2006 DPS Annual Report - Arizona Department of Public Safety

Criminal Justice
Support Division
• Provides state-of-the-art scientific examination and evaluation of evidence and expert scientific testimony in
Superior Courts, Federal Courts, Municipal Courts, and Justice-of-the-Peace Courts.
• Provides the most modern DNA scientific services for the examination of violent crime evidence to
identify or exonerate suspects.
• Maintains the Arizona DNA Identification System established by statute, which is a database of
convicted offender DNA profiles against which an evidence DNA profile can be searched to identify
a previously unknown assailant.
• Provides complete toxicology services including the analysis of body fluid samples, primarily blood
and urine, for drug and metabolite concentrations, and provides expert testimony on drug effects,
driving impairment, and metabolism.
• Provides comprehensive forensic alcohol services including the analysis of blood for alcohol concentration;
the maintenance and repair of over 250 alcohol breath test instruments; and expert testimony
on alcohol effects, impaired driving, and alcohol metabolism.
• Analyzes a variety of specimens and determines the presence of illegal drugs; which include marijuana,
narcotics, cocaine, methamphetamine, and LSD.
• Responds to clandestine drug laboratory manufacturing sites to assess type of drugs being produced;
assesses hazards of toxicity, fire, and explosion; collects samples for transport to the Crime Laboratory;
analyzes the samples for precursor chemicals, reaction intermediaries, and drug products.
• Responds to suspected weapons of mass destruction sites to assess what type of lethal agents may be
present or in the process of clandestine manufacture and to collect samples for later laboratory
analysis.
• Examines documents for authenticity of handwriting; determination of obliterated writing; and
identification of typewriting.
• Performs examinations on trace evidence materials, such as hairs, fibers, glass, paint, and soils; to tie
crime scene items to a suspect’s clothing or vehicle.
• Examines firearms to identify a particular weapon as having fired a bullet removed from a victim or
scene; to determine the distance from which a firearm was fired at a crime scene; and to reconstruct a
shooting scene.
• Compares footwear and tire track impression evidence from a crime scene to shoes or tires to establish
their involvement in a crime.
• Analyzes fire and explosion debris to identify; ignitable liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel
fuel, or explosives such as gunpowder, and dynamite.
• Processes evidence to visualized latent prints and compares to known fingerprints, palm prints, or
footprints to identify suspects or searches against the Arizona Automated Fingerprint Identification
System to identify unknown suspects.
• Photographs accidents and crime scenes to provide documentation and then develops and prints
scene pictures.
• Stores evidence and personal property; releases property to lawful owners; and disposes contraband
once criminal cases are adjudicated.
• Provides instruction to investigative officers in the proper identification, collection, and packaging of
evidence.
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