The Suffolk County Crime Laboratory is a multi-section, full service, internationally accredited forensic laboratory operating out of its Hauppauge office.
The multiple sections of the Laboratory include Biological Sciences, Firearms, Questioned Documents, Trace Evidence, Drug Chemistry, Crime Scene Investigations and Reconstruction, Crash Reconstruction, Quality Control and Evidence Control. These individual sections are further described.
The Crime Laboratory is a service agency providing services to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Suffolk County Police Department and all other Police Departments within the county, the New York State Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office. Services are also provided to the County Attorney’s Office in civil matters. Other agencies within the county may also request assistance from the Crime Laboratory.
In addition to the wide variety of forensic services provided, many of the personnel in the crime laboratory will respond to crime scenes throughout the county; these may include homicides, death investigations and leaving the scene vehicle collisions. Laboratory personnel responding to these incidents are responsible for the collection, preservation, analysis and reconstruction of the scene evidence.
All crime laboratory analysts working case related evidence are also responsible for giving expert witness testimony on any related trials.
The laboratory maintains a very intricate quality assurance program throughout the year in order to sustain its accreditation. This program includes proficiency testing all analysts and regular court room testimony review.
All services provided by the laboratory are monitored annually by the New York State Commission of Forensic Sciences.
The crime laboratory has a very involved college student internship program that allows students pursuing science degrees the opportunity to spend several weeks at the laboratory working side by side with the forensic analysts. Many of these students graduate and pursue careers in the forensic sciences.
WORKLOAD STATISTICS
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020 (Est.)
|
Total Case Reports Assigned
|
6,056
|
6,111
|
5,740
|
4,211
|
Total Cases Closed(1)
|
6,463
|
6,384
|
5,585
|
3,733
|
Cases Closed by Analysis(2)
|
4,777
|
5,210
|
4,585
|
2,839
|
Cases Closed Administratively(3)
|
1,686
|
1,170
|
996
|
883
|
Total Samples Submitted(4)
|
58,123
|
49,316
|
61,814
|
60,103
|
Total Samples Analyzed(5)
|
24,370
|
15,805
|
22,040
|
10,520
|
- Represents Specific Year and Backlogged Cases Closed.
- Represents Cases Submitted During the Specific Year Closed by Analysis.
- Represents Specific Year and Backlogged Cases Closed by "File Only" Report. "File Only"
represents a procedure in which cases are reviewed, determined to be of the
lowest priority for examination, and forwarded back to the submitting agency
without examination. It is a procedure designed to optimize the existing
resources of the laboratory but should not be viewed as anything less than what
it really is...crisis management!
- Items Submitted - For the purposes of this report, these are defined as those items that were
actually inventoried by the laboratory during case examinations. This figure
does not reflect those items not inventoried in backlogged cases awaiting
analysis or those returned using the "File Only" procedure.
Increased number of submissions of heroin
packets.
- Samples Analyzed - This number reflects the number of samples removed from items that were examined. It is
quite common to have one item yield several samples for analysis.