New Audit Delivers Another Blow To D.C.’s Embattled Forensics Lab


Department also failed to comply with its own policies, procedures and regulations, and industry standardsEnter Headline here December 4, 2022 The D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences has failed to operate as an independent part of the justice system, a report from the Office of the D.C. Auditor has found. The report released Thursday determined th...

Continue reading
1056 Hits

Director of DC lab that processes criminal evidence resigns following accreditation loss

"We ceased using the lab, the forensic lab, and specifically the firearms examination unit, about a year ago when there were various concerns around the practice of the lab and indeed the overall management of it," May 19, 2021 WASHINGTON (7News) — The director of the DC Crime Lab has resigned, Acting Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice conf...

Continue reading
1124 Hits

A Man Awaiting Trial for Murder Is the First COVID-19-Related Death Connected to the DC Jail (Missing Evidence)

Trial was delayed due to federal prosecutors' failure to immediately notify the defense about missing body camera evidence. April 13, 2020 Delayed justice may have cost Deon Crowell his life. The 51-year-old was transported from the DC Jail to a hospital on April 7 after he tested positive for COVID-19. Less than a week later, he died of complicati...

Continue reading
1121 Hits

Justice Department watchdog finds flaws in how FBI handles missing firearms and keeps track of explosives

The Justice Department's internal watchdog found flaws in the ways that the FBI keeps track of its firearms, ammunition, nonlethal weaponry, and explosives, including those seized as evidence March 24, 2020 The FBI has "strong physical controls over its weapons, munitions, and explosives," DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz found. But a report ...

Continue reading
1216 Hits

Trump signs bill to help eliminate backlog in rape kit testing

More than 100,000 rape kits remain untested. January 1, 2020 President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation that provides funding to help states eliminate backlogs in rape kit testing. The measure, signed Monday, will help deal with the more than 100,000 rape kits across the country that remain untested. Advocates say that, without proper f...

Continue reading
1261 Hits

New federal rules will limit police searches of DNA ancestry databases

As genetic genealogy websites become more popular and individuals continue to voluntarily submit their DNA or enter their genetic profiles onto publically available genetic genealogy sites, the more biological information there is to compare with DNA samples from crime scenes. September 24, 2019 The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this week releas...

Continue reading
1421 Hits

Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month


 The single-shot pistol was made almost entirely out of of ABS plastic - The only metal parts were the firing pin - July 20, 2018 Fears grow over 3-D printed guns (2013) 01:34 (CNN)Gun-rights activists have reached a settlement with the government that will allow them to post 3-D printable gun plans online starting August 1. The settlement end...

Continue reading
1418 Hits

FBI wants to cremate remains found in Detroit body broker's warehouse


FBI evidence lockers and freezers now contain the gruesome evidence, an undisclosed number of bodies, heads, arms, legs, organs, torsos, and apparently, fetuses. June 11, 2018 By Gus Burns The FBI's description of a Detroit warehouse raided in December 2013 is reminiscent of a horror film. It was an extraordinarily unusual case inv...

Continue reading
2157 Hits

Cornyn bill to reduce national rape kit backlog signed into law

Cornyn's legislation increased the dollar amount spent on untested rape kits by 35 percent January 8, 2018 President Donald Trump signed a bill proposed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act -- which reauthorizes, strengthens, and extends the Sexual Assault Forensic Reporting program to he...

Continue reading
2127 Hits

Formerly disgraced DC crime lab eliminates rape kit backlog

The Department of Forensic Science is back up to speed and unlike other cities its size, D.C. has no rape kit backlog, officials say. January 2, 2018 WASHINGTON — Three years after D.C.'s DNA lab lost its accreditation, the city is touting a total turnaround. The Department of Forensic Science is back up to speed and unlike other cities its size, D...

Continue reading
1696 Hits

Senate Passes Cornyn, Poe Bill to Fight Nationwide Rape Kit Backlog

Across the country, there are shelves full of untested rape kits, denying victims justice," said Rep. Poe. "In 2015, the DOJ estimated there were as many as 400,000 untested rape kits in the United States. October 24, 2016 U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Ted Poe (TX-02) released the following statements after their bipartisa...

Continue reading
2129 Hits

FBI evidence teams provide expertise to local law enforcement

Teams are typically made up of a team leader, photographer, sketcher, evidence custodian, evidence collectors or searchers and specialists. Specialists have epxertise in hazardous materials, structural engineering, anthropology, botany, entomology and more. October 4, 2017 While it's not as glamorous a job as the TV show "CSI" makes it seem, invest...

Continue reading
3645 Hits

A DEA officer had a wild affair with a convict — letting her listen to wiretaps, roam the evidence room, and have sex in the office

Drug Enforcement Agency agent carried on an extra-marital affair with a convicted criminal, shared evidence with her, and may have left her unattended in the drug evidence room, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General published Thursday. September 7, 2017 Drug Enforcement Agency agent carried on an extra-marital affair with a...

Continue reading
2569 Hits

Justice Dept. Signals More Police Property Seizures Coming

A change would likely represent another reversal by Attorney General Sessions of Obama-era Justice Department policies July 17, 2017 The Justice Department will soon make it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday. Sessions said a shift will be...

Continue reading
1575 Hits

Police alerted to spread of deadly threat of synthetic drug fentanyl

Federal officials issued an urgent warning Tuesday to local police across the country to take added precautions in their contacts with addicts and dealers suspected of carrying the quick acting, deadly drug fentanyl. June 6, 2017 WASHINGTON – Federal officials issued an urgent warning Tuesday to local police across the country to take added precaut...

Continue reading
1919 Hits

Explosion erupts in drug vault at D.C. police evidence storage facility


An explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon inside a drug vault at a D.C. police warehouse in Southwest Washington where evidence is stored, according to police and fire officials. January 25, 2017 An explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon inside a drug vault at a D.C. police warehouse in Southwest Washington where evidence is stored, according to po...

Continue reading
2811 Hits

Obama Just Signed a Bill of Rights for Sexual-Assault Survivors


Rape kits—more than 100,000 of them, as of 2014—have often languished for years in police warehouses and crime labs, going untested due to a lack of funds and, some argue, contempt for victims. October 7, 2016 President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that guarantees s...

Continue reading
1804 Hits

First Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights Passes Congress, Obama Is Expected to Sign


The "Survivors' Bill of Rights Act" unanimously passed Congress on Wednesday and is on its way to be signedby President Obama. This is the first federal rights bill specifically provided for sexual assault survivors. September 30, 2016 The "Survivors' Bill of Rights Act" unanimously passed Congress on Wednesday and is on its way to be signed by Pre...

Continue reading
1555 Hits

Congress Just Passed A Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill Of Rights, And That’s A Huge Deal


The downside is that this bill will only apply to sexual assault cases tried in federal court, and to crimes committed in national parks, tribal lands, or on federal property. September 9, 2016 On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a game-changing bill that could majorly impact the way sexual assault survivors are treated within the ...

Continue reading
Tags:
1502 Hits

Fired FBI agent pleads guilty to theft of heroin collected as evidence


A former FBI agent in the Washington Field Office pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing heroin that had been collected as evidence, and in his first public comments, he apologized and warned against the scourge of drug addiction March 31, 2016 A former FBI agent in the Washington Field Office pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing heroin th...

Continue reading
2092 Hits

DNA evidence leads to arrest in 1993 DC murder


Great Job DC! June 02, 2016 WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Twenty-three years after MPD officers discovered the body of Charlene Johnson in a Northwest, D.C. stairwell, a suspect in her brutal murder is finally behind bars. Officers and federal agents from a joint fugitive apprehension task force arrested 48-year old Therion Clyde Bryant in Baltimore on Wed...

Continue reading
1644 Hits

DC Police Open New Evidence Warehouse

9 NEWS NOW, wusa9.comBYLINE: Meta PettusLink to ArticleWashington, DCWASHINGTON (AP) -- The District of Columbia police department is opening a new $20 million evidence warehouse that officials say will make it easier to stor...

Continue reading
Tags:
1644 Hits

Search IAPE

Blotter - Latest News

This login form is for IAPE Staff ONLY!