INDIANA STATE POLICE LABORATORY DIVISION Annual Report ISP Lab... · DNA, and CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). The Chemistry Section consists of the Drug Unit and the Microanalysis

2017 ANNUAL REPORT “The Indiana State Police Laboratory Division values integrity, service, competency, transparency, and accountability in all of our actions.”

– Major Steven D. Holland, Laboratory Division Commander

INDIANA STATE POLICE

LABORATORY DIVISION

2017 Indiana State Police Laboratory Division Annual Report 2 of 18

Since its inception in 1936, the mission of the Laboratory Division is “to provide client agencies accurate,

reliable, and timely crime laboratory services within the resources provided, and to manage the evidence secu-

rity system of the Indiana State Police Department.” Toward these ends, in 2017 the Laboratory Division pro-

cessed 1,351 crime scenes, analyzed and issued reports for 20,256 laboratory cases completed, conducted 602

polygraph examinations, and secured over 310,000 items of evidence.

The Laboratory Division is organized into five sections: Biology, Chemistry, Comparative Science, Crime

Scene and Field Support, and Management and Administration. The Biology Section consists of Serology,

DNA, and CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). The Chemistry Section consists of the Drug Unit and the

Microanalysis Unit. The Comparative Science Section consists of the Firearms Unit (including Integrated Bal-

listics Identification System or IBIS), the Latent Print Unit (including Automated Fingerprint Identification

System or AFIS), and the Document Unit. Field Support consists of the Polygraph Examiners, the Crime Sce-

ne Investigators, and the District Evidence Clerks. Management consists of administrative and support person-

nel, the Laboratory Managers, the Regional Laboratory Evidence Clerks, the Photography Unit, and the Labor-

atory Information Management System/Information Technology (LIMS/IT) Unit. The last two pages of this

report provides the Division’s organizational structure and contact information.

The Laboratory Divi-

sion accepts evidence asso-

ciated with active criminal

investigations for analysis

at four regional laboratory

locations - Evansville, Fort

Wayne, Indianapolis, and

Lowell. The four laborato-

ries have been accredited

since 1991 and were reac-

credited in 2017 by ANSI-

ASQ National Accredita-

tion Board (ANAB), which

is doing business as the

American Society of

Crime Laboratory Direc-

tors/Laboratory Accredita-

tion Board (ASCLD/LAB).

Laboratory Division


The four regional lab-oratories provide forensic services at no charge to federal, state, county, and local agencies throughout Indiana. These services include tests for forensic biology/DNA and mainte-nance of the state’s DNA database, identification of controlled substances, fire-arms and tool mark, latent prints, questioned docu-ments, and trace evidence examinations. The Divi-sion also provides poly-graph examinations and crime scene investigations upon request. The Labora-tory Division received 22,144 new cases for analysis in 2017. Crime Scene Investigators re-

sponded to and worked 1,007 investigations involv-ing 1,351 different crime scenes, and the Polygraph Unit conducted 602 poly-graph tests in 2017. The graph above shows the types of crimes for the laboratory cases submitted in 2017.

As shown in the “Case Submissions” chart, the ma-jority of cases for analysis were submitted by municipal agencies. The “Crime Scene Investigations” chart shows that over half of the crime scene investigations were completed for the Indiana

State Police.

Types of Crimes and Requesting Agencies


As shown in the “Case Sub-missions, Completions, and Backlog” graph to the right, the Laboratory Division received 22,144 cases and completed 20,256 cases in 2017. The Lab-oratory Division’s goal is to have 90% of backlog cases ana-lyzed in 45 days or less from the date of submission. The backlog is defined as any case submitted that has not been completed. The average turnaround time at the end of 2017 for completing a case was 94 days, which is up from 79 days in 2016. The aging laboratory conditions at Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Lowell, as well as a significant increase in drug submissions received for analysis, continued to negatively af-fect the turnaround times of the laboratory system. In 2017, 30 million dollars for Indiana State Police labora-tory capital improvement projects was included in Indiana’s budget. The process to make these much needed capital improvements began in the second half of 2017, but it is anticipated that will take at least 2 to 3 years to complete these projects.

At the end of 2017, the Lab-oratory Division employed a staff of 175 individuals providing analytical and support services. The chart to the left details the distribution of the staff. Approximately 90% of the Lab-oratory Division personnel are direct-ly involved in collecting, maintain-ing, and/or analyzing evidence. The Division’s personnel are active in the forensic community with multiple individuals holding office or working on committees of numerous forensic organizations. Approximately 65% of the Forensic Scientists are certified by a forensic organization and all Crime Scene Investigators are certi-fied by the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board.

Case Submissions, Completions, & Backlog


All of the regional laboratories provide analysis in Biology, Drugs, Firearms, and Latent Prints. Microanal-ysis (Trace) and Document examinations are only performed at the Indianapolis Regional Laboratory. The 2017 case submissions, completions, and backlog at the four regional laboratories are shown in the three tables below. Cases are routinely transferred between regional laboratories for operational efficiency.

Regional Laboratories

Submissions

Evansville Fort Wayne Indianapolis Lowell Totals

Biology 170 207 3,344 612 4,333

Documents 0 0 44 0 44

Drugs 1,602 2,848 7,620 2,196 14,266

Firearms 262 896 940 144 2,242

Latent Prints 379 101 446 142 1,068

Trace 0 0 191 0 191

Totals 2,413 4,052 12,585 3,094 22,144

Completions


Biology 174 205 2,955 539 3,873


Drugs 1,174 2,431 6,430 2,178 12,213

Firearms 299 1,030 976 110 2,415

Latent Prints 504 168 649 203 1,524

Trace 0 0 186 0 186

Totals 2,151 3,834 11,241 3,030 20,256

Backlog


Biology 15 25 1,074 170 1,284


Drugs 708 963 3,285 212 5,168

Firearms 44 108 208 59 419

Latent Prints 14 44 76 33 167

Trace 0 0 17 0 17

Totals 781 1,140 4,680 474 7,075


Crime Scene Investigators (27 staff), when requested by local, state, and federal law en-forcement agencies, respond to scenes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week anywhere in Indiana. Services provided include document-ing the crime scene, identification, collection, and packaging potential evidence, reconstruct-ing the events of the crime, bloodstain pattern analysis, and three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning. In 2017, the CSIs worked 1,007 in-vestigations involving 1,351 crime scenes, and were called out 473 times outside of nor-mal business hours. 81 crime scenes and five high risk public buildings, such as govern-ment offices and schools, were scanned using a 3D laser. As shown in the chart below, half of the scenes worked during 2017 were death investigations.

The Unit is active in the forensic community by participating in the Association for Crime Scene Recon-struction (ACSR) including a Board Member, and the Indiana Division of the International Association for Identification (IN IAI).

During 2017, the Laboratory Division began working towards accreditation of the crime scene investigation services. Becoming accredited will assure the criminal justice system and the gen-eral public that the Indiana State Police Crime Scene Investigators comply with internationally recognized standards, are technically competent to perform the services provided, and follow good quality management practices. The Unit is making steady progress towards accreditation and anticipates applying in 2018.

In 2017, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit obtained seven additional laser scanners, which greatly enhances the capability to provide this service across Indiana. Laser scanners collect millions of measurements in a relatively short amount of time. The data collected is then used to create a 3D model of the crime scene. In addi-tion to documenting the scene, the 3D model can be used at a later date to reconstruct the events of the crime, perform bullet trajectory or bloodstain pattern analysis, and as a visual aid during court-room testimony.

Crime Scene Investigation


The Biology Section (54 staff) is orga-nized into four casework units, plus the Com-bined DNA Index System (CODIS) Unit. The Section conducts analysis of biological sam-ples including identification of body fluids (serology), nuclear and Y-STR DNA analysis, forensic relationship tests, bloodstain pattern analysis, DNA analysis of offender samples, and searches of the offender database for matching profiles. In 2017, the Section com-pleted 3,873 cases and 4,333 cases were sub-mitted. The backlog was 1,284 at the end of 2017.

As a result of the above efforts, a total of 631 separate criminal investigations were aid-ed via CODIS during 2017, including 16 Na-tional Forensic Hits, 162 National Offender Hits, 18 State Forensic Hits, and 458 State Offender Hits. To date 6,237 investigations have been aided by the Indiana CODIS program. In 2017, the collection of offender sam-ples from both Department of Corrections and county facilities continued bringing in over 13,000 samples from previously untested convicted offenders. These samples were analyzed and entered into the database with an average turnaround time of seven days from receipt to database entry. The CODIS Unit also prepared for implementation of a new state law that went into effect on January 1, 2018 that expanded Indiana DNA data-base law to include DNA profiles of felony arrestees. The CODIS staff provided training at all 92 county jails as well as other booking sites across Indiana. Newly designed collection kits and lockable storage containers were also distributed. 2,158 arrestee samples were received in January 2018, which resulted in a significant increase in work load for the CODIS Unit.

In 2017, the Biology Section validated and implemented the STRmix™ probabilistic genotyping software to aid in the interpreta-tion and statistical evaluation of DNA profiles. This new software enhances the DNA data interpretation capabilities, particularly in samples with low amounts of DNA and complex mixtures. Due to the significance of the changes and impact to laboratory reports, training was provided to contributing agencies, prosecutors, and the defense bar (as shown in photo to the right). A two month training period for all analysts to implement the new procedures contributed to the increase in the Section’s backlog, as seen in the chart above.

During the 2017 legislative session, Senate Resolution Number 55 (SR55) was passed and adopted by the Indiana General Assembly. SR55 requested the Indiana State Police to conduct a thorough audit of all untested sexual assault examination kits within Indiana. The Laboratory Division staff was tasked with compiling the data received and produced a report of the finding and recommendations, which is available on the Labora-tory’s website (http://www.in.gov/isp/labs/2549.htm).

Biology Section


The Drug Unit (20 staff) identifies con-trolled substances, non-controlled drugs of abuse, clandestine laboratory samples, and diluent materials found in drug preparations. During 2017, the Unit analyzed 12,213 cases and received 14,266 cases, a 17.7% increase from 2016 (see “Drug Case Submissions” chart on page 9). As a result of the significant increase of drug case submissions the backlog increased to 5,168 and the number of rush cases with court dates approximately doubled.

The Unit is active in the forensic commu-nity participating in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), American Board of Criminalistics (ABC), American Chemical Society (ACS), Clandestine Labora-tory Investigating Chemists Association (CLIC), Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS), and Southern Association of Forensic Scientists (SAFS).

In 2017, 18 additional drugs were controlled by either the federal or state government and since 2011, 165 new drugs have been controlled. The turnaround time for cases with newly controlled drugs increases since

known reference materials must be ob-tained for proper identification. There was also an increase in the number of samples that need to be analyzed in or-der to reach the statutory weight thresh-olds. It was not uncommon to have a case requiring the analysis of more than 100 samples, and in one case over 500 samples had to be analyzed. The top four drugs identified in 2017 were Methamphetamine, Marijuana, Heroin, and Cocaine, as shown in the “2017 Top 10 Drugs Identified” chart on page 9.

The number of dangerous drugs re-quiring special handling precautions continued to increase in 2017, including a 74% increase in the number of fenta-nyl cases, as shown in the chart to the left. In 2017, the General Precautions for Dangerous Drugs Special Bulletin was published and is available on the Laboratory Division’s website (http://www.in.gov/isp/labs/2535.htm) with other drug related information, statis-tics, and resources.

Drug Unit


Drug Unit


The Document Unit (3 staff) performs a range of examinations in order to answer questions about the authorship, authenticity, and background of documents. Examinations include: the comparison of handwriting, hand printing, and signatures to known writing in order to identify or eliminate a subject as the writer; the development and decipherment of indented writing impressions; physical match examinations of torn, cut, or shredded docu-ments; the classification and comparison of inks and writing instruments; the examination of printing processes to determine source or authenticity; detection of alterations, addi-tions, deletions, or substitutions; decipher-ments of altered, erased, obliterated, charred, or water-soaked documents; and the determination of the sequence of events in the creation of a document.

The Unit completed 45 cases in 2017 and received 44 cases. At the end of 2017 the backlog was 20. Mem-bers of the Unit are active in the forensic community by participating in the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE), the Expert Working Group on Human Factors for Handwriting Examina-tions, and the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS).

The Document Unit provided training classes in Indianapolis and Lafayette during 2017 to educate the law enforcement community. In total, 104 officers, detectives, and prosecutors attended this training. The training was interactive and included multifaceted hands-on practical exercises.

The Unit aided in a variety of investigations in 2017. In one case, the Unit was able to determine that a rob-bery note found at the scene was at one time physically connected to the torn piece of paper found in the sub-ject’s possession as shown in the two photos below.

Document Unit


The Firearms Unit (9 staff) conducts com-parison and identification of fired bullets and cartridge cases. The Unit also performs char-acterization of recovered ammunition compo-nents, function testing of firearms, examina-tion and comparison of toolmark evidence, Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) database entry and inquiry for un-solved firearms related cases, muzzle to target distance determination, and serial number res-toration. Members of the Unit also participate on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Firearms and Ammunition Selection by evaluating new firearms and ammunition for future procurement by the Indiana State Po-lice Department.

In 2017, the Unit worked 2,415 cases, a 24% increase from 2016, while receiving 2,242 cases, and had a backlog of 419 at the end of the year. The Firearms Unit assisted the law enforcement community linking firearms related cases with 314 IBIS “hits”, a 336% increase from 2016, as shown in the chart to the right. In Jan-uary 2017, the Fort Wayne Regional Laboratory reached the 500 IBIS “hit” milestone.

The Unit is active in the forensic firearms community with members serving as board members or on com-mittees for the Association of Firearm or Toolmark Examiners (AFTE) including Past President and Treasurer, and the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) that oversees the Organization of Scientific Area Commit-tees (OSAC), including the Vice Chair.

During 2017, the Firearms Unit examined evidence from a police action shooting involving a police ca-nine. During a foot pursuit, the deputy claimed his canine partner was shot by the suspect and subsequently the deputy fired twice at the suspect. The suspect’s firearm recovered at the scene was found to be unloaded and a

magazine with ammunition was in the suspect’s pocket. Only two cartridge cases were recovered at the crime scene, which both were later identified by the Firearms Unit as having been fired in the depu-ty’s gun. Damaged bullet jacket fragments recovered from the dog were examined to determine if the deputy or the suspect had shot the police canine. Although significantly damaged, the relatively intact base of one of the fragments showed conclusively that the bullet that struck the canine was consistent with the suspect’s gun and not the deputy’s firearm. The photo to the left shows a 9 mm bullet from the suspect’s gun (left), the bullet fragment removed from the canine (center), and a .40 caliber bullet from the deputy’s firearm (right).

Firearms Unit

Laboratory Hits

Fort Wayne 247

Indianapolis 67

2017 Total 314


The Latent Print Unit (12 staff) examines and compares unknown to known dermal fric-tion ridge detail, which is found on fingers, palms, and soles of feet. Processing tech-niques include physical, chemical, and fluo-rescent development of latent print evidence. When a case is submitted without a suspect, the unknown fingerprints are entered into the state’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and the Federal Bureau of In-vestigation’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) databases. Potential candidates are gen-erated by the system, but the comparison, identification, and verification processes are performed by forensic scientists. The Latent Print Unit can access all friction ridge archive files from AFIS/NGI for comparison purpos-es. This access streamlines the process and allows the examiners to acquire the exact exemplar needed for comparison. The Unit also conducts examinations of footwear and tire impressions. The Unit uses the Sole-Mate Footwear Print Identification System Footwear Print Expert (FPX). This system stores shoeprint sole patterns for reference. Footwear impressions recovered from crime scenes can be searched in FPX database to potentially identify a manufacturer of a shoe.

During 2017, the Unit received 1,068 cases for analysis, worked 1,524 cases, and entered 1,057 prints into AFIS and NGI with 147 AFIS hits and 90 NGI hits. The backlog was 167 cases at the end of the year, a 73% decrease from 2016. The Unit also assisted with 387 print identifications to confirm Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hits. The Latent Print Unit is active in the forensic community participating in the Interna-tional Association for Identification (IAI) and the Indiana Division of IAI including Secretary/Treasurer, Board Chair, a Board Member, and Newsletter Editor.

In 2017, the Laboratory began accepting electronic evidence submissions of digital images for latent print examination, which may be expanded to other types of evidence in the future. Electronically submitted evi-dence offers several advantages to the contributing agency, as well as to the Laboratory. The submission pro-cess is as simple as sending an email, and the agency does not have to transport the evidence to the laboratory for analysis or pick up the evidence when the examination is complete. For the Laboratory, there is no packag-ing and re-packaging of evidence, the images are ready to be uploaded directly into the secure photo storage system, and intra-Laboratory transfers only require a simple change in the computer tracking system. Electron-ic evidence images for examination can be submitted at [email protected] with a completed Request for Laboratory Examination Form, and a secure file sharing website can be set up by the Laboratory for files too large to be emailed.

An interesting case was submitted electronically that consisted of a single inked fingerprint with a request to identify the individual that left the print. The image included no scale and no known prints were submitted for comparison. AFIS searches require images to be sized to the systems specifications to perform a one to one comparison. Since there was no scale in the image, a method of ridge counting for sizing latent prints was used. The forensic scientist obtained an AFIS hit and identified the individual. There have only been a limited number of AFIS hits using this ridge counting technique and it was the first in Indiana.

Latent Print Unit


The Microanalysis Unit (5 staff) performs analysis, comparison, and identification of automotive lamps, clandestine laboratory rea-gents, fibers, fire debris, glass, paints, plastics, safe insulation, tapes, and unknown materials. The Unit uses many different types of micro-scopes as well as analytical instrumentation to conduct examinations and comparisons in an effort to provide associative evidence.

In 2017, the Unit completed 186 cases and received 191 submissions. The backlog was 17 cases at the end of the year. The majority of cases worked during the year by the Unit were fire debris cases as shown in the chart below. During 2017, the Unit provided trace

evidence training classes to con-tributing agencies at four loca-tions.

The Unit participates in the American Board of Criminalistics (ABC), American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners (ASTEE), and Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS).

After an object has been cut, torn, broken, or separated, one piece of it has the potential to be matched to another piece when the physical evidence edges are com-pared to one another. This type of examination is called fracture match and can be conducted on, but is not limited to, fabric, glass, metal, paint, plastic, and paper evi-dence. In 2017, the Unit per-formed a fracture match examina-tion of a bloody knife blade and a handle and concluded that the two items were once connected togeth-er as shown in the photos.

Microanalysis Unit


The Polygraph Unit (6 staff) provides poly-graph examinations in criminal investigations to the Indiana State Police (ISP) and other state, county, and local law enforcement agen-cies. The Unit also conducts pre-employment testing for Indiana State Police positions in-cluding Capitol Police, Evidence Clerk, Fusion Center employees, Motor Carrier Inspector, and Trooper. In addition to these tests, the Pol-ygraph Unit also performs pre-employment polygraph examinations for Indiana Depart-ment of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division and the Indiana State Excise Police.

In 2017, the Polygraph Unit conducted 268 polygraph tests in criminal cases that resulted in 38 cleared cases, 11 additional leads developed, 41 confessions obtained, and 20 significant admissions re-ceived. The Unit conducted 334 pre-employment polygraphs. The proportions of the tests conducted for appli-

cants, ISP criminal, and county/municipal agencies are shown in the chart to the left.

The Unit is active in the forensic community by participating in the American Association of Police Pol-ygraphists (AAPP), American Poly-graph Association (APA), and Indi-ana Polygraph Association (IPA).

The Polygraph Unit worked be-hind the scenes in many investiga-tions and was able to help conclude several unique, as well as high pro-file, cases. In one polygraph test, the suspect failed the exam, admitted to molesting his two year old daughter, subsequently pled guilty, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In another polygraph exam, the exami-nee was cleared of a burglary of a neighbor’s residence that he had been arrested for and was in jail waiting for his trial.

Polygraph Unit


Evidence Clerks (19 staff) are responsible for tracking the chain-of-custody of evidence upon receipt into the Laboratory Division’s possession, organizing storage of the evidence so it can be retrieved when needed, and the release or destruction of evidence as necessary. The Evidence Clerks securely maintain evidence at the 14 Indiana State Police (ISP) Districts and the Indianapolis Regional Laboratory. The three Districts located at Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Lowell also have a Regional Laboratory. The Unit is active in the forensic com-munity by participating in the Illinois Association of Property and Evidence Managers (IAPEM).

Evidence Clerks handled thousands of items of evidence throughout the year that included accepting 38,072 items from contributors at the Regional Laboratories for analysis. The Evidence Clerks received 24,684 additional items from ISP personnel for storage. In 2017, the Evidence Clerks were responsible for the storage of over 310,000 individual items of evidence and upon receiving disposition orders destroyed 11,549 items and released 3,485 items.

In 2017, the Laboratory Division developed and implemented a new electronic Request for Laboratory Examination Form. This new form is dynamic with additional fields and/or pages appearing depending upon the information entered. The new form streamlines the laboratory submission forms to only one when previ-ously, multiple discipline specific supplemental forms were also required. The new form is tailored to obtain only the information needed by each Unit, which reduces unnecessary, potentially contextually biasing infor-mation. For example, the Biology Unit requires investigative information to determine eligibility for entering data into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) but other Units do not need this information. The flexi-bility of the form allows each Unit to receive only the information needed. The Request for Laboratory Exami-nation Form and an instructional PowerPoint® are available on the Laboratory Division’s website (http://www.in.gov/isp/labs/2332.htm). The form will be updated annually and include an expiration date. Once expired, the form will lock to prevent the use of an obsolete version, and contributors are directed to the website to download the current version.

The Photography Unit (1 staff) provides photography services for ISP investigation personnel and the Public Information Of-fice. The Unit also maintains a digital asset management system, called Axon Com-mander®, for all Department criminal in-vestigations and crashes. Digital images are uploaded, cataloged, and archived for future reference from the 14 ISP Districts. In 2017, 238,110 digital images were en-tered into the database, and more than 1.75 million images have been added since the inception of the photo database in 2008. The Photography Unit printed 627 investi-gative color prints and provided 572 CDs to investigators and insurance companies.

Evidence Management

Photography Unit


The Field Quality Assurance Unit (4 staff) administers training in crime scene investigation to local law enforcement agencies as well as Indiana State Police (ISP) Crime Scene Investigators (CSI). The Unit assists the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in certification of CSIs from departments throughout Indiana. The Section Commander is a member of the ILEA CSI Certification Board. The Unit also provides specialized training to other agencies upon request. Members of the Unit regularly provide instruction at both the ISP Re-cruit Academy and the ILEA Basic Courses.

The ISP Evidence Management System Quality Assurance Program annually audits each of the 14 ISP Districts, as well as the Indianapolis Regional Laboratory. The three Districts located at Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Lowell also have a Regional Laboratory. A complete inventory/audit is conducted every two years at each of the Laboratory Division’s evidence storage facilities. These audits are a comprehensive review to account for every item stored at the facilities. The Unit is also occasionally requested to audit a local law en-forcement agency’s evidence system. These audits are completed when there is a criminal investigation involv-ing internal issues with the physical evidence stored at the location.

Additionally, the Unit semi-annually assesses the work of all ISP CSIs. As part of the quality assurance program to ensure competency and properly functioning equipment, each CSI is also given a proficiency test annually under the supervision of the Unit. In 2017, the Field Quality Assurance Unit made significant contri-butions preparing for crime scene accreditation including reviewing and updating procedures, creating and im-plementing new forms and logs, and monitoring implementation to ensure compliance.

The Laboratory Quality Assurance Unit (2 staff) ensures compliance to laboratory and accreditation quality assurance standards. The Unit maintains updated and secure quality assurance documentation, oversees the implementation and continued corrective action compliance, ensures laboratory adherence to proficiency test-ing and witness critique requirements, and develops and conducts quality assurance related training for labora-tory staff. The Unit also assisted the Field Quality Assurance Unit with preparing for crime scene accredita-tion.

The four regional laboratories are accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - Amer-ican Society for Quality (ASQ) National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and was reaccredited in 2017 for anoth-er four years. Accreditation is a voluntary program in which a crime laboratory that participates must demon-strate that its management, personnel, operational and technical procedures, equipment, and physical facilities meet established quality requirements. This Unit participates in the American Society for Testing and Materi-als-International (ASTM-I), the Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers (AFQAM) as a Past President, and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees - Quality Infrastructure Committee (OSAC-QIC) as the Executive Secretary.

The Laboratory LIMS/IT Unit (2 staff) has the primary duty of maintaining and administrating the Labora-tory Information Management System (LIMS). The LIMS tracks all evidence currently held by the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division and stores analytical results, records, and reports. This system is integrated with the web based reporting system iResults, which provides the Certificates of Analysis (reports) to law en-forcement agencies and county prosecutors.

The LIMS/IT Unit supports Laboratory Division personnel in the four regional laboratories and 14 district locations. The Unit provides assistance with maintaining and troubleshooting other systems used by Laborato-ry Division personnel, that include Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS), analytical instrumentation, camera surveillance, door access/security, and phone systems. The Unit also maintains and supports a digital workflow system (Mideo®) utilized by the Latent Print and Docu-ment Units, and the digital asset management system (Axon Commander®) employed by the Photo Unit.

Quality Assurance & LIMS/IT Support


Organizational Chart


Evansville Regional Laboratory

19411 Highway 41 North

Evansville, IN 47725

Laboratory Manager: Dan Colbert

[email protected]

812-867-3157

800-852-3970

Indianapolis Regional Laboratory

550 West 16th Street, Suite C

Indianapolis, IN 46202

Laboratory Manager: Paulita Thomason

[email protected]

317-921-5300

866-855-2840

Fort Wayne Regional Laboratory

5811 Ellison Road

Fort Wayne, IN 46804

Laboratory Manager: John Vanderkolk

[email protected]

260-436-7522

800-552-0976

Lowell Regional Laboratory

1550 East 181st Avenue

Lowell, IN 46356

Laboratory Manager: Paul Fotia

[email protected]

219-696-1835

877-874-0009

Visit the Laboratory Division’s website for Evidence Protocols and Forms, Test Methods, Quality Assurance Manual, Training Opportunities,

and many more resources.

http://www.in.gov/isp/labs/

Contact Information