DNA Awareness Month

This month is DNA Awareness Month here in California, and what most of us are becoming more aware of is that a hell of a lot more cases might be solved if there wasn't such a big logjam in the vicinity of Richmond, courtesy of Sacramento and a few stingy counties. Before I lose those of you don't live in California, let me point out that this problem could easily be the obstacle to solving crimes in any state in the U.S., so if you live in the U.S., this could affect you.

DNA 101 -- it's not enough to find DNA evidence at a crime scene. To be of use, that evidence, once processed, creates a profile that has to be matched to a suspect's DNA profile. If no suspect is known, then there is only one place where a match may be found: in a DNA database. The FBI's national database is known as CODIS. You can see some fairly recent statistics on it here.

CODIS has two indexes. The Forensic Index is made up of DNA profiles from crime scene evidence. The Offender Index is made up of DNA profiles from samples taken from known individuals, mostly individuals who were in custody for violent crimes.

So a DNA Offender profile from a man in prison for a breaking and entering case in California might match the Forensic profile for a rape and murder case in Maine. In fact, this kind of thing is happening all over the U.S. -- cases from one state find a match to an offender being held in another. In July of this year, over 144,000 cases waited for a match in the FBI database.
Needless to say, you'd like to get a match before the offender is released, before the statute of limitations runs out on the crime, before you mistakenly hold an innocent person in custody for the crime, and before the offender harms new victims. (Sadly, mostly due to backlogs, what happens is that the word "after" has too often replaced the word "before.")

Each state has its own laws about Offender DNA collection -- whose DNA must be collected. Some require it only of violent sexual offenders, others collect only from those held for certain felonies. Some take samples from all felons. And as I've mentioned previously, many states can't keep up with the workload when it comes to DNA sample collection or evidence processing. Hell, some aren't even fingerprinting all arrestees.

But sample collection isn't a problem in California.

Processing the samples is. In this, California is not unlike other states, except as a matter of degree.

Some other day maybe I'll go wild on the civics lesson and talk about California's ballot proposition system, but for now, I'll just say that we passed a law that has greatly increased the number of convicts who must submit samples of their DNA for inclusion in the database, and eventually (in 2009, if it isn't shot down in court) it will require all felony arrestees to do so. Counties are supposed to help pay for this by forking over $1 of every $10 collected in misdemeanor fines. Not all of the counties are cooperating, so there's a huge shortfall.

Richmond is where the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Forensic Services is located. This is where the processing of Offender DNA samples (basically, taking the swabs, processing them by certain protocols, and creating DNA profiles which are then loaded into the FBI's database) takes place.

According to a recent article by Henry Weinstein in the Los Angeles Times, "the starting salary at the Richmond lab is $3,100, compared with $4,600 a month at the Los Angeles Police Department laboratory and $4,200 a month at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department." And in a story on this backlog in the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Paul DeCarlo reports, "Their counterparts at the San Bernardino County sheriff's scientific investigations division, who enter DNA profiles of most Riverside County cases as well, earn about $8,667 per month."

You don't have to be taking calculus to do the math. Few analysts stay in the Richmond lab for long. Higher salaries are offered by cities and counties in the San Francisco Bay area, too.

And without the monies from the misdemeanor fines, the samples can't be sent out to private labs.

Since Prop 69 passed, over 2600 cases have been solved. That's victims and families with answers they've long awaited. That's suspects taken into custody and off of the streets. Law enforcement and prosecutors believe the number of "hits" could be greatly increased, if our nearly 300,000 sample backlog was diminished.

Some of our government officials get the picture. Others don't.

If you live in California -- or anywhere else in the U.S. -- before you vote for any candidate, ask where he or she stands on issues like these. Ask candidates how they plan to demonstrate their support for forensic science.

Added event

I have lots to tell you about the event I attended today, but it will have to wait while I finish some work. Meanwhile, this event is added to the tour!

Thursday, October 19 7:30 PM
Boulder, CO
High Crimes Mystery Bookstore
http://www.highcrimesbooks.com
946 Pearl St, Boulder, CO
(303) 443-8346
800-356-5586 (orders only, please)

You clean house like I do if

1) this only occurs on any kind of rigorous level because someone who doesn't live in the house is expected to enter it

2) you have at some time changed the color of your clothing by leaning against something with bleach or cleanser on it

3) in a rush to prepare for the folks mentioned in item #1, you have placed something very important in a "safe" place. And will be unlikely to find it again for at least a year.

I'd say more, but we're expecting company.



Photo above by Jane M. Sawyer.

Banned Books Week September 23-30

When the actual week arrives, I'll be at Bouchercon, so just in case I don't get to post about this as much as I'd like then, I'll start early!

If you don't know about the American Booksellers for Freedom of Expression, visit their site and read up. Spend some time looking through their free handbook.

I was shocked to learn how many books are banned in this country. I thought that belonged to another time, a different place. I was wrong. Well, I thought, maybe it's just erotic works or books that have all my favorite swear words in them. Wrong again.

Take a look at this year's list to see what I mean. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is just one example of a book someone thought you should be forbidden to read.

Is it just my inability to embrace the idea of faces on my food...

... or is this one of the freakier things out there in the kitchen tools department?

My niece Timbrely sent me that link. I am not entirely convinced that Mr. Cucumber is meant for the table. It says it might encourage your kids to eat vegetables, but I'm sure that if my mother had put these faces on my veggies, I would have become a lifelong lachanophobe.

(That fab word comes from this great list of phobias, which could provide fodder for several posts and a dozen Scrabble games.)


Okay, I now return you to our regularly scheduled program. Don't forget to e-mail your member of the House of Representatives to tell him or her to fund the Coverdell National Forensic Science Act.

A thank you note/A request

The thank you note first:

I had a wonderful evening at the Skokie Library tonight. Many thanks to Chicago mystery writer Michael Allen Dymmoch and to Jan Girten, Deputy Director of the Chicago Division of the Illinois State Crime Laboratory, who joined me on our panel there, and especially to librarian extraordinaire Ricki Nordmeyer, who made all the arrangements for the event and served as our moderator, and to Simon & Schuster, who helped me to get there.

The request:

Please read this post: CLP Forum: Important: Please Call or Email Congress Now

and make a phone call or send an e-mail. It's the difference between $18 million and zero dollars in Coverdell Grant funds for forensic science.

Imagine what would happen

if in every election in every state in the U.S., crime lab backlogs were a major issue.

They are a big issue -- at least, the DNA backlogs are -- in Wisconsin's Attorney General's race.

But what if you asked any candidate for your local city council, or anyone who sought election to a post as a county supervisor or state legislator, "How committed are you to insuring that forensic science is fully supported in our community?"

By that, you would explain, you mean specifically that your local police department would have what it needed in the way of equipment and training to process a crime scene and collect, preserve, and store evidence. A way to accurately investigate everything from traffic accidents to homicides. That dusting for fingerprints would be done at every burglary scene, unidentified suspects' latent prints entered into the state and national database, as well as those of all arrestees, and your local law enforcement able to access the FBI database through IAFIS. You would say that you mean that rape victims would be treated with sensitivity, and rape kits processed immediately. Your lab would be given adequate facilities, would be fully staffed, and well-equipped. Your local or regional death investigators fully qualified, and given all they needed to do their jobs. Death certificates issued within 30 days in all but the rarest cases. Lab turnaround the same. And that if your community lacked the resources, that your representatives would raise a hue and cry for state and federal funding for these needs.

What if every member of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate had to tell you, the voter, that he or she supported full funding of the Coverdell Act and other forensic science legislation?

You need not only imagine what would happen. Give it a try.

This is beginning to be funny

My friend Twist Phelan has noticed something that we here at the Burke household have been shaking our heads over.

Three television shows:
Kidnapped
The Nine
Bones

Three novels listed to your right:
Kidnapped
Nine
Bones

I'm the most popular author on television! Or not on television!

Yes, yes, it is just coincidence, but -- if some show is named Remember Me, Irene in the near future, I'm going to really wonder....

The redesigned site is online

Okay, it is online now -- my newly redesigned Web site. Your feedback is appreciated -- so if you find any problems with it or have any comments, let me know. After all, it's supposed to help you get information. I already know too much about myself.

The Schedule page has the first two weeks of the tour on it. Next four or five weeks will be added soon.

Progress/Tour Info

I've been posting a little less frequently here than usual, but I've had a productive few days, so I'm not quite as overwhelmed as I was when I wrote the "I'll get there eventually" post.

Yesterday I completed "The Empty Casket," a ghost story/short play for a benefit for the California Riverside Ballet, an event called Ghostwalk, attended by thousands of people each year. Ghostwalk takes place near Halloween. It will be held on the weekend of October 27-28 this year, when volunteers will conduct small tour groups around old "haunted" buildings in downtown Riverside. In each building, the groups will hear a ghost story, and there will be music and a short dance performance as well. The Ghostwalk is a family event, not designed to horrify the little ones so much as to provide a few chills and smiles for everyone -- it's fun way to support a great cause. Last year, I contributed a piece for the first time, and really enjoyed seeing my work come to life as it was acted out by a talented cast.

And I finished a guest editorial about the Crime Lab Project for Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. That should appear early next year, and I'll let you know more details soon. I'm very grateful to AHMM for the opportunity.

More information about my tour for Kidnapped is up at Simon & Schuster's Web site. This is just a partial list, I'll have more news for you about upcoming appearances soon. (If you missed the early posts about Kidnapped, they start with this one.)

And I've put in some work on the current manuscript, too.

I'm excited about the new look for my Web site. Heidi put lots of work into it. I think you'll like it.

Hope your own weekend is going as well as mine!

Photo above, "Ghosts," is by Michael S. Richter.

Like the new look?

Heidi Mack, my fantastic Webmaven, has worked long and hard on revamping my Website, and you're getting a sneak peek at the new look here.

More soon!

Is it possible that someone is awake about this issue?

Take a look at "Crime Lab Backlogs Extend Beyond DNA" a Kansas City Info Zine article, picked up from Stateline.org.

Although much of the article still talks about DNA backlogs, it seems at least one reporter has noticed that DNA isn't the only problem area.

Having a rough day?

Or should I say, a ruff day?

Try a dose of Bark magazine's smiling dogs to cheer you up.

Just go to the magazine's Web site at http://thebark.com and click on the link for Smiling Dogs. Who can resist smiling back at these pooches? I like the exuberant Ashley, coy Blenko, candid Candy (both of them), Fergus, Cisco....oh, why bother denying that I could look at dog photos all day?

Alas, I have a ton of work to do, so I'll leave you with that, and a strong recommendation to read Bark, which is by no means a mere pet magazine. As Esquire has said, it's the "coolest dog magazine ever."

Full disclosure here: I was once interviewed for an article in the magazine -- for a story on dogs portrayed in mystery novels. They sent me a year's subscription as a courtesy, and I quickly became hooked.

Spatial Relationships

In this household, it seems that if we buy certain goods, the whole place must be rearranged. A few years ago, we went to IKEA for the first time (an adventure story in and of itself -- I'll save that one for another post) to buy a $20 television cart. I won't say how many weeks and how many dollars later --- but you can be sure it was more than a hundred times the cost of the cart -- we had pulled up the carpeting in five rooms, refinished hardwood floors, consolidated most of our library on new shelves, replaced a couch that had been unaffectionately referred to as "Butt Killer," changed window coverings, and painted a bunch of walls.

I'm not kidding -- this all began with a cheap TV cart. I felt bad until I talked to a man who said that his wife's purchase of a set of towels resulted in redoing a bathroom.

This time, it was a result of the purchase of the recently mentioned new MacBook. I wanted an Internet-free writing space. No offense intended.

We had a hot day here in So Cal, but I got an early start. Cappy, who also happened to deal the death blow to my Powerbook by hooking the cord with his tail and pulling it off a table (you see why I like this new feature?) woke up at about 5:15 this morning and decided I should walk with him to the dog biscuit jar. I didn't know that was our destination when I agreed to get out of bed. Britches, usually willing to put on a canine folk dance exhibit for a cookie, didn't stir for this expedition. Cappy fell back to sleep before I did, so I spent most of the day rearranging the furniture in two rooms in our house, allowing one to be mostly a writing and guest room, and to change my office around to house another computer, the one I use for Internet stuff.

This may make it sound as if I just had two things to move: a computer, and a futon on a frame. Oh no.

But I'm proud that it was just one day's work -- the floors aren't refinished, nothing is getting painted, and I've bought no new furniture.

I did learn that I have no sense of spatial relationships. I can solve a crossword or assemble a jigsaw puzzle, but I was lousy at those little tests they gave us in school where you had to make a rectangle out of pieces that seemed to belong to a triangle. Or a work of abstract art.

I can hear the sound of rolling eyes, so let me say right now that I measured. I did!

I just didn't measure enough dimensions or allow for every condition.

So, if you happen to be in my guest room, and have put on your jammies, before you open the futon out into a bed, be aware that you aren't going to be able to get to the bottom rows of one of the bookshelves, sit at the desk, or the open the closet, and may not be able to open the bathroom door, either.

I'd go to IKEA and try to buy a chamberpot for you, but I don't have time to remodel the house, so I'm not shopping there any time soon.

Goodnight, Irene

I returned from our trip to New York and Buffalo to hear some sad news -- my dear friend Irene Greenleaf passed away on August 11.

I say dear friend, even though Irene and I never met in person. Still, we corresponded for a dozen years, and I cannot express how grateful I am that among the many blessings that have come to me with this career, I can count my connection with Irene Greenleaf.

One of Irene's daughters happened to be visiting Southern California when a notice in the newspaper caught her eye -- a new author would be signing a book called Goodnight, Irene that evening. She couldn't resist getting a copy of the book for her mom. I enjoyed meeting her, and inscribed a copy for her to send along to Irene.

Now, over the years, I've signed a lot of books for a lot of Irenes. But this Irene was unlike any other. She wrote a kind letter almost immediately. There was a liveliness in that letter that I liked from the start. I wrote back.

She sent me a special set of note cards made from flowers, handicrafted by monks -- one of the monks had been a student of hers. Irene was a retired teacher. Her husband, Col. (ret.) John Greenleaf , is a talented artist, and for some years now, a copy of one of his paintings has hung on one of our walls. I would send books or stories, and she would return hand-crafted gifts. Letters and cards -- and for a very brief time, e-mail -- but more than anything, kindness and understanding.

Some of you may find the name Greenleaf familiar -- in Flight, fictional Greenleafs operate a cafe in Las Piernas. I'm told Irene was delighted, and I can only hope it gave her one-tenth the pleasure her letters gave me.

Earlier this year, at an American Academy of Forensic Science meeting, I had the pleasure of meeting one the Academy's esteemed members, Ken Field, who serves as the AAFS's historian. We had no sooner been introduced when he surprised me by saying that he already knew of me and my work, because he was a friend of Irene Greenleaf. Irene was a one-woman promotional force for the Irene Kelly series.

Irene was 86 when she died. She loved reading, music, cooking, and golf. She loved her family. She had a wonderful sense of humor. She asked that her obituary include, "She hated gardening."

I'll miss you, Irene, and see you in my dreams...

"The nation that controls magnetism will control the universe."

Or at least, the power supply for my MacBook.

I won't be able to travel by magnetic coupe, but I'll be away for a few days, and may not have Internet access. If I don't manage to post again before Sunday night, you'll know that I just couldn't find wi-fi.

Meanwhile, safe travels to any of you who are also on the road, and may those of you who are snug at home have a great week!

Oh, and if you don't recognize the quote, look here.

Good News

You've probably seen the words "liquid" and "explosives" together more often than you'd like in the last few days, so maybe you were understandably distracted and missed some good news. It was in the New York Times a couple of days ago, about the time the latest plot was uncovered. "Prognosis Grows Brighter for Barbaro," by Joe Drape, was in the sports pages on 8/10/06, and talks about a change for the better in the Kentucky Derby winner's recovery.

I imagine that at this point in the post, there are several possible responses by my readers. One is shared happiness. Another is a sense that I must have my priorities completely out of whack to include a story about a horse in the same paragraph as mention of a plot that could have killed thousands of people. A few of you may be convinced I have a gambling problem.

For this the last group, I hate to disappoint those of you who are experiencing glee over what you suppose to be the discovery of one of my vices -- but don't feel dejected, just stay tuned, because plenty of other real vices may be revealed along the way. Alas, I seldom get to the races more than once or twice a year, and I'm such an awful handicapper, I take rather paltry sums of money with me -- even if you add in my lunch money -- with no expectation that I'll leave with any of it. I still have lots of fun. Like many other fans, I simply love to watch these magnificient animals run. Excitement at a racetrack goes well beyond what happens at a betting window. You either get it or you don't.

I don't expect that people in the second group understand why Seabiscuit sold so many copies, either. Or, for that matter, why people read the funny papers yesterday. For my part, when you allow your enjoyment of life to be robbed from you by the jerks of this world, you give them something they don't deserve. If you fail to find hope where it is offered, that is something to be pitied indeed.

As for my answer to the plotters, I'm getting on a plane as soon as possible -- so screw you.

The rest of you, rejoice where you may! And all the best to Barbaro and those who care for and about him.

New Orleans Katrina Relief Issue Of EQMM

Janet Hutchings, editor of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, tells me that there is now a live link for ordering the New Orleans Katrina relief issue of EQMM, which I previously mentioned here.

So for less than the price of most anthologies, you get to read stories by some of the genre's finest short story writers, many with connections to the Big Easy, and learn more about relief efforts in the area -- the advertising space in the magazine is donated to Katrina relief organizations, including Bridge House, the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans, Covenant House, Habitat for Humanity, Reader to Reader, Inc., Save the Children, and the Volunteers of America.

A single copy of this issue of the magazine is $3.99+ shipping charges. To learn more, click here.

Chicago event

If you're in the Chicago area in September, I hope I'll see you at this event!

Beyond CSI: Can Your Local Crime Lab Compete with the Criminals?
Wednesday September 7, 2006 7:30 PM
Skokie Public Library
Mary Radmacher Meeting Room
5215 Oakton
Skokie, Il 60077

I'll be joined by Jan Girten, Deputy Director of the Chicago Division of the Illinois State Crime Laboratory, and Chicago mystery writer Michael Allen Dymmoch for a discussion on how writers use and discover forensic details in their novels, recent developments in forensic science, and how what you see in books, television, and film compares with real-life forensic science. We'll also talk about the Crime Lab Project.

The event is free.

I'll Get There Eventually

This is the part of the cycle of preparing for the release of a new book when I feel overwhelmed by my "To Do" list. I look around my office at the mountain o'paper to sort. Correspondence to answer. Way too big a number in the "Inbox" of my e-mail program indicating the number of unread messages. I see things I need to pack and send off in the mail. (The salt and pepper shakers I thought I had already mailed to my aunt, the book I promised to send to the mother of guy who sat next to me on the plane, a set of stickers for a godchild...) The new manuscript -- for next year's book -- doesn't have enough pages in it and seems like a disaster. (This would incite panic if they hadn't all seemed this way to me at several points along the process.) The distance between today and the publication date seems to be rocketing toward me, while I seem to be climbing a slope that some giant is tilting at an ever-sharper angle beneath my feet.

I've just glanced up at a quotation in a little frame on my wall. "Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing affright thee..." All right. Marginalia from a saint's breviary. Good enough for me.

I'll take a deep breath, another step, and I'll get there eventually.

Good luck with your own steep slopes...

Photo above by Allen Conant, who says of it, "This is a service rail line used to winch supplies up to the Lake Agnew dam in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains in California. It is often used by backpackers and hikers as a shortcut up the Rush Creek trail. It is much longer and steeper than it looks here!"

Beyond three letters

I'm truly happy that the federal government is investing so much money in DNA funding. For certain crimes, especially sexual assaults, and as an aid in identifying John and Jane Does, this will be a big help. It will allow more states to expand their DNA databases, and to catch up on huge backlogs of this type of evidence. It is useful in exonerating individuals, and can prevent police from pursuing false leads. For all these reasons and more, it's absolutely essential that we address the DNA backlogs.

According to an article in the Contra Costa Times, in California, the state lab has "about 275,000 (samples) to process." As far as I can tell, that's not counting samples in other labs throughout the state. California isn't alone in this situation. Many states are in a race against a legal clock: trying to beat statute of limitations snags that apply to older cases, which have already allowed violent felons to escape prosecution for earlier attacks. So DNA funding needs to be adequate and immediate.

But Americans must not limit their support of forensic science to DNA funding alone.

Why not? For many reasons, these among them:

*According to a study by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors, DNA evidence is a small percentage of the work done by crime labs. Additionally, many labs, law enforcement agencies, and coroners/ME's offices don't even have the computers they need to track evidence -- these basic needs affect the ability of labs to work with DNA and all other kinds of evidence.

*The FBI's Crime in the United States estimated that 66% of the 16,137 murders in 2004 were committed with firearms. There is an extreme shortage of firearms evidence examiners in the U.S. Because guns often kill from a distance and don't require the shooter to touch the victim, DNA is unlikely to be of use in investigating most of these murders.

* Traffic fatalities involving drunk driving in that same year were higher than the total murder rate -- 16,694 in 2004, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Toxicology tests are needed to investigate such cases. DNA does not prove whether a person was intoxicated or otherwise chemically impaired while driving.

*DNA works by comparison. When a sample of an unknown suspect's DNA is taken from a crime scene or victim, it can't help solve a crime until it is found to match that of a known individual. The known individual's DNA sample is usually obtained in one of two ways:

1) law enforcement detectives use other evidence (such as fingerprints, trace evidence, footwear impressions) and investigative techniques to find a suspect. Subject to evidence law, an arrested suspect's DNA is sampled at that point. If it matches the crime scene DNA, the case goes forward. So other kinds of evidence were important even in this situation.

2) if no suspect is known, then a DNA "cold hit" is needed. This happens if an unknown suspect's crime scene DNA is matched to the DNA of someone known because he or she is in the DNA database. This happens more and more often as the DNA database grows, and makes DNA more powerful as a crime-fighting tool. But ask yourself how that individual's DNA got into the database in the first place. Usually, through a felony conviction (state laws vary re: whose DNA is sampled). And how did the felony conviction come about? Very often, through other kinds of evidence, and often for a different type of crime -- burglary, drug possession, etc. That means, for example, that a toxicology test in a drug possession case may lead to a DNA sample going into the database and ultimately helping with a cold hit in a rape case or a murder. On the other hand, if these other kinds of evidence are backlogged or ignored, that individual's case may be dismissed and a chance to obtain a DNA sample lost. Read DNA cold hit news stories carefully, and you will almost always see that another type of forensic science was involved in convicting the criminal who gave that database sample.

*Latent prints (fingerprints) lead to many more arrests each year than DNA, can usually be obtained more quickly, and at a fraction of the cost. The database for fingerprints is many times larger than that of DNA. Yet this area is grossly underfunded on the local level -- the nation's law enforcement agencies are often relying on outdated technology, do not have the basic equipment they need to make use of databases, and do not have the trained personnel on hand to properly obtain fingerprints from arrestees and convicts. Interoperability is also a huge issue that we should use our resources to resolve.

*Let's take the case of DNA being used to identify a body in the woods. And perhaps to tell us who had contact with the body. Even if DNA can be used to answer those key questions, taken alone, it doesn't tell us if the contact was for a legitimate reason, and it can't tell us the cause of death, how long the body has lain there, if the dead person died there or elsewhere, if the individual was drugged, or answer many other questions. Answering "Who?" is an important part of any criminal investigation, but what, where, how, when, and many other questions must also be answered. That requires more than one form of evidence.

DNA is a valuable form of evidence, and as new research and developments in technology continue, it will only become more valuable. But we should not believe that it is the only form of evidence we should pursue or fund. That's a case that can't be made.

More forensic science mythbusting

We all picture it this way -- the suspect is brought into the police station and "booked and printed." Everyone taken into custody for a felony gets fingerprinted, right? And then this set of fingerprints is entered into the national database, so that if this person is using an alias, using someone else's identity, or is wanted for other crimes, we know immediately, right?

Wrong. Throughout the country, a shortage of qualified staff, unclear assignments of responsibility, and inadequate equipment make it entirely possible that someone taken into custody can leave it without being fingerprinted.

For example, from "Fingerprint law could help police, hurt jailers," in yesterday's Louisville Courier-Journal:

...because many jailers have not fingerprinted everyone booked at their jails, fewer than half of the more than 300,000 people arrested in Kentucky last year are entered in the state and national databases....

Think about the implications for a moment. Studies have shown that "as many as half of criminals who commit violent crimes have nonviolent criminal histories...." That means that the guy taken into custody on a drug possession or vandalism charge could be the one who committed a rape or a robbery. Who knows how many crimes went unsolved as a result of more than 150,000 suspects passing through Kentucky jails without being fingerprinted? How many background checks for employment, child care, or adoptions failed to show arrest records?

There had been some disagreement over whether arresting officers or jails had the responsibility for fingerprinting those taken into custody, but a state law just went into effect to clarify the matter -- jailers have responsibility. And Kentucky provided Livescan electronic fingerprinting units to all 74 of its jails. But the jails are complaining -- they don't have the trained staff available, and no funds were allocated to help them pay for more staffing.

Lest you think this is a problem only in Kentucky -- on May 8, 2006, a Des Moines Register story, "Audit report points to holes in fingerprinting at Polk County jail," indicated that

Twenty percent of arrests by Polk County sheriff's deputies weren't reflected in state fingerprint records, according to the audit's sampling. The figure was 24 percent in Pleasant Hill and an "extremely high" 40 percent in Des Moines, where police arrest more than 4,000 people each year.

The missing fingerprints were linked to arrests on charges such as robbery, theft, domestic abuse causing injury, drug possession, harassment, drunken driving and assault with a dangerous weapon, among others.

On the CLP Forum, you'll find a similar story from Florida: CLP Forum: Private Jail Company to Resume Fingerprinting in FL county

Interoperability, as previously mentioned, is a big problem with fingerprint databases, but any database needs entries in order to be of value. Forensic science works largely by comparison of an unknown example to a known, so entries make a difference. The assistance law enforcement receives from fingerprints/latent print examination is enormous. Fingerprints are believed to be more individual than DNA as identifiers -- fingerprints can differentiate identical twins, DNA cannot. And it is far less inexpensive and time consuming to process fingerprints than it is to process DNA.

Do you know your local situation? Does your state have clearly defined guidelines, an auditing system, equipment in place, and the trained staff needed to keep up with the demand?

Ask. Find out if your local newspaper has looked into this issue.

You may save a life.

Everything in its place

We watch police dramas on television, and take for granted that certain things happen when a case is investigated. Among the chief misperceptions that result is that evidence, when it is not sitting loose on some detective's desk, remains unseen by us until trial because it goes to the crime lab and then is kept in some magical place that we never think about.

Let's talk then, about evidence storage realities. Think what is happening all across the country, when officers and detectives bring evidence in, all day long.

An article by Tony Plohetski in the 7/31/06 edition of the Austin American-Statesman, "Austin police looking for more evidence storage space," will give you an idea of the problems faced in one city.

The Austin Police Department is short on evidence space and has no central storage facility, a situation that for years has left investigators cramming property for criminal prosecutions into anything from empty closets to rented warehouses.

Authorities said the space crunch leaves investigators with the threat that evidence will be lost, contaminated or stolen — none of which has happened so far, police say — and requires hours of additional work for employees....

Austin is very far from being alone, and is far from the worst case:

Evidence space shortage is a problem that has long faced police agencies, particularly in growing cities, said Joseph Latta, executive director of the International Association for Property and Evidence.

"It's a huge problem across the country," he said.

The length of time for which evidence must be stored is often determined by law, so departments can't just dump old evidence on the basis of the amount time it has been held — the type of evidence and the type of case will play a role.

Another part of the problem is overcollection — in the effort to please jurors who might be expecting television-drama forensics, officers may collect, as one forensic scientist has said, "Everything that isn't nailed down."

But keep in mind that many of these departments do not have proper or adequate storage facilities for even that evidence which is necessary, more than 1 out of 4 labs do not have the computers they need to keep track of it.

If at this very basic step of collection, tracking, and storage of evidence, we do not provide law enforcement and forensic scientists with what they need, how can we expect detectives to do their work, or for a speedy and just resolution to criminal cases?

Illinois event

I'll be in the Chicago area on September 7, at an evening event at the Skokie Public Library. More details soon!

A Quick and Easy Lesson on Crime Labs

On Officer.com, you can find an article by Carole Moore, who interviews Max Houck, director of the West Virginia University's Forensic Science Initiative. The story is called, "Crime Lab Funding: How important is a good crime lab to an agency? "

Houck gives a brief description of the problems facing labs, and also proposes some solutions. If you're looking for a concise article on the subject, this one is worth reading.

Thank you!

To those who read Bloodlines and liked it well enough to nominate it for the Anthony — many thanks — it is indeed an honor, and you've placed me in fine company. Congratulations to all the other nominees!

To see the full list, visit Anthony-nominee Sarah Weinman's blog.

A hurdle cleared

Funding for the Paul Coverdell National Forensic Science Improvement Act has cleared a major hurdle -- the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee bill which allots $18 million for Coverdell grants for FY2007 and an additional $175 million for separate DNA grants. Senator Shelby of Alabama was a key supporter of the funding.

There are still more steps in the budget process -- the next step is Senate approval. Many thanks are due to those of you who continue to contact your U.S. Senators -- your calls make a difference! Please don't hesitate to use the contact form on your Senators' Web sites to let them know that Coverdell funding is important to you.

Coverdell funding can be used for a wide range of forensic science needs -- latent prints (fingerprints), drug analysis, questioned documents, toxicology, DNA, firearms evidence, forensic pathology, and much more. It is available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories -- it is awarded on through a grants system administered by the NIJ, and is not "earmarked" for pet projects of individual members of Congress.

OC Fair

I know some people assume that Barbara, Irene's PITA sister, must be inspired by a sister of my own.

Nope. I have great sisters. And a great brother, too. Allow me to brag about one of my siblings, at least in partial penance for all the nights I kept her awake by reading under the covers with a flashlight, or insisting that all the stuffed animals had to sleep with us so that they would be safe from the goblins that were probably lurking under the floorboards in our bedroom. (I also made her sleep next to the wall, because I had been completely freaked out by an episode of The Twilight Zone, "Little Girl Lost," and was sure that if I slept next to it, I would fall into another dimension. Since we didn't yet own a dog, I was pretty darned sure the portal would close before anyone knew I was missing.) Trust me when I say that these are the mildest examples of the ways I tortured her.

Sandra Cvar, my younger sister, is an art student at California State University, Long Beach. I'm very proud of her! She's studying printmaking, and entered three prints in the Orange County Fair. All three received ribbons -- including a blue ribbon for first place, a white for third place, and a purple ribbon, for an award given by the staff of the visual arts area of the fair.

(I've put a photo of the three prints above -- the reflections of the overhead lights on the glass of the frames was never going to make a good shot possible for someone with my lack of skill, but I think you can make out that one is of a pirate, another of two women, and the third of a daschund with its ears in curlers.)

Fairs are a writer's dream. The people-watching possibilities are endless. And where else will you see a sign advertising deep-fried Oreo cookies? Yes, if I can learn how to download the photos on the cellphone, I'll share that one.

At random

I did get some writing done, so thanks for your patience. I may be a little less reliable about posting here while I get my teeth into this new work.

* * *

In case you thought I was just lazing around, staring at my blank computer screen, in the past ten days I've also had two speaking engagements, some meetings, dealt with lots of mail and e-mail, did some work on essays and other items that are not my manuscript but require thought and keyboard time, started reading a non-fiction book about pirates, mailed off some ACWL materials, developed some draft bylaws for a new organization, put out a couple of issues of the CLP News, developed some new handouts and got them sent off to others who were speaking about the CLP (many thanks to Meg Chittenden, who has been so very supportive and gave the CLP a plug at a writing conference!), and had lunch with a couple of writer friends. That's aside from household tasks, time with Tim, an evening spent watching a friend's band, and other good stuff.

* * *

One of the great things about living close to Los Angeles is that LA is home to other friends who are writers, and visiting writer friends also often tour through the city. I'm not a writer who worked with a writing group before I was published, and I've never been in one since. Just not something that I think would work well for me. My writer friends and I do not swap manuscript pages or critique one another's work. But we do enjoy talking to one another about the process, venting frustrations, and supporting one another through the various sorts of minor anxiety attacks or wholesale meltdowns to which any of us may become prey at a given moment. I am so lucky -- I regularly spend time with people who are bright and witty and thoughtful about their work, and who, if not completely free of all envy (I like to hang out with human beings, who interest me more than saintly phonies), are also able to truly applaud the successes of their friends.

* * *

I tend to read several books at once, and among the ones I'm reading now is the official reading party book. Tim and I read aloud to each other, something we began doing together within the first week after we met. (One of the hardest things about being on the road is that the reading parties are always on hold at such times.) Currently (no wordplay intended) we are reading Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi. I'm enjoying it immensely. Recently, Tim forwarded a signature line from a friend's e-mail, another line from Twain I thought I'd share with you:

I didn't attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.

***

Tomorrow, I am going to the Orange County Fair, but more about that in the next post!

Crime Fiction and Crime Labs

If you're in the Los Angeles area this Saturday, July 15, join us for an event at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch of the LA Public Library, from 10:30 AM to noon!

Barry A.J. Fisher, Director of Scientific Services, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and I will present "Crime Fiction and Crime Labs ." We'll talk about forensic science fact and fiction, and the current state of public crime labs. We'll have handouts available and talk about where writers and others with an interest in forensic science can learn more, and how they can help public forensic science agencies. This event is free and open to the public.

Los Angeles Public Library - Palms-Rancho Park Branch
2920 Overland Avenue (Cross street: Clarkson Road)
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 840-2142


Want to help sponsor a similar event in your area? Let me know.

Missing a wedding, a would-be murderer missing

While putting together the CLP News last night, I came across the Associated Press story of a man who missed his daughter's wedding while he was in custody in Oregon.

Not perhaps remarkable in and of itself. He was a suspect in an attempted murder. The victim emerged from a coma after a brutal beating, and said he thought the man was the one who attacked him. So the police were perhaps not unreasonable in arresting their suspect, although he said he was 70 miles away and had witness to prove it.

The real problem is, it took more than six months to complete the DNA test and fingerprint check that exonerated him. The crime took place January 13, and authorities told him they were dropping the case against him on June 22. The wedding was on June 20th.

And of course, over the last six months, the victim's vicious attacker has been on the loose.

Before you blame the crime lab, consider the fact that a mere 3 years ago, when backlogs were already escalating across the country, the Oregon state legislature slashed the staff of the state crime lab from 135 to 50 people. The staff is now up to 109.

The cuts took place two years after the legislature required DNA samples from all convicted felons to be submitted for a state database, and now "thousands of samples are awaiting entry into the system. About 1,000 more arrive each month...." If Oregon is following national trends, the backlog has probably increased dramatically since 2003.

Looking at these numbers, it's surprising the lab got to the test in six months. Which is of no comfort to the former suspect, his family, the victim, the detectives who've been working on the case so far. And while it's good that the tests could clear the man before he went to trial, let's hope there's not another victim of the real attacker out there, someone who might have been spared by faster results.

The next time you see a television show in which DNA results are back in 30 seconds, think about this story. And imagine what would change in your life, if you were held in custody for six months waiting for a test result.

Saturday event/On writing advice

I had a lot of fun speaking to the OC chapter of RWA on Saturday. Always good to see writers helping other writers, and you'd have a hard time finding people who have a more collegial spirit than the members of OCC RWA. I had the pleasure of seeing some writers I hadn't been in touch with for a while, and also to see Michelle Thorne of Bearly Used Books/A Great Read. Michelle sponsored a signing for me in the early days of my career, so it was good to reconnect. (Her store in La Puente will have signed copies of my books if you're looking for them -- contact her at agreatreadoccrwa@aol.com or call (626) 968-3700.) Charlotte Maclay provided an entertaining and informative morning session, and I was glad I had a chance to hear it.

The event was well-organized, thanks to Bobbie Cimo and other OCC RWA officers and volunteers. And I deeply appreciate the immediate support the OCC RWA writers gave to the Crime Lab Project. I talked about writing and about forensic science, two subjects I enjoy discussing.

Although you've heard plenty from me about forensic science, I haven't spent much time on this blog talking about writing, in part because there are so many writers' (and agents') blogs out there that focus on writing advice. Even if some of what I read on them makes me cringe, it may help you or be of interest.

I'm sure I'll be tempted to reflect on writing here at some point, too, given the amount of time I spend writing and how important it is to me. I'm just as sure that if I give in to this temptation, I'll find myself dining on a nice fat slice of a humble pie of my own making.

It's so easy to sound ridiculous or pompous (or both) when trying to describe a creative process. While there is certainly common ground among writers -- or at least, patches of ground that groups of us share -- writing is also a highly individual, usually solitary endeavor, and many of us who engage in it are not certain it can be entirely explained to others. One writer's gem of wisdom seems like costume jewelry to another.

On the other hand, when I've spoken to groups of writers or taught courses on writing, I've found the experience energizing -- and instructive in its own way to me. And I still find myself quoting or thinking about things said in truly inspiring and insightful talks by other writers I've had the privilege to hear -- among them, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Nancy Pickard, T. Jefferson Parker, Tony Hillerman, Mary Higgins Clark, Dick Lochte, Donald Westlake, Ross Thomas -- and a young but talented and thoughtful writer, Christopher Rice. And Lawrence Block's books on writing not only kept me going when I was working on my first book, I still find his advice worth rereading. I highly recommend these books to any of you who are writing.

Block is a master of crime fiction, and I noticed that on the section of his Web site where he talks about his writing books, he says,

...I never meant to set myself up as an authority on the writing of fiction --- there is no such thing --- but I found that, much as writing makes one a better reader, so did writing about writing have a salutary effect on me, both as reader and writer....

I suppose that's one of the reasons I occasionally find the nerve to offer writing advice, or to pass along good advice I've heard elsewhere -- thinking about such things helps me sort out what I'm doing, and gives me a greater appreciation for the skills and artistry of others.

While I dither about what I'll put on the blog, if you want to see the part of my Web site where I offer some writing advice, visit Not From Mt. Sinai and Three Rules for Writing -- feel free to take it or leave it. In fact, if you find it discouraging, please do leave it.

In the meantime, I'm going to follow some good writing advice I've heard from many writers over the years and make my writing time sacred -- I'll be away from the blogs for a few days, while I make more progress on a current manuscript.

Happy Birthday, Antonia!

Spent the day with my sisters and my folks (we missed you, bro!) celebrating my mom's birthday.
"Mom," in my family, refers to a truly wonderful and much beloved woman who went to see the Sound of Music with the widower across the street -- the one with three kids still at home, none of them yet teenagers -- and ended up married to the guy. My dad did a good job of picking women to marry, even if his first-date movie choices might not seem so subtle in retrospect. ;-)

One more reason to love the CMS

The Chicago Manual of Style, that is.

The additional reason is the very sensible answer to the last question posed on this month's Q&A.

Independence Day

As this Independence Day draws to a close here in the U.S., I ask this question of my friends in England: if he could have foreseen the degree to which Americans dote on the British Royal family, do you think George III would have bothered to send troops to put down the rebellion?

Just in case you thought I was serious all the time

Okay, if you know me at all, you don't suspect that.

But since I've been covering some serious topics, I thought I'd also let you know that I am fascinated by the cupcake craze.

I don't eat them (I'm in the post-revision self-revision cycle of my life now, where I try to lose the weight I gained while reworking a manuscript), but I totally understand why they are so popular. But that's not the source of the fascination.

It's what the Internet reveals about us. We can find experts and aficionados for anything (and anyone) you can name. And why not mention the more savory, rather than unsavory aspects of this wide-ranging, 24/7 celebration of what interests us most? So here is the cupcake, among it all, a taste (not overdoing it, mind you) of dessert, a petite pleasure, a happy little bit of cake for any occasion. What's not to like?

Cupcake blogs came to my attention through a post on Sarah Weinman's blog, where the first of these links caught my eye.

Cupcakes Take the Cake (All Cupcakes, All the Time)

52 Cupcakes (one recipe a week)

Cupcakes Across America

Each of those will take you to others. Enjoy!



Photo by Jane M Sawyer.

Keep those phones calls and e-mails coming!

Those of you who want to help crime labs, medical examiners' offices, and other public forensic science agencies can still make those phone calls and send e-mails. Click here to see more about that in my post of this past week. I said "today" in that post because I had word from the CFSO that the U.S. Senate has started dealing with this part of the budget, and it's hard to predict how many days we have once they do -- so it's important not to put this off.

Congress is still working on the budget, and so it isn't too late to contact your U.S. Senators to let them know that you want the Coverdell Act to be fully funded. These funds are not earmarked, so they can go to grant applicants any state, the District of Columbia, or the U.S. territories. Best of all, they can be used for what the labs need most -- whether that's computers for tracking evidence, DNA backlog reduction, latent prints equipment, or other assistance.

The Coverdell Act of 2000 passed unanimously -- this is not a partisan issue. Let's ensure that labs get the funds they need. Please take the time to call or e-mail your senators, and to ask others to do the same.

I want to thank all the bloggers, writers, readers, and other supporters of the Crime Lab Project who have done so -- please keep spreading the word!

Speaking Up for the Dead

Of the many areas of forensic science funding where we in the U.S. are failing to meet the needs of the public, perhaps it's time we became more concerned with -- and came to the aid of -- those who are speaking up for the dead.

It might be one of the hardest jobs for forensic science advocates: to convince decision-makers that our shameful neglect of medical examiners and coroners offices is not only hampering the investigation of crimes, but is also endangering the living and causing unnecessary suffering.

Last year, for example, NBC television affiliate KSL in Salt Lake City, Utah, ran a news report on the problems created by funding shortages in the Chief Medical Examiner's Office. "Medical Examiner: Lack of Funding Slows Work" quotes A. Richard Melton, deputy director of the state's Health Department as saying, "It's a terrible way to say it, and I shouldn't say it this way, but he's looking at dead people and many of our programs are looking at live people."

With that attitude, is it a surprise that Mr. Melton didn't make the ME's office a priority when he presented his budget to the state legislature? It's a such an insensitive and ignorant attitude, one hopes he was misquoted. If not, well -- news flash, Mr. Melton: if the dead didn't affect what happens to the living, we'd let everyone rot wherever they dropped. One would think that the cause of the ultimate lack of health would be of some concern to this guy.

To most of us, it's obvious that forensic pathologists play an important part in the criminal justice system. Other problems that may occur if an ME's office is underfunded may not be so obvious:

• Families who must wait for death certificates cannot collect insurance or deal with many other financial matters after the deaths of their loved ones. Estates may be left unsettled. This can place a tremendous burden on a family, sometimes causing a surviving spouse to lose housing, support for children, and more.
• As some counties close their ME's offices due to a lack of funding, and more and more hospitals refuse to take on the costs of non-patient autopsies, the work is farmed out to other counties and families are forced to drive many miles, the cost of transporting bodies is increased, and evidence may be lost.
• Remains of missing persons may go unidentified, leaving families to suffer for years — and crimes unsolved.
• Product safety problems may not be identified.
• Ability to respond to mass disasters may be impaired.
• Health workers may not be warned of potential threats to their safety.
• Health or safety problems in a given area may go undetected.
• Public health education may suffer. For example, the Massachusetts Medical Examiner recently warned pediatricians across the state that 31 deaths of infants in the past year have been attributed to "co-sleeping," or adults or older siblings sleeping in the same bed with an infant.
• Workers in coroners' and MEs' offices may be exposed to dangerous working conditions.

These are just some of the ways the living may be affected.

And yet, attitudes like the one expressed by an El Paso County Commissioner last summer are not as rare as one would wish. When asked about the county's delay in filling the vacated coroner's position, "Commissioner Miguel Teran told the El Paso Times on July 27 that finding a replacement for [the previous coroner] is a requirement but is not necessarily a pressing matter. 'There's only so much you can do with a dead body,' Teran said...."

There are staffing, equipment, and facilities problems affecting coroners and medical examiners across the country. In Los Angeles last month, reports of an overcrowded morgue where bodies were stacked like cordwood and infested with maggots made headlines.
Here are a few other recent stories that may interest you. (The first is one of the most comprehensive I've seen.) I'm sorry to say that I can find similar stories all across the country. Read them, then find out what the situation is in your local area. And then speak up for the dead -- and the living.

CSI Travis: Why is the Medical Examiner's Office so screwed up?, Austin (TX) Chronicle 6/30/06
Report scolds Coroner's Office, Merced (CA) Sun-Star, 6/26/06
Medical examiner ready for the worst, Bradenton (FL) Herald, 6/27/06
Pender seeks new medical examiner, Wilmington (NC) Star-News, 6/25/06
Lawmakers consider higher standards, more training for coroners, Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette, 6/11/06
Almost 4 months after death, family awaits answers, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 6/4/06
Crisis In The State Medical Examiner's Tulsa Office, KOTV, Tulsa OK, 5/24/06
Coroner Admits Overcrowding, Denies Maggot Problem, CBS2, Los Angeles CA 5/23/06


Photo by Ronnie Bergeron. (And um, yes, I know it's not a real skeleton.)

Why I said the F-word during dinner last night

Most evenings, Tim and I eat late -- a product, mostly, of accomodating mealtimes to his evening teaching schedule.

So last night, we're watching Law and Order, and most of my anticipation is to see what Keir Dullea looks like these days -- I'm wondering how the artifical aging of "Dave" in 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey matches up with time's handiwork.

This is why I am taken completely by surprise when I learn, during a commercial break, that next fall, there will be a television show that has the same title as my new book. Spontaneously, out comes the most famous of all F-words.

And here I thought I'd just have to deal with freakishly devoted Robert Louis Stevenson fans.

I will live with it. But after what happened with Bones, and the bizarre circumstance of a screenwriter retitling a script for Nine as Bloodlines, I'm really starting to wonder....

Please Make Two Phone Calls for Forensic Science Funding

Those of you who are Americans can help to improve forensic science services in all 50 states and the U.S. territories by making two phone calls, one to each of your U.S. Senators.

Please ask your senators to increase funding for the Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Act.

To learn your senators' phone numbers, go to the U.S. Senate Web site. In the upper right corner, you'll see "Find Your Senators" and a pulldown menu for your state. Congressional contact information is also available on the Crime Lab Project Web site.

The Coverdell Act is not a partisan issue -- the legislation establishing these grants was passed unanimously by both the House and the Senate. Underfunded labs affect everyone.

Don't be shy about calling -- let your senators know that crime labs matter to you.

Please make these phone calls today! The Senate is deciding on this funding now.

A few dates for the tour

I don't have the full schedule yet, and this is just a partial list, but for those wondering when I'll be traveling to their part of the U.S. to sign Kidnapped in October and early November, here are a few probable dates and places:

Wisconsin (in Madison
for Bouchercon) 9/28-10/1
California 10/3-10/10
Washington (State, not D.C.) 10/15-10/16
Colorado 10/18-10/19
Arizona 10/20 -10/21
Texas 10/29
Alabama 10/30
Georgia 10/31
Florida 11/2 -11/4


Photo above by Peter Dell.

Seeing familiar objects in the sky

Love these cloud photos, but really -- how do you suppose these clouds got that name?

Interoperability

What do the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department not have in common?

The ability to seamlessly share fingerprint data on compatible systems. Three different agencies, three different systems.

They're making progress, but the problem is expected to continue until at least 2010.

Read more here, in an article that appeared in the 6/19/06 issue of Government Computer News.

Oh, and if you think local law enforcement groups across the country are using the same system, read this on one of my favorite latent print information sites, Ed German's ONIN.

Orange County RWA

I'll be speaking to the Orange County (CA) RWA chapter on Saturday, July 8th, talking about crime fiction basics, forensic science for writers, and the Crime Lab Project. If you're an aspiring writer in the Orange County area, I hope to see you there. Doors open at 9:30 AM. Author Charlotte Maclay is the morning speaker, I'll be speaking in the afternoon, at 1:30 PM. Meeting cost is $10 for RWA members and $20 for non-members.


Click here for directions and other details.

Cover for the forthcoming paperback

Toto, we're not in California anymore...

I'll be away for a few days -- going to Kansas, where I'll join the party to celebrate the 90th birthday of fabulous Uncle George.

Have a great weekend!

Editorial Urges End of Crime Lab Backlogs

I'm posting this here as well as on the CLP Forum, because I think this editorial gives a clear, concise argument on this subject.

The Courier-Journal of Lafayette, Indiana published an editorial on 6/14/06, "Will clearing backlog speed up justice?"

The editorial board answered with a definite yes, commending the Indiana State Police crime lab for its progress in reducing backlogs and urging the state to continue to make the efficiency of the lab a priority, saying, "Eliminating backlogs is in the best interest of all involved." The editorial outlines some of the ways in which a reduction of crime lab backlogs aids the justice system and public safety.

Please ask your legislators to give labs what they need to eliminate backlogs and achieve 30-day turnaround for evidence testing results.

Links

I've added a bunch of links to the sidebar today, ones that will take you to other blogs.

I also put a new seat on a toilet and transplanted an amaryllis. (No, not to the toilet.) None of which you may care about. You may not care about (or for) what you're likely to find on every one of the blogs, either.

We must both try to be strong about this and not let it come between us...

I think it's likely you'll enjoy at least some of these, though, so be adventurous. You may find something that really appeals to you. I just bought a book based on reading Cornelia Read's contributions to Naked Authors.

If you are a writer working toward your first publication, I highly recommend you take a look at the Writer Beware Blog and Miss Snark.

Meanwhile, I'm going back to work on my manuscript. Beats the hell out of toilet repair work. Most days.

Photo above: "Rusty Chain" by Kenn Kiser, from Morguefile.com

My favorite corvids

Crows.

I know, I know. A lot of folks hate them or fear them. They complain that crows are noisy and unmusical.

But I love crows. They fascinate me.

Those lovely dark feathers. Their family groups. Their intelligence.

Intelligence? Oh, yes!

If you have not yet seen the film of a crow making a tool from a piece of straight wire in order to retrieve some food, read this brief synopsis from Science Magazine and click on the link for the film. It's amazing.

And check out this article from National Geographic News, which talks about a study that says they may be as smart as great apes.

To find all kinds of information about crows and useful links, click here to go to For the Love of Crows, which is also where I found the clip art above.

EQMM New Orleans Relief Issue

I've just received this from EQMM editor Janet Hutchings. What a great way for a mystery magazine to show its support for the Big Easy -- I hope you'll order this special issue.

A special New Orleans-themed issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, featuring the Big Easy’s native writers and artists, is slated for shipment to newsstands in early September, following the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating landfall.

Headlining the issue, which bears a November publication date, is fiction celebrating New Orleans’ rich ethnic and cultural diversity. Short stories by crime-fiction pros John Edward Ames, O’Neil De Noux, Tony Dunbar, Tony Fennelly, Barbara Hambly, Greg Herren, Edward D. Hoch, Dick Lochte, William Dylan Powell, Sarah Shankman, and Julie Smith span more than a century and a half of the Crescent City’s history, from pre-Civil War days to the post-Katrina present. This is New Orleans depicted by New Orleanians: Ten of the issue’s authors, including poetry contributor James Sallis, hail from the beleaguered city. Several lost homes or property in the storm.

The work of other notable New Orleans writers is discussed in a book review column by Jon L. Breen, focusing exclusively on the region’s mystery writing.

Capturing the vibrancy of New Orleans for cover and interior illustrations are artists Jenny Kahn, David Sullivan, and Herbert Kearney, all of whom also call the city home.

EQMM’s publisher, Dell Magazines, has donated all advertising for this special hurricane-recovery issue to organizations with rebuilding or relief efforts ongoing in the areas affected by Katrina. Participating organizations are Bridge House, the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans, Covenant House, Habitat for Humanity, Reader to Reader, Inc., Save the Children, and the Volunteers of America. For those wishing to make donations over the Internet, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s web site, provides links to all of the participating charities.

To order single copies of the November 2006 issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine please visit our web site at www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm, or call toll free (1 800 220-7443).

Photo above by Mike Rash, from Morgue File archives. "Jazz band performing in front of St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans. After Katrina, I can't help but wonder about the welfare of these folks."

Flooded Evidence

Another news story, "Hall of Justice a Health Risk?" on the subject of facilities problems in evidence storage appeared yesterday in the Contra Costa Times, in which reporter Karl Fischer discovers mold, potential electrical hazards, and regular flooding among the problems in Richmond, California.

"'Being an evidence technician, I frequently handled ... bloody clothes, rape evidence, a lot of sensitive material,' said Joe Deville, an officer who retired in 2004. 'Having to handle it while ankle deep in water? I think that was a concern.'..."

Housing Shortage for the Dead

Another difficulty facing crime labs and coroners's/ME's offices is that many are in outdated or inadequate facilities. A great many are housed in buildings not designed for the purpose of lab work or evidence storage. That may not be a problem if funds are expended to refit the building as needed, but this is not always the case. The preservation and integrity of evidence, as well as the health and safety of lab workers, may be at stake.

Some of the worst examples of these forensic science housing shortages have made the news in the past year.

On 1/30/06, in the second part of “Getting Away With Murder,” a series of articles by Jonathan Schuppe and William Kleinknecht in the Newark Star-Ledger, the reporters talked about the conditions in the workplace of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office’s Crime Scene Unit:

The Essex CSU works from a former parking garage in downtown Newark. Members of the Prosecutor's Office refused to allow a reporter or photographer inside the building. But staffers and internal documents suggest a scene in which bags of evidence are frequently piled in the hallway while case files lay toppled over in an adjacent room.

There's no trash pickup or cleaning service. The electrical circuits blow out regularly. In winter, investigators rely on space heaters to keep warm. The only source of water is the bathroom, so it sometimes doubles as an evidence-processing area....

Last month, KMEX, the Los Angeles Times, and other news sources reported stories of overcrowding, bodies temporarily moved out of refrigerated units and into hallways, and bodies stacked like cordwood in the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Workers complained of maggots and potential contamination of evidence. (You can see more about this story on the CLP Forum ). The coroner’s office housed almost 100 more bodies than the aging facility was designed to hold.

In Arizona, the Pima County medical examiner was forced to rent refrigerated trucks last summer to handle the increasing number of bodies stored there. (Chicago Tribune, 8/24/05)

In Benton County, Arkansas, the new coroner pleaded for a refrigerated space to store bodies. She also sought office space and a room to meet with families. According to a report by Serina Wilkins in the Benton County Daily Record on 5/10/05,

The former coroner... housed the Coroner’s Office at Yvonne’s Costumes, Uniforms and Bridal shop in [the city of] Rogers."

The picture isn't uniformly bleak. In other communities, changes are underway. New labs are being built, labs are being combined into regional facilities to share costs, and some communities have stepped forward with innovative solutions. In California, two years after moving out of a dilapidated building, the San Mateo County Crime Lab was able to earn accreditation from the ASCLD. In the same state, San Bernardino County supervisors, appalled at conditions in their coroner's office, funded recently completed state-of-the-art facilities. In Springfield, Missouri, local bankers devised a plan to help finance a crime lab when a tax measure failed. (Springfield New-Leader, 1/17/06)

What can you do? Urge Congress and your state and local legislatures to provide funding for updated forensic science facilities.
Find out what your local situation is. Don't assume that the fancy lab or spacious coroner's office you see on television reflects what you'd find in your neighborhood. If you have a good city lab, is your county lab in good shape? What about labs in other parts of your state?

Forensic science can be most effective in U.S. when all labs in the country meet basic standards and are adequately housed and supplied.

Staffing and backlogs

"Funds Help Crime Lab Cut Backlog by 10,000 Cases" by C.S. Murphy in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette is well worth reading. It will give you some insight into the challenges facing crime labs and some of the ways they are being met.

We need to ensure that qualified staff are employed in medical examiner’s offices, coroner’s offices, law enforcement organizations and crime labs at a level that can meet those agencies' workloads. The price of not doing so is enormous: the innocent imprisoned, the guilty free to harm others, hazards and health threats unidentified, children endangered, families left without answers. Forensic science affects us in ways we don't always realize.

For example, we need to ensure that enough trained fingerprint examiners are available to keep up with the need for their work in background checks for would-be foster parents, those seeking to adopt, those who will work with our children in schools, on playgrounds, and other places. To check the backgrounds of those hired to drive trucks laden with hazardous materials over our highways. Trained examiners must be available to process prints taken at jails and as evidence. These are just some of the ways in which fingerprint examiners are of help to us.

But hiring and keeping staff ranks as one of the biggest challenges for public forensic science.

Here's just one story that will give you some idea of the difficulties labs face:

“GBI lab loses key analysts to Army,” by Rhonda Cook, was published on May 10, 2006 in the Atlanta Journal.

30 Days

Thirty-day turnaround.

That's a goal. An initial goal on the way to another.

Thirty-day turnaround in crime labs, coroners' and medical examiners' offices, fingerprint units...processing of forensic evidence of all kinds.

"What? What? What?" I can almost hear CSI and Crossing Jordan addicts asking. "Aren't labs able to complete tests and report autopsy results within a few days?"

Throughout most of the country, the answer is no. In fact, 30-day turnaround will seem like reaching for the stars for some labs. How do I know? Not just from my work in the CLP. The evidence is all around us. Take a look at this sampling of news stories that appeared just this past weekend:

An article by Rick Weiss in the Saturday, 6/3/06 issue of the Washington Post, "Vast DNA Bank Pits Policing Vs. Privacy" is worth reading just because it's a thought-provoking examination of efforts to create an all-inclusive US DNA database -- every American would be required to submit a sample of DNA to a national database. The extent to which this would overwhelm labs is just one consideration, but a real one.
"...As of the end of last year, more than 250,000 samples were backlogged in California alone...." Keep in mind that this is one type of test -- DNA -- that is only a small fraction of the testing done by labs.

A 6/4/06 story on KATV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Little Rock, Arkansas, noted that there has been a reduction in the backlog of cases at the state crime lab. Now they're down from 16,000 cases (in December) to a mere 6,500. Since that's a rather spectacular reduction, I hope someone is asking exactly how that happened. I hope that many cases were processed, and news stories suggest that healthy increases in staffing have helped. In another post, though, I'll talk about the ways backlog can be "reduced' without examining evidence.

In Florida, on 6/4/06 the Sun-Sentinel reported that a family has waited four months for autopsy results on their son, who died in custody.

In Georgia, the Augusta Chronicle reported on a story about a young man who was held for 16 months "in a county jail, accused of rape. Now officials say he shouldn't have been there
at all..." But it took that long for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to get to the DNA tests on the case. "GBI spokeswoman Vicki Metz-Vickery said [the man's] DNA was part of a large backlog of cases. 'We are still working 2004 cases. And we are still about 1,000 cases backlogged.'..."

The above are far from the only examples I could cite, and remember that I found those stories without much effort from one weekend. Backlogs have been reported in every region in the country.

What will it take to end them? I'll talk more about that over the next few days.
In the meantime, go to the Crime Lab Project Web site to learn more.

Go Foggy, go!

Along with hoping for Barbaro's continued recovery, I've been wanting Lost in the Fog to prove his doubters wrong.

The what-have-you-done-for-me-lately crowd may now take a hike.

LITF is a spectacular sprinter who won his first ten races, then lost two. You would think, judging from some critics, that those two races proved something the other ten didn't. Today he won the Aristides Breeder's Cup Race at Churchill Downs by 1 1/4 lengths, just a second off from the track record. And did it carrying high weight of 124 lbs.

He's back!

Stranger than fiction

Two stories from CNN's Web site illustrate that truth is really stranger than fiction. This is a theme I could spend lots of time on, but for now, the stories.

First, the one I learned about through Steve Miller. Steve and his writing partner (and wife) Sharon Lee have created a science fiction series that is one of my favorites -- the Liaden Universe books. Sharon also writes mysteries, and together they have written other books and stories. More on their work in another post, but let me give a quick thanks to mystery writer Dean James, who used to work at Murder by the Book in Houston and introduced me to Lee & Miller's books. So...see what happens? You walk into a mystery bookstore, and the next thing you know, you're reading that a scientist in India believes he's found alien life forms. I kid you not. This was not from an article in the Enquirer, folks, but the "prestigious peer-reviewed journal Astrophysics and Space Science."

And in the way things happen for those of us who embrace distraction, as I was about to e-mail that article off to Tim, I came across this disturbing headline: Cops: Couple ordered hit on grandkids.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this couple allegedly tried to set up a hit (alas for them, with an undrecover detective) on their daughter-in-law, their 10-year-old granddaughter and two step-grandchildren -- and the family dog -- all in order to prevent them from testifying against their son in a rape trial. "The couple's 31-year-old son has been jailed since November on 22 charges of sexual battery on a child, lewd and lascivious molestation and showing obscene material to a minor, court records show."

So which life form seems closer to human to you?

Eat your heart out, MacGuyver!

Got an empty Altoids Sugarfree Gum tin? Don't throw it away, grab your soldering iron and make a USB charger out that baby! Keep that iPod charged!

Turns out there are MacGuyvers all around us, or at least a set of folks who can recycle anything. I learned about MakeZine from my niece, Timbrely, who is far more technically savvy and crafts enabled than I am.

Take a look. Ingenuity is alive and well.