|
News & Information
News
| August
8, 2007: |
Summary
of Recommendations of the Independent Investigator for
the HPD Crime Lab and Property Room.
Click
to read the Summary. |
| |
|
| June
13, 2007: |
Final
Report of the Independent Investigator for the Houston
Police Department Crime Laboratory and Property Room.
Click
to read the Report. |
| |
|
| May
11, 2006: |
The
Office of the Independent Investigator issued the Fifth
Report of the Independent Investigator for the Houston
Police Department Crime Laboratory and Property Room.
Click
to read the
Press Release or the
Report.
|
| |
|
| January
4, 2006: |
The
Office of the Independent Investigator issued the Fourth
Report of the Independent Investigator for the Houston
Police Department Crime Laboratory and Property Room.
Click
to read the
Press Release or the
Report.
|
| |
|
| July
6, 2005: |
The
Office of the Independent Investigator issued the Phase
II Plan of the Independent Investigator for the HPD Crime
Lab and Property Room .
Click
to read the Phase
II Plan. |
| |
|
| June
30, 2005: |
The Office of the Independent
Investigator issued the Third Report of the Independent
Investigator for the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory
and Property Room.
Click
to read the
Press Release or the
Report.
|
| |
|
| May
31, 2005: |
The Office of the Independent
Investigator issued the Second Report of the Independent
Investigator for the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory
and Property Room.
Click
to read the
Press Release or the
Report.
|
| |
|
Background of the
Investigation
The public crisis
that eventually led to the hiring of an independent investigator to
review the Crime Lab’s operations began on November 11, 2002, with the
first in a series of investigative news reports that aired on KHOU‑Channel 11,
a local Houston television station. These television news reports,
which were reported to be the product of a three‑month investigation
performed by KHOU in consultation with outside forensics scientists,
severely criticized the forensic analysis performed by the
DNA/Serology Section of the Crime Lab in a number of specific cases.
Within a month of
the airing of the first of these news reports, Acting Chief of Police
Timothy Oettmeier commissioned an outside review of the Crime Lab’s
DNA/Serology Section. Representatives from the Texas Department of
Public Safety (“DPS”) Crime Lab Headquarters and the Tarrant County
Medical Examiner’s Office performed an audit of the Crime Lab’s
DNA/Serology section over the course of two days, December 12 and 13,
2002. On December 18, 2002, based on the preliminary oral report of
the auditors prior to the issuance of their final audit report, HPD
suspended the performance of all DNA analysis by the Crime Lab. The
final report documenting the audit’s findings was issued on
January 10, 2003. DNA work by the Crime Lab has remained continuously
suspended to this day, although HPD is hoping to re‑open the DNA
Section by the end of this calendar year.
Read more ...
^
Back to top
Links
Houston Police
Department -
http://www.houstontx.gov/police/
American
Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board
-
http://www.ascld-lab.org/dual/aslabdualaboutascldlab.html
National
Forensic Science Technology Center -
http://www.nfstc.org/aboutus.htm
The Innocence
Project -
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW, Suite 900 · Washington, DC 20004 · 202.639.7000
©2005-2007. All rights
reserved. |
