By: Steve Schuster, [email protected]//August 17, 2023//
By: Steve Schuster, [email protected]//August 17, 2023//
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul released the 2022 Annual Report for the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Forensic Sciences (DFS) crime laboratories on Thursday.
“The team at the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratories continues to advance Wisconsin DOJ’s mission of protecting the public and ensuring that justice is done,” said Kaul.
“From helping solve decades-old cases, to keeping up with developments in forensic science, to processing thousands of cases, the crime lab is a vital part of the criminal justice system in Wisconsin,” Kaul added.
2022 annual report:
About DFS
DFS was established as an independent division in 2019, though the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory was originally established in 1947. DFS employs over 190 people including forensic scientists, technicians, evidence specialists, and crime scene response professionals. These dedicated professionals provide impartial forensic analysis in the following areas of science: toxicology, drug identification, biology/DNA analysis, DNA database, trace evidence analysis, firearms examination, toolmark analysis, latent print examination, footwear analysis, ten print comparison, and forensic imaging and video analysis, according to Wisconsin Department of Justice officials.
DFS crime laboratories—located in Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau—are the only full-service forensic science laboratory system in Wisconsin. DFS is not a diagnostic laboratory system; the circumstances of each case submitted to DFS are unique. The needs of the submitting agency, the type of crime and impact on public safety as well as court/trial demands are considered for each case, officials noted.
DFS provides unbiased scientific testing and analysis of evidence for every community in Wisconsin and staffs on-call Crime Scene Response Units, located at each laboratory, to assist law enforcement at major crime scenes by processing the crime scene and maintaining evidence integrity, officials added.