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Crime Lab

NCJ Number
89234
Author(s)
L A Handel
Date Published
1983
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Crime laboratories must gather and interpret physical evidence found at the crime scene in order to identify the criminal and reconstruct the crime. This film demonstrates some of the techniques employed in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department crime laboratory, one of the most advanced institutions of its kind.
Abstract
It demonstrates hair and blood analyses, detection of illegal substances in bulk and in the body, computerized alcohol blood level tests, forgeries and the use of photography for court appearances, firearms tests and their application in burglary investigations, and the gathering of hit and run evidence. Scientists working in these various sections describe the analytical tools they use (electroviolet spectrophotometers in the narcotics section, for example) and investigations they have helped solve as a result of their work.