State Budget Cuts Create 4,500-Case Backlog at SLED

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has a backlog of about 4,500 cases in its forensics lab because the agency has lost 30 people to state budget cuts over the last three years.

Houston closer to regional crime lab

Houston Chronicle
In what Mayor Annise Parker calls “a toe in the water” toward a regional crime lab, the city of Houston will start sending about a dozen DNA samples a month to the county’s forensics shop under a deal on Wednesday’s council agenda.

First DNA, Forensic lab at Salonga Law center

The Phillipines
Crime prevention and investigation got a big boost here following the dedication of the first Visayas DNA and Forensic Laboratory last Thursday at the Salonga Law Center in cooperation with the SU Chemistry Department.

Oakland County to expand crime lab to add DNA testing, bypassing state’s busy labs

California
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is considering expanding the county’s crime lab to include DNA testing, avoiding state DNA test result delays that at times stretch six to nine months.

Hunting for a Mass Killer in Medieval Graveyards

The New York Times
Beneath the Royal Mint Court, diagonally across the street from the Tower of London, lie 1,800 mute witnesses to the foresight of the city fathers in the year 1348. Recognizing that the Black Death then scourging Europe would inevitably reach London, the authorities prepared a special cemetery in East Smithfield, outside the city walls, to receive the bodies of the stricken.

State Crime Prevention Projects to Receive Federal Money

CBS 59 West Virginia
The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $1.2 million to fund four crime prevention projects in West Virginia.

DNA confirms it’s Daniel

Canberra Times
Eight years after Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe disappeared, DNA analysis has confirmed three bones found in bushland one week ago are those of the missing teenager.

WTC ID effort heroic

New York Post
Scientists at the city Medical Examiner’s Office have acquired state-of-the-art technology that’s allowing them to identify DNA in World Trade Center remains an incredible 10 years after the 9/11 terror attacks.

Sacramento County DA gets $1.12M in grants

Sacramento business Journal
The Sacramento District Attorney’s Office has been awarded $1.12 million grants covering forensic evidence and DNA found at crime scenes as well as for equipment and staffing for DUI enforcement.

Wrongly Convicted Man Meets Firm That Helped Set Him Free

Channel 10 News San Diego
Carlsbad-Based Life Technologies’ DNA Testing Helped Exonerate Herman Atkins.