Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 12, 2006 3:49:41 GMT -5
HPD's evidence closely watched this time around; Under the microscope
The head of the Houston police crime lab's DNA division realizes her staff will be closely watched as they begin analyzing evidence more than three years after the scandal-plagued section was shut down.
"We're going to be under a lot of scrutiny, and that's good," lab manager Vanessa Nelson said Monday. "We do have a lot to recover from, but I think that we're going to come out of this on top."
The DNA lab was certified last month and evidence testing began July 3. Nelson said 5 analysts are working on about 15 criminal cases while five more employees continue training.
Private companies began testing all DNA cases after a December 2002 audit revealed glaring problems in the DNA section, including poorly trained workers and lax protocols, that led to the office's closure.
Re-examinations of hundreds of cases handled by the flawed Houston Police Department lab eventually led to the release of 2 men from prison, including 1 who spent more than 17 years behind bars for a rape that new forensic tests showed he didn't commit.
The private labs will continue to test DNA evidence from investigations with pending court dates. The HPD lab should fully take over the work in 6 months to a year, Nelson said.
"I wanted to start people out slowly, so that we can make sure we don't make any mistakes," she said.
Crime lab director Irma Rios said it will take "time, hard work and doing the job right," before public confidence is restored.
"It's going to take a long, long time," Rios said. "We've had to change our game plan, so to speak."
Nelson said major strides have been made to ensure quality control. They range from the obvious, such as requiring analysts to wear masks and hoods to prevent contamination, to stringent reviews of their findings.
The staff also will be required to pass twice-yearly proficiency exams, said Nelson, who was hired in September 2005 and most recently was a senior DNA analyst with the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.
"We have a lot of things in place that will help us to catch mistakes and, if mistakes are made, to correct them," Nelson said. "I don't think that was really in place in the past."
Items taken from crime scenes initially are screened in a lab. To avoid contamination, they then are passed to other rooms containing high-tech equipment, where the evidence is extracted and copied to ensure a sufficient sample for analysis.
"A lot of times, the samples that we're dealing with have very small quantities of DNA in them," Nelson said. "You can copy it so a couple of cells' worth of DNA would be enough to read a profile."
Nelson said the lab, essentially rebuilt from the ground up, is
state-of-the-art and comparable with facilities used in the private sector and by other big-city police departments.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
The head of the Houston police crime lab's DNA division realizes her staff will be closely watched as they begin analyzing evidence more than three years after the scandal-plagued section was shut down.
"We're going to be under a lot of scrutiny, and that's good," lab manager Vanessa Nelson said Monday. "We do have a lot to recover from, but I think that we're going to come out of this on top."
The DNA lab was certified last month and evidence testing began July 3. Nelson said 5 analysts are working on about 15 criminal cases while five more employees continue training.
Private companies began testing all DNA cases after a December 2002 audit revealed glaring problems in the DNA section, including poorly trained workers and lax protocols, that led to the office's closure.
Re-examinations of hundreds of cases handled by the flawed Houston Police Department lab eventually led to the release of 2 men from prison, including 1 who spent more than 17 years behind bars for a rape that new forensic tests showed he didn't commit.
The private labs will continue to test DNA evidence from investigations with pending court dates. The HPD lab should fully take over the work in 6 months to a year, Nelson said.
"I wanted to start people out slowly, so that we can make sure we don't make any mistakes," she said.
Crime lab director Irma Rios said it will take "time, hard work and doing the job right," before public confidence is restored.
"It's going to take a long, long time," Rios said. "We've had to change our game plan, so to speak."
Nelson said major strides have been made to ensure quality control. They range from the obvious, such as requiring analysts to wear masks and hoods to prevent contamination, to stringent reviews of their findings.
The staff also will be required to pass twice-yearly proficiency exams, said Nelson, who was hired in September 2005 and most recently was a senior DNA analyst with the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.
"We have a lot of things in place that will help us to catch mistakes and, if mistakes are made, to correct them," Nelson said. "I don't think that was really in place in the past."
Items taken from crime scenes initially are screened in a lab. To avoid contamination, they then are passed to other rooms containing high-tech equipment, where the evidence is extracted and copied to ensure a sufficient sample for analysis.
"A lot of times, the samples that we're dealing with have very small quantities of DNA in them," Nelson said. "You can copy it so a couple of cells' worth of DNA would be enough to read a profile."
Nelson said the lab, essentially rebuilt from the ground up, is
state-of-the-art and comparable with facilities used in the private sector and by other big-city police departments.
(source: Houston Chronicle)