Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Program - West Virginia State Police Laboratory

The West Virginia State Police (WVSP) Forensic Laboratory is an ASCLD/LAB accredited; full service facility which is responsible for analyzing evidentiary material associated with criminal investigations for all state and local law enforcement agencies (as many as 800 jurisdictions).

Services are provided, free of charge, to any police agency (including federal jurisdictions) within the 55 counties of West Virginia. The Laboratory serves a population base of approximately 1.8 million people. The Laboratory is composed of eight specialized sections: Trace Evidence, Drug Identification, Toxicology, Biochemistry (DNA), Firearm/Toolmark, Latent Prints, Questioned Documents, and Evidence Processing. In addition, the Laboratory has a Central Evidence Receiving section for receipt and storage of items of evidence.

The Laboratory’s full time staff includes thirty-four (34) analysts, six (6) technicians, two (2) secretaries, one (1) Assistant Director/ Quality Assurance Manager, and one (1) Laboratory Director. The Laboratory routinely receives approximately 7,000 cases each year. The cases received include everything from capital crimes (homicides and sexual assaults) to misdemeanor property crimes. In accordance with the State’s goal to generally improve and advance forensic services, this project requests funding to provide continuing education through specialized training to forensic analysts in order to further improve the quality of our services as well as acquire new equipment to improve both the quality and timeliness of the services provided by the laboratory.

The WVSP Laboratory is facing budgetary constraints and is unable to fund continuing education and training for forensic analysts needed to stay abreast of the latest technologies of forensic science. The Federal funding from this award will be used for the following goals: Goal 1: Provide continued education recommended by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), the Laboratory’s accrediting body. Goal 2: Provide continued education to forensic examiners to maintain their certification.

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