Crime Lab
Submit a Public Records Request to the Broward County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab.
Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Crime Laboratory, located in the Broward County Courthouse, provides all public law enforcement agencies in Broward County with scientific forensic analysis of physical evidence. BSO's Crime Laboratory is the only full-service, internationally accredited laboratory in Broward County, receiving over 20,000 cases per year.
BSO's Crime Laboratory employs just over 50 staff members, serving the 1.87 million residents of Broward County.
BSO's Crime Laboratory is a nationally recognized leader in the forensic science community, as the first Sheriff's Office Crime Laboratory to become internationally accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). The current scope of the BSO Crime Laboratory's accreditation under the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) includes the following forensic disciplines: Controlled Substances, DNA, Firearms/Tool Marks/Impression Evidence, and Latent Print Examination. Additionally, the majority of the forensic scientists at BSO's Crime Laboratory have successfully attained certification by their discipline's respective certification bodies including: the American Board of Criminalistics (ABC), the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) and the International Association for Identification (IAI).
BSO Crime Laboratory's forensic scientists, supported by a dedicated and hardworking administrative and evidence intake staff, are skilled and knowledgeable subject matter experts that use their technical expertise, in various forensic science disciplines, to serve the needs of the criminal justice community of Broward County.
For a current list of available positions, please visit the Join Our Team page of the Broward Sheriff's Office website. If you are a college student pursuing a career in forensic science, BSO's Crime Laboratory offers internships in all forensic disciplines. The internship program runs throughout the year and coincides with university semesters; internships are unpaid.
Broward Sheriff's Office Crime Laboratory Mission Statement:
To serve the criminal justice needs of Broward County by applying sound scientific principles to the examination of physical evidence. Impartial and reliable analysis will be conducted in a cost effective and timely manner without jeopardizing the quality of work, the integrity of the laboratory, or the principles of justice.
Administration
This staff is responsible for typing Crime Laboratory Analysis reports, rejection notices, and AFIS notifications for all of the forensic disciplines.
The Administrative Staff members provide clerical support to the Crime Laboratory. This staff is responsible for typing Crime Laboratory Analysis reports, rejection notices, and AFIS notifications for all of the forensic disciplines. These reports are typed, edited, notarized, split, distributed (via email, faxing and interoffice mail) and then ultimately filed back in the originating section. This number exceeds 20,000 reports a year. Additionally, the support staff handles requests (via phone, email and in person) from the State Attorney's Office as well as all Police Departments that submit evidence to the Crime Lab.
The Lab Manager is responsible for Quality Control, Accreditation, Safety, and Budgeting. The Broward Sheriff's Office was the first Sheriff's crime lab to be internationally accredited. Accreditation is a process that insures that the highest qualities of professionalism are maintained by a system of external testing (proficiency tests), internal and external audits to insure the techniques used meet scientific standards, and the best practices in the respect disciplines.
Chemistry Unit
The Chemistry Unit analyzes and identifies any controlled substances submitted as evidence to the laboratory.
The Chemistry Unit analyzes and identifies any controlled substances submitted as evidence to the laboratory. Illegal drugs may be presented in powders, solid materials, liquids, blotter papers, capsules, tablets, pharmaceutical preparations, and plant material. Common drugs analyzed in the section are cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, oxycodone and MDMA. The chemist confirms the identification of the substances using instrumentation available within the unit, including Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometers (GC/MS), a Gas Chromatograph/Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectrometer and an Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer. Emerging trends in the clandestine drug world constantly require the unit to create new methods of identification.
DNA Unit
Identifies and analyzes body fluid evidence and determines DNA profiles for matching to local, state and national databases.
Identifies and analyzes body fluid evidence and determines DNA profiles for matching to local, state and national databases. The section features state of the art equipment that include using robotics to extract, purify, quantify and analyze the DNA from crime scenes. The CODIS database has enabled suspects to be identified on a state as well as national level. Searches are made against newly updated convicted offenders DNA to solve cold and current cases. Robotics figures prominently in the processing of casework. Robots, as pictured in the figure, are fast becoming the norm since they are fast and sometimes cut casework processing time by as much as 50% or more.
Evidence Intake Unit
The Evidence Intake Unit takes receipt of, facilitates the tracking of, and ensures that the proper chain of custody is maintained over all evidence.
The Evidence Intake Unit takes receipt of, facilitates the tracking of, and ensures that the proper chain of custody is maintained over all evidence submitted to the Crime Laboratory. The Evidence Technicians process over 30,000 cases a year involving evidence submitted for testing and maintain custody of our drug vault which houses in excess of 50 tons of drug evidence. The members of the Evidence Intake Unit work diligently to assist all law enforcement agencies throughout Broward County with exceptional service.
Firearms/Toolmarks Unit
Firearm identification deals with the comparison analysis of projectiles and cartridge cases found at crime scenes to submitted suspect firearms.
Firearms Identification Firearm identification deals with the comparison analysis of projectiles and cartridge cases found at crime scenes to submitted suspect firearms. Firearms identification is possible due to imperfections present in the bearing surfaces of firearms made during the manufacturing process. These are unique to that firearm like the fingerprints or DNA of an individual. Firearm examiners can also analyze for distance determinations, operability of firearms, and serial number restorations.
Firearm Image Database Currently the firearms and tool mark identification community has a database operating system used to image fired cartridge components called the NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistics Information Network) database. As of November 2012, there have been over 50,000 "cold hits" as a result of all the evidence entered into the database. These "hits" link cases together that were otherwise not known to be related and helps detectives solve crimes.
Tool Mark Identification Tool mark identification determines if a tool mark left at a crime scene was produced by a particular suspect tool. Tedious microscopic comparisons are conducted of striations on a tool (bolt cutter, screwdrivers, crowbars, etc.) to evidence marked by that tool (pad locks or wires, pried open doors to homes or safes, etc.) recovered from the suspect.
Latent Print Unit
Through the comparison process, an examiner is able to determine whether a particular latent print is identified to a subject in question.
The Latent Print Unit conducts scientific examinations in the area of friction ridge analysis, including the comparison of latent fingerprints, palm prints and footprints recovered from crimes scenes to known subject’s standards. Through the comparison process, an examiner is able to determine whether a particular latent print is identified to a subject in question.
As part of the scientific process, all identifications are examined by a second latent print examiner to verify the original identification. Unidentified latent prints, may be entered and searched in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). This computer system contains a database of known individuals and is used to retrieve a candidate list. Each candidate on this list is ultimately compared by a latent print examiner to determine if there is an identification. Latent prints that have been searched in AFIS and not identified remain in the unsolved latent file (ULF) and are searched daily as new individuals are added to the database. The system also assists the examiner in locating and retrieving records of known standards. Latent Print Examiners are responsible for reporting their findings and providing expert witness testimony relating to these examinations.