Currently, New Jersey offers various levels of services in forensic science
laboratories located throughout the state ranging from a one man
operation (Cape May County) to a full service laboratory system
administered by the New Jersey State Police.
Prior to 1967, there existed only the Newark City Police Department
Lab & the New Jersey State Police Lab located at Division
Headquarters in West Trenton. As our society changed, the demands
for forensic services increased in all areas. However, the major
problem in those early years was in the area of drug analysis.
Reported drug arrests rose from approximately 5,000 in the late sixties to 35,000 by the mid seventies. This rise in crime,
coupled with the existing drug laws, put a tremendous burden on the
forensic community to provide adequate service.
The Newark City Police Department first opened their laboratory in
the 1920's to serve the Newark Police Department. The staff size was
one or two people up until the late sixties. The New Jersey State
Police started a one man laboratory in downtown Trenton in 1935 &
expanded the laboratory services with the opening of the State
Bureau of Identification constructed at Division Headquarters in
1936. Since its beginning in the mid-thirties, the State Police
laboratory system has offered scientific services to all police
departments in New Jersey.
With the increasing demands of the late sixties the New Jersey State
Police responded by hiring additional people. The 1967 staff
consisted of six scientific personnel compared to the current staff
of over seventy, along with the increase in staff came the
establishment of regional laboratories.
The current State Police laboratory system, known as the Office of Forensic
Science, consists of the Central Laboratory,
located at the Hamilton Technology Complex, Hamilton, NJ (2004); the North
Regional Laboratory, located in Little Falls (1972); the South
Regional Laboratory, located in Hammonton (1973); & the East
Regional Laboratory, located in Sea Girt (1980). Services provided
include analyses in Drugs & Toxicology, Criminalistics (including
Biological Stain Analysis & Trace Evidence), & DNA analysis. In
addition, the Ballistics Unit (a part of the Forensic Investigation
Section) is also located at the Hamilton Technology Complex.
In 1967 legislation was enacted replacing the county coroner's
system with the New Jersey State Medical Examiners Office to be
headed by Dr. Edwin Albano (former Essex County Medical Examiner).
Dr. Albano started January 1, 1968 with a small borrowed office in
City Hospital, Newark. The current Medical Examiner's laboratory,
located in Newark, is a modern 33,000 square feet facility.
The increasing caseloads of the sixties necessitated the
establishment of county laboratories. For the most part, these
laboratories were & still are primarily drug analysis facilities;
however, Ocean County exp&ed the level of services to be the first
in the state to offer DNA analysis.
In 1970, the
Criminalistics Investigation Unit was started as an extension of the
Ocean County Sheriffs Department Identification Unit. By 1976, The
Criminalistics Investigation Unit employed two full-time forensic
scientists along with crime scene detectives, photography
technicians, & clerical support staff.
In 1986, the Criminalistics
Investigation Unit moved into a new facility & began a period of
expansion. The Forensic Laboratory staff increased to two full-time
forensic scientists, & the services offered to the community
expanded from drug analysis to include arson debris analysis, blood
alcohol, urine analysis for drugs of abuse, basic serology & sex
crime kit. In 1991, the Sheriff’s Department began in-house DNA
testing.
Today, the Forensic Laboratory has a
staff of four full-time forensic scientists that work along with the
Criminalistics Investigation staff of ten detectives, two forensic
photography technicians, one evidence officer, & two supervisors.
The services that the laboratory
currently provides to all thirty-three municipalities in Ocean
County include drug analysis, blood alcohol determinations, urine
analysis for drugs of abuse, ballistics, toolmark, & paint chip
comparison.
Union County, New
Jersey encompasses 21 municipalities - a blend of urban & suburban
communities with a population of approximately 500,000. In the Fall
of 1971 (Funded by LEAA & Union County), the Union County
Prosecutor's Office established a CDS analysis laboratory. The laboratory was located in converted
office space together with the office's Narcotics Strike Force.
The original staff consisted of one chemist & a part-time
secretary. Over 800 CDS cases were examined the first year. In
1977, the laboratory began examining evidence in sexual assault
cases. Assigned personnel & space increased to accommodate the
new service & growing case load.
Today, the Union County Prosecutor's Office Laboratory encompasses
approximately 5,000 square feet (over 10 times the original size).
The laboratory staff includes six technical & four support
personnel (all civilian civil service). Using sophisticated
analytical instrumentation & equipment, the laboratory has
examined over 70,000 cases & provided expert testimony at all levels of the judicial system.
Plans are now underway for a new, expanded laboratory to meet the demands of the 21st
Century.
The Burlington
County Forensic Science Laboratory, funded by the County budget, is
an integral part of the Burlington County government.
The laboratory was established in September 1975 & opened it's
doors to the public in January 1976. In 1983, it became the first
crime laboratory in the eastern United States to be accredited by
the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. The Forensic
Science Laboratory is located in the Burlington County Public Safety
Center. The laboratory services law enforcement agencies within the
County; which includes 40 municipal police departments, Burlington
County Prosecutor's Office, Sheriff's Office, Burlington County
Jail, Minimum Security Jail, Post House, U.S. Army & U.S. Air
Force, all free of charge.
The services of the laboratory include drug analysis, blood alcohol
determination, arson analysis & urinalysis confirmation. The
laboratory is equipped with modern analytical instrumentation,
including the Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrophotometer, Gas
Chromatography, Microscopy, etc.
Upon request,
laboratory personnel will assist in crime scene investigation on
special cases, such as clandestine laboratory investigation. They
will also lecture to law enforcement agencies & provide expert
testimony when subpoenaed.
The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office
Forensic Laboratory has been in full-time operation since March of
1976. With a scientific staff of four & two support personnel,
the laboratory is equipped to analyze & identify controlled
dangerous substances seized within Hudson County. As a designated State Forensic Laboratory,
the laboratory has received over 27,000 request for examinations
since 1976. The laboratory serves the following jurisdictions &
agencies: Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Sheriff's Office, Department of Corrections, County Police, The Port Authority of New
York & New Jersey Police Department, New Jersey Transit Police,
Conrail Police, & the municipal police departments of Jersey City,
Bayonne, North Bergen, Union City, West New York, East Newark,
Kearny, Harrison, Guttenberg, Weehawken, Hoboken, & Secaucus.
In the past 25 years we have witnessed
tremendous growth including entire laboratory systems, county
laboratories, the equine laboratories, & a vast increase in the
number of scientific personnel. Technological advances continue to
change the methodology used in all disciplines. These changes will
necessitate, more than ever, constant training to meet the future
demands placed upon the forensic science community.
Contributions were made to this article by the various laboratories.
