DPS showcases Crime Lab Division during National Forensic Science Week

AUSTIN The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is proud to honor the hard-working men and women of the Crime Laboratory Division during National Forensic Science Week, September 15-21.

“Every day, our crime labs across the state do extraordinary work,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a press release. “Without the expertise and dedication of these men and women, we would not be able to protect and preserve public safety in Texas. We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to these people who work tirelessly behind the scenes.”

Founded in 1937, the DPS Crime Laboratory Division began as a one-chemist operation at Camp Mabry in Austin. Today, the Crime Laboratory Division has grown into a comprehensive forensic laboratory system with 16 accredited crime labs across the state. The division currently consists of approximately 660 employees, the release said.

The DPS Crime Laboratory Division’s standard areas of analysis include:

• Trace evidence (e.g. hair, fibers, paint, glass, gunshot residue, prints, fire residue)
• Biology/DNA
• Digital/multimedia evidence
• Firearms and tool marks
• Friction burr analysis
• Forensic documents
• Seized drugs
• toxicology

These services are offered at various laboratories throughout the state, strategically located to ensure optimal access. Investigative capacity support is further enhanced through the integration and sharing of local, state, regional and national information through individualizing databases, including the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

The Crime Lab also includes the Breath Alcohol Laboratory (BAL) and its Office of the Scientific Director (OSD). The BAL and OSD are required by law to maintain a statewide, court-approved forensic breath alcohol testing program for the Crime Lab and for programs outside the DPS Crime Lab system.

In recent years, DPS has experienced several positive developments in the crime lab, including:

About 28 more unsolved cases were helped this year by Act 1399 (86th Legislature), which requires the collection of DNA samples from people arrested for certain crimes. The samples are run through CODIS in Austin and entered into a database to search for possible DNA matches between those arrestees and unsolved cases across the country.

Effective September 1, 2023, House Bill 3956 (88th Legislature) requires arresting agencies to collect a DNA sample from all arrestees charged with a class felony on or after September 1, 2023. House Bill 3956 significantly expands HB 1399, allowing additional cases to be resolved at the time of arrest, further enhancing public safety efforts. This bill has resulted in an additional 100 CODIS hits to date.

Turnaround times for Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) remain under 90 calendar days for DPS labs across the state. In addition, the Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking program continues to allow victims of sexual assault to anonymously track and receive updates on the status and progress of evidence. August 31, 2024, marks the end of the fifth year of Texas' statewide electronic sexual assault evidence tracking (SAE). To date, 50,727 SAKs are tracked in the track kit.

DPS continues to test older SAKs that have never been sent to a crime lab before and have been stored untested in evidence rooms across the state. As of March 2022, DPS has completed 1,347 SAKs as part of this project.

The 88th Legislature appropriated approximately $15 million this biennium to reduce the turnaround time for forensic analysis to detect drugs in biological samples (such as those from drivers and sexual assault victims). This has reduced the backlog of uninvestigated toxicology (drug) cases by nearly 2,000 cases and continues to decrease.

To continue to highlight the important work being done in the department's labs across the state, DPS is offering public tours in celebration of National Forensic Science Week. Click here to get your free tickets to visit the Austin Lab at DPS Headquarters.

For all other regions, please contact the respective laboratory to find out the visiting times and availability:

North Texas Region

• Garland – Tuesday, September 17th
• Tyler – Tuesday, September 17th

Southeast Texas Region

• Houston – Thursday, September 19th

South Texas Region

• Corpus Christi – Wednesday, 18.9.
• Laredo – Thursday, September 19th
• Weslaco – Tuesday, September 17th and Wednesday, September 18th

West Texas Region

• El Paso – Wednesday, September 18th

Northwest Texas Region

• Abilene – Thursday, September 19th
• Amarillo – Thursday, September 19th
• Lubbock – Thursday, September 19th

Central Texas Region

• Austin – Thursday, September 19th
• Waco – Tuesday, September 17th

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