2006 DPS Annual Report - Arizona Department of Public Safety

Criminal Justice
Support Division
DPS criminalists an integral part of anti-terrorism and WMD response for Arizona
The DPS Crime Laboratory has taken on the role of scientific advisor for anti-terrorism and Weapons of
Mass Destruction (WMD) responses in Arizona. Two highly-educated DPS criminalists provide advice
and scene assistance in the chemistry and hazards of various explosives, chemicals and toxins suspected in
these investigations. The criminalists bring the formal knowledge
of university education in chemistry, biochemistry, etc.,
plus they have received extensive additional education from
the Federal Homeland Security and military installations such
as Dugway Proving Ground in Nevada.
As a result, these individuals assisted in numerous scene responses
and exercises during the last year – including a large
statewide exercise. Investigations have included suspected
biological toxins, chemical poisons, explosives, etc. As an
example, assistance was provided in an unusual explosives
case which received significant media attention. A suspected
high-explosive was uncovered at a house during a routine police investigation and the DPS Crime Lab was
contacted to assist. After assessing the situation, an immediate analysis was completed in the DPS Crime
Lab, identifying the material as the high explosive TATP. This explosive, TATP, is unusual for many
reasons:
• It is highly unstable, and unless carefully stored under alcohol and kept cold, can readily detonate.
• It is easily manufactured from common items readily available – acetone, hydrogen peroxide and
acid.
• It has become the explosive of choice for suicide bombers in the Middle East, most likely due to the
ease of manufacturing.
Licensing and Regulatory Bureau
The Department implements Electronic Document Management System
The Licensing and Regulatory Bureau receives and processes thousands of documents each month that must
be readily available to department staff to complete multi-tiered applicant processes and to comply with
requests from criminal justice agencies. In order to determine license and permit eligibility, documentation
concerning an applicant’s criminal background, insurance coverage, citizenship, military service, firearms
training and uniform design may be obtained. Fingertip retrieval of applicant documentation significantly
reduces the time it takes to process license and permit renewals, provides administrative and investigative
support to other agencies, and prepares for compliance audits and hearings. On site storage of these documents
was time and labor intensive with no room for expansion. In May 2006, the Bureau utilized a vendor
to image existing documents and install software and hardware for day-forward scanning. Approximately
one million documents were imaged with 17,000 new documents added per month. Images are scanned and
then converted into Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
93