new breath test operators. The Sexual Assault Evidence (SAE) Tracking program, which allows survivors to anonymously monitor the status and location of evidence, concluded its sixth year of statewide electronic tracking on Aug. 31, 2025. To date, 61,506 sexual assault kits (SAKs) are being tracked in Track-Kit, with 10,644 kits collected statewide in 2025.
DPS continues testing older SAKs that have previously never been submitted to a crime laboratory and had been stored, untested, in property rooms across the state. Since March 2022, DPS has completed 1,432 SAKs as part of this project.
In July, members of the Crime Laboratory Division deployed to Kerr Co. to assist with identifying victims of the July 4 floods. The team quickly stepped up at the request of the Texas Rangers and, through fingerprint analysis and coordinated laboratory work, was able to provide answers to numerous families impacted by the catastrophic events.
Established in 1937, the Crime Laboratory Division started as a one-chemist operation located at Camp Mabry in Austin. Almost 90 years later, the Crime Laboratory Division has developed into a comprehensive forensic laboratory system with 16 accredited labs and programs spanning the state and approximately 711 personnel.
Boise State University
In 2024, Idaho State Police Forensic Services analyzed more than 13,000 controlled substance samples and completed 481 DNA cases in support of Idaho’s judicial system. As part of this week’s observance, the Idaho State Police Forensic Services (ISPFS) and Boise State University invited the public to a presentation on the solving of a nearly 30-year-old Idaho cold case.
The presentation discussed the murder of Wilma Mobley. She was 84-years old in the summer of 1995 when she was strangled to death in her own home in Jerome, Idaho. Following the murder, three possible suspects were identified, but due to a lack of concrete evidence identifying the killer, the case went cold.
Jerome Police Department detectives continued to work the case throughout the years, but there weren’t any major leads until 2022 when Sergeant Clinton Wagner reviewed the case. Due to advances in DNA science since 1995, Wagner contacted the Idaho State Police Forensics Lab to see if any of the evidence from the scene could be submitted for DNA analysis. The evidence that qualified for this analysis was sent to the lab for testing in March 2023.
On Dec. 18, 2023, DNA analysts from the Idaho State Police Forensics Lab reported finding a significant amount of a DNA profile matching Danny Lee Kennison on the victim’s clothing. Danny Kennison and Wilma Mobley were neighbors at the time of the homicide, and Kennison had been identified as a possible suspect early in the investigation. Despite Danny Lee Kennison passing in 2001, justice has been served for Wilma Mobley and her family.