Los Angeles Police Department 2019 Coverdell: Improving Forensic Testing Associated with the Opioids Crisis and Gun Violence

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third largest police agency in the nation and serves the City of Los Angeles (City. The LAPD’s Forensic Sciences Division (FSD) operates a full-service laboratory. Two of FSD’s units have experienced a high increase of case analysis requests in the past few years: The Toxicology (TOX) Unit and the Firearms Analysis Unit (FAU). Under the 2019 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program, the LAPD is proposing to implement the LAPD FSD Improving Forensic Testing Associated with the Opioids Crisis and Gun Violence Project. This project aims to improve the quality and timeliness of toxicological testing, focusing on opioids, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and other drug-impairing substances; and to reduce firearms analysis backlog by enhancing the equipment available to LAPD criminalists for toxicology and firearms analysis. CA/NCF