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CSI West Haven
UNH to launch national crime scene center, training program
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Business New Haven
1/6/2003
By: BNH
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WEST HAVEN - The University of New Haven (UNH) has announced plans to develop a national center for crime scene training to be financed through $2 million in federal funds.
The new center will be housed within the UNH Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science, according to UNH President Lawrence J. DeNardis.
DeNardis announced December 17 that UNH has been formally notified by the U.S. Department of Justice that it will receive funding to develop and operate the UNH National Crime Scene Training Center.
According to Albert B. Harper, who will direct the center, “The UNH Lee Institute will be the only academic resource in the country where law enforcement and other professionals will be able to receive specialized crime scene training according to uniform standards.”
The funding, said DeNardis, will pay for the development of the center and training of law-enforcement officials - from police investigators and laboratory scientists to prosecutors - “with the most advanced technology and real life learning available.”
A former congressman representing Connecticut's Third District, DeNardis was directly involved in securing funding for the project. It was included in the federal government's annual appropriations package and was reviewed by a panel of experts selected by the Justice Department.
According to Harper, the Justice Department money will be used to develop center facilities, purchase equipment and pay salaries. He said UNH was successful in gaining congressional and Bush administration approval for the program because, “despite rapid scientific advancement, especially in DNA technology, many cases are not solved or are lost in court due to problems with the evidence. These problems can relate to recognition, collection and preservation of evidence, and lack of appropriate knowledge, process and procedure at the crime scene. There is a critical need for a state-of-the-art national crime scene technology center.”
The center will be open to all law-enforcement officials and forensic scientists, from police officers and laboratory scientists to prosecutors and judges.
In a report to federal officials, UNH said the benefits of the center may include standardized training of crime laboratory personnel, law-enforcement agents and state's attorneys who will be given standardized training in disciplines associated with crime material as it progresses from discovery, through testing, to presentation as evidence in court.
This may result, according to the UNH report, “in more successful investigations, enhanced efficiency of testing relevant evidence, fewer courtroom challenges, improved public perception of the criminal justice system and overall lower costs related to enhanced accuracy and efficiencies.”
“At this difficult time for our nation, when the people of America are absorbed in the details of Washington-area sniper cases, one of the most critical issues is the evidence associated with these horrible assaults and murders,” said DeNardis. “At UNH, our forensic scientists are most acutely aware of controversies associated with evidence in these and other major crimes that affect the tranquility and safety of our society.
“Dr. Henry C. Lee and other forensic specialists and criminal investigators associated with our Lee Institute of Forensic Science and our School of Public Safety & Professional Studies have determined that outcomes of many important cases have been altered by improper or uninformed management of evidence - sometimes aggravated by poor communication or the absence of cross-training among professionals,” said DeNardis
“We aim to help change this and believe that the UNH National Crime Training Center can be a new contributor to effective criminal justice in America,” he added.
The UNH Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science was established at the West Haven campus in 1997. Its focuses are the conduct of forensics research, public education programs and training of professionals in criminal justice and related fields.
In 2001, the institute launched a national Web site devoted to school safety. Each year, the institute hosts the national Arnold Markle Conference on criminal justice issues, attracting law enforcement professionals from throughout the country.
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