Collaboration.

The complex nature of today's crimes and the global reach of criminals require collaborative efforts from the agencies tasked with protecting their citizens. The Laboratory's partnerships span the globe and encompass not only casework but also disaster response and research efforts. This section highlights the work of Laboratory units whose missions depend on collaboration.

Chemical-Biological Sciences Unit

The mission of the Chemical-Biological Sciences Unit (CBSU) is to develop and maintain the FBI's ability to conduct and direct high-quality forensic examinations of hazardous chemical, biological, and nuclear material and all related evidence. Developing and validating methods to analyze threat agents and establishing a support network of laboratories capable of providing a wide range of analytical capabilities and expertise remain critical to the success of this mission.

CBSU staff members assigned to the unit's Chemistry, Biology, and Nuclear Programs conduct or direct a variety of gene-based and immunological assays that detect and characterize pathogens, as well as analytical methods that identify and characterize toxins, hazardous chemicals, and radiological and nuclear materials. CBSU's research and development efforts focus on validating existing pathogen identification assays, developing and evaluating novel molecular and genetic methods for characterizing biological agents, and identifying trace compounds within evidentiary samples.

To fulfill its mission, CBSU has established partnerships with several federal and private laboratories capable of processing and analyzing hazardous chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) evidence. These include:

* The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.

* Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California.

* The Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland.

* The Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina.

* The U.S. Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Forensic Analytical Center, Edgewood, Maryland.

* The U.S. Army Military Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Maryland.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal, and Plant Health Inspection Service, Riverdale, Maryland.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, Office of Public Health Science, Eastern, Midwestern, and Western Laboratories.

* The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.

* The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National BioForensic Analysis and Countermeasures Center, Frederick, Maryland.

* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Enforcement Investigations Center, Denver, Colorado.

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Forensic Chemistry Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.

CBSU works with its partner agencies to develop and validate forensic protocols for examining CBRN evidence. Additionally, CBSU is establishing dedicated forensic laboratory facilities at the Savannah River National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Forensic Analytical Center to support the forensic analysis of traditional trace and bulky evidence contaminated by CBRN materials.

In coordination with other FBI Laboratory units, CBSU has established the Hazardous Evidence Analysis Team (HEAT). The HEAT consists of experienced FBI Laboratory examiners and technicians trained to analyze CBRN evidence at partner laboratory facilities. The HEAT has more than 60 active members from 14 units.

Through leadership of and participation in interagency scientific working groups, CBSU is leading the development of forensic guidelines for examining CBRN materials. CBSU leads the Scientific Working Group on Microbial Genetics and Forensics (SWGMGF) and the Scientific Working Group on the Forensic Analysis of Radiological Materials (SWGFARM). CBSU also participates significantly in the Scientific Working Group on the Forensic Analysis of Chemical Terrorism (SWGFACT).

Combined DNA Index System Unit

The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Unit directs and manages the CODIS Program and operates the National DNA Index System (NDIS). The CODIS Program consists of the development, enhancement, and support of software that enables forensic DNA laboratories to store, maintain, and search DNA profiles from crime scenes, offenders, and missing persons. Support of the CODIS software includes training for DNA analysts and help-desk services, as well as a yearly national meeting for all CODIS administrators. The unit also provides CODIS software to international law enforcement laboratories to assist them in establishing a DNA database program. Thirty-nine law enforcement laboratories in 24 countries now have the CODIS software.

CODIS consists of a three-tiered hierarchy of databases: the NDIS, the State DNA Index System (SDIS), and the Local DNA Index System (LDIS). The highest level in the CODIS hierarchy is NDIS, which contains the DNA profiles contributed by participating federal, state, and local forensic DNA laboratories. There are 176 NDIS participating sites consisting of 123 local laboratories and 53 state laboratories, including the FBI Laboratory, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, and a laboratory in Puerto Rico. The figure below depicts an example of the CODIS hierarchy at the national, state, and local level.

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The NDIS contains more than 2.9 million profiles of offenders, crime scenes, and missing persons. Operation of NDIS requires determining the eligibility of samples for the National Index in accordance with applicable federal law, developing procedures for laboratories participating in the index, and monitoring the participating laboratories' compliance with federal law. The CODIS Unit also provides administrative management and support for the NDIS Procedures Board and other DNA working groups.

The concept behind CODIS is maintaining a database of a state's convicted offender profiles and using it to solve crimes for which there are no suspects. Recognizing this, as early as the late 1980s, states began to enact laws requiring that offenders convicted of sexual offenses and other violent crimes provide DNA samples. These DNA samples were analyzed and then entered into the state and national DNA databases. All 50 states have such DNA database laws, and the overwhelming majority of these laws have been expanded to cover all felony offenders in those states.

CODIS uses several indexes to generate investigative leads in crimes where biological evidence is recovered from the crime scene. The Convicted Offender Index contains profiles of individuals convicted of felony offenses and other crimes. The Forensic Index contains DNA profiles developed from crime scene evidence, such as semen stains or blood. There are also three missing-person-related indexes. The Relatives of Missing Persons Index contains DNA samples voluntarily contributed from the relatives of missing persons and is searched against the Unidentified Human Remains Index and the Missing Persons Index.

How exactly does CODIS work? As an example, a sexual assault is committed and evidence is collected from the victim using a sexual assault evidence kit. A DNA profile of the perpetrator is developed from the evidence. If there is no suspect in the case or if the suspect's DNA profile does not match that of the evidence, the laboratory will search the DNA profile against the Convicted Offender Index. If there is a match in the Convicted Offender Index, the laboratory will obtain the identity of the suspected perpetrator. If there is no match in the Convicted Offender Index, the DNA profile is searched in the Forensic Index. A match in the Forensic Index means that the laboratory has linked two or more crimes, and the law enforcement agencies involved in the cases can pool the investigative information obtained in each of the cases.

The chart below depicts the impressive statistics tallied by CODIS through the 2005 calendar year.

The CODIS Unit had a number of accomplishments during 2005:

* CODIS provided valuable assistance to law enforcement agencies across the United States in 2005 by aiding 8,545 criminal investigations and generating 1,717 hits in the Forensic Index and 6,933 hits in the Convicted Offender Index.

* Participating federal, state, and local laboratories contributed more than 32,000 forensic DNA profiles and 785,000 offender DNA profiles to the National DNA Index System.

* The unit provided CODIS software or enhancements to international law enforcement agencies in Botswana, Chile, Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece, Norway, and Spain.

* The unit deployed electronic enhancements to the CODIS software to all CODIS laboratories in the United States.

* The National DNA Index System was relocated to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico and a backup site was established.

* In monitoring compliance with federal law, the CODIS Unit processed, reviewed, and closed 96 external quality assurance audits from forensic DNA laboratories participating in the National DNA Index.

* The 11th National CODIS Conference was held November 7-10, 2005, with more than 350 participants, the largest attendance to date.

CODIS Success Story

David and Ann Scoville were honored presenters at the 5th National CODIS Conference held in 1999. Their 28-year-old daughter, Patricia, was found in a shallow grave near Moss Glen Falls in Stowe, Vermont, on October 29, 1991. While riding her bike down a popular hiking trail, Patricia had been attacked, raped, and murdered. Because there were no leads in the case, the Scovilles firmly believed that DNA evidence would be instrumental in solving their daughter's murder. They advocated the passage of DNA database legislation in Congress and state legislatures throughout the Northeast. In 2002 the Scoville's efforts were recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice when they received the Crime Victim Service Award for their work to strengthen state and national DNA databases.

The CODIS Unit was honored to have David and Ann Scoville return as the keynote speakers at the 11th National CODIS Conference in November 2005. This time, the Scovilles reported on a major development: in February 2005, the forensic evidence in their daughter's case was linked to a Vermont convicted offender. A month later, an arrest was made for Patricia's rape and murder. The DNA database system that the Scovilles had believed in and supported all of these years had not let them down.

The National Missing Person DNA Database

In 2000 the Laboratory Division began developing the National Missing Person DNA Database (NMPDD) program to identify missing and unidentified persons using CODIS. The NMPDD contains three indices in which missing- and unidentified-person DNA profiles can be entered: Relatives of Missing Persons, Unidentified Human Remains, and Missing Persons.

The Laboratory performs both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (STR) analyses on samples. As the following case illustrates, the NMPDD provides investigators with an opportunity to identify missing and unidentified persons on a national level.

Washington State Missing Person: Russell Warren

Russell Warren traveled to Port Angeles, Washington, on July 3, 1929, to pick up his wife, Blanch, from Lincoln Hospital; to make payments on his 1927 Chevrolet sedan; and to purchase groceries and a washing machine. Russell and Blanch departed Port Angeles, Washington, and were last seen driving west on the Olympic Highway by Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. They were never seen again. They left behind two young sons. At the time, investigators searched the lake but found nothing. Then, in 2001, the Olympic National Park Dive Team renewed its search of the lake and found debris from a washing machine that was consistent with a brand sold in Port Angeles, Washington, in the late 1920s. On later dives, automobile parts were located. In 2002, a sonar scan was conducted, and a deep-dive team located a 1927 Chevrolet sedan in approximately 165 feet of water. On later dives, photographs and videos were taken of the site, and artifacts were removed from the car to confirm the make and model. In 2004, human remains were discovered near the vehicle and were removed for forensic analysis. An anthropologist's report stated that the remains were probably from a Caucasian male. A blood sample was obtained from a daughter of Russell Warren's sister, and the National Park Service sent the evidence to the FBI Laboratory for analysis in March 2005. The mtDNA profile from the unidentified human remains was compared to the mtDNA profile from Russell Warren's niece. The FBI's analysis determined that Russell Warren could not be excluded as the source of the human remains, and the remains were returned to the National Park Service in November 2005. The National Park Service concluded that the remains were those of Russell Warren.

Four Regional mtDNA Laboratories Now Accepting Casework

Four regional crime laboratories have partnered with the FBI Laboratory to augment the nation's capacity to perform mtDNA analysis in forensic and missing-person cases. Prior to forming this partnership in 2003, the FBI Laboratory was the only crime laboratory in the country that performed no-cost mtDNA examinations for state and local law enforcement agencies. The increased use of mtDNA analysis will not only provide valuable information for solving violent crime and terrorism cases, but it also will enhance the quantity of profiles in the National Missing Person DNA database. This database will be a valuable resource with the potential to identify missing persons by linking them to DNA profiles of relatives or unidentified human remains.

The following agencies compose the Regional mtDNA Program:

* Arizona Department of Public Safety Central Crime Laboratory, Phoenix, Arizona.

* Connecticut Department of Public Safety Forensic Science Laboratory, Meriden, Connecticut.

* Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Forensic Science Laboratory, St. Paul, Minnesota.

* New Jersey State Police Crime Laboratory, Hamilton, New Jersey.

The FBI Laboratory equipped these regional mtDNA laboratories, authorizes casework, and ensures that all laboratory analyses meet FBI quality standards. In addition, the FBI Laboratory funds the salaries of regional laboratory personnel as well as supplies and testimony travel. Since initiating this program, the FBI has provided training at the FBI Laboratory to all of the scientists from each of the regional crime laboratories. The training has encompassed laboratory procedures as well as scientific and legal issues affecting mtDNA analysis and microscopic hair examinations. The regional crime laboratories have renovated their laboratories and performed validation studies for the procedures they will use. Partner laboratories will be responsible for conducting mtDNA and hair analyses, reporting results, and testifying, if necessary. The initial term of the cooperative agreements with these laboratories is three years but may be renewed indefinitely for two-year periods.

The FBI Laboratory remains committed to building long-term partnerships with state and local forensic laboratories to provide critical forensic services and to develop and implement new technologies. The FBI continues to benefit from working with the talented and dedicated employees from these regional crime laboratories as well as from international, national, state, and local laboratories.

Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center

In 2004 the U.S. Department of State reported that more than 85 percent of all terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and interests in the previous five years had involved the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Clearly, a coordinated and systematic approach to investigating these attacks would stand the best chance of preventing them. The Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) provides such an approach, and as a multiagency center, it adheres closely to the 9/11 Commission's recommendations to reshape the U.S. intelligence program by centralizing and pooling government assets to address this problem.

Prior to the TEDAC initiative, there was no single U.S. government entity responsible for intelligence gathering and exploitation related to terrorist IEDs. Created at the FBI Laboratory in December 2003, the TEDAC represents a unified effort that combines law enforcement, intelligence, and military assets and serves as the single interagency focal point to receive, fully analyze, and store terrorist IEDs of interest to the United States, for the benefit of both the explosives and intelligence communities.

The TEDAC accomplishes its mission by performing a wide array of technical and forensic examinations directed at producing intelligence and other products to be used by the community at large. The TEDAC serves as a major repository center and is maintaining a database of all of the information developed.

Analyzing the evidence and intelligence associated with IEDs involves the work of numerous professionals with varying expertise. From DNA, latent print, and explosives experts to military and intelligence community analysts, the TEDAC brings together every resource available in the FBI Laboratory and the U.S. government to increase our understanding of terrorist methods, to assist in the development of new ways of responding to terrorist attacks, and, most important, to identify those responsible to prevent them from terrorizing again.

Some experts believe that it's only a matter of time before terrorists once again strike the U.S. homeland. The TEDAC is working hard to help prevent this from happening.

Scientific Working Groups

The FBI Laboratory sponsors scientific working groups (SWGs) to improve forensic science practices and build consensus among international, federal, state, and local forensic community partners. Each SWG has a formal structure and functions in accordance with its bylaws. Membership is at the discretion of the chair of the working group. Most SWGs include members from both public and private organizations.

SWGs serve as a common voice for their scientific disciplines. Meetings held at least once a year allow SWG members to come together to discuss issues of concern and reach consensus on documents drafted throughout the year. In that regard, the SWGs create, prepare, and publish standards and guidelines for their constituents in the forensic community. These documents provide crime laboratories a solid basis for operational requirements. Enforcement of the guidelines is left to the appropriate governing agency and each group's internal policies. The documents are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in the group's discipline. Forensic Science Communications, the Laboratory's online scientific journal, publishes SWG standards and guidelines in virtually every quarterly issue.

In 2005 Laboratory-sponsored SWGs held 18 meetings and published several documents in Forensic Science Communications. Published works included "Introduction to Forensic Glass Examinations"; "Collection, Handling, and Identification of Glass"; "Initial Examination of Glass"; "Glass Fractures"; "Glass Density Determinations"; "Glass Refractive Index Determination"; "Elemental Analysis of Glass"; "Forensic Hair Examination Guidelines"; "Forensic Fiber Examiner Training Program"; and "Validation Guidelines for Laboratories Performing Forensic Analysis of Chemical Terrorism."

The FBI Laboratory currently sponsors the following groups:

* Scientific Working Group for Firearms and Toolmarks (SWGGUN).

* Scientific Working Group for Forensic Document Examination (SWGDOC).

* Scientific Working Group for Materials Analysis (SWGMAT).

* Scientific Working Group on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (SWGSTAIN).

* Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM).

* Scientific Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal Detector Guidelines (SWGDOG).

* Scientific Working Group on the Forensic Analysis of Chemical Terrorism (SWGFACT).

* Scientific Working Group on the Forensic Analysis of Radiological Materials (SWGFARM).

* Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST).

* Scientific Working Group on Microbial Genetics and Forensics (SWGMGF).

* Scientific Working Group on Shoeprint and Tire Tread Evidence (SWGTREAD).

Additional SWGs may be sponsored by other FBI divisions or other agencies. For example, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration supports the Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs (SWGDRUG). Whether sponsored by the FBI or another agency, scientific working groups ensure the consistency, credibility, and continued advancement of the forensic sciences.

           CODIS Statistics Through 2005

Category                    Total No. Through December 2005

Investigations aided      30,023
Forensic Index hits        7,005
Offender Index hits       21,314 (18,486 at SDIS and 2,828 at NDIS)

           NDIS Statistics Through 2005

                              Total Samples
       Category               Through December 2005

Convicted Offender Index             2,805,572
Forensic Index                         125,913
Indicted Persons Index                      59
Missing Persons Index                      247
Relatives of Missing Persons Index         722
Unidentified Human Remains                 322

                             Participants

Domestic Laboratories        176 state and local laboratories plus NDIS
International Laboratories   39 laboratories in 24 countries
Training                     1,061 individuals in more than 217
                             laboratories have received CODIS training