ALASKA'S CRIME LAB MUST EXPAND TO MEET STATE'S NEEDS

Is there public interest in crime fighting and the forensic work associated
with it? One only has to check TV listings to realize what a hot topic this
is. Alaska residents are fortunate to be served by a real-life team of
forensic experts based on Tudor Road in Anchorage. Our state crime lab is
an important part of crime solving in Alaska and provides myriad forensic
laboratory and field services to law enforcement agencies in every part of
the state.

Opened in 1986, our crime lab has six major focus areas, which include the
following:

* Breath-alcohol testing program. Provides maintenance and training
required to ensure that breath-testing instruments are reliable, accurate
and properly used.

* Latent impressions. Experts process and identify fingerprints, palm
prints and other evidence. A relatively long-standing science, latent work
can be a foundational piece of resolving investigations.

* Crime-scene investigation and processing services. These services are
available to any department needing assistance with a major investigation
and include traveling to remote locations in inclement weather. In a recent
case, hours of tedious processing resulted in a murder conviction in the
death of a 15-year-old originally thought to have committed suicide.

* Controlled substance testing. This is often the heart of drug-case
prosecution. Illicit drugs and controlled substances must be conclusively
identified and quantified. The explosion of methamphetamine use and
methamphetamine lab activity in Alaska has greatly impacted our staff.

* Criminalistics. Lab personnel analyze hairs, fibers and firearm evidence.
It is meticulous work that can mean the difference in whether a case can be
successfully prosecuted.

* DNA analysis. This has recently been the most talked about of all
forensic sciences and with good reason. Although DNA analysis takes far
longer than depicted on television shows, it is extremely effective in
identifying perpetrators of crimes or eliminating suspects. Our DNA
professionals have matched unsolved sexual assault cases with offenders,
linked previously unconnected cases together and identified homicide
suspects in Alaska cases as well as unsolved cases in other states.

Without question, the professional services provided within each of the six
crime lab disciplines have tremendous impact on law enforcement's ability
to successfully investigate cases. We are fortunate to have a group of
forensic experts who are highly respected in their individual areas of
expertise, leaders in national forensic organizations and, in many cases,
published authors in professional journals. Our personnel have invented and
perfected new forensic techniques and tools that are in use around the
world today.

Typical of any organization that provides the level of quality service and
enjoys the reputation that our crime lab enjoys, the demand on its
resources far outstrips the capabilities of both its staff and its
facility. This is a case where more resources and more funding really do
make a difference for the citizens of this state. The return on investment
is often immeasurable in terms of the impact their services can have on the
successful resolution of even one case of murder or rape or in the sexual
abuse of one child.

The Legislature passed DNA legislation in the past two years that greatly
aids law enforcement and provides more offender samples for comparison. As
the caseload increases for our limited staff, it is imperative that they
have the tools to do the job. With the support of Gov. Murkowski, we
recently obtained a second high-capacity DNA analyzer. Funding obtained for
the Municipality of Anchorage by Sen. Lisa Murkowski for addressing sexual
assault cases funds an additional DNA analyst. We are in the planning
stages for a proposal to expand the current lab, whose 30 employees are
already cramped and have no room for needed growth.

What the professionals at the state crime lab do every day is not a
television story--although it could be. Through the work accomplished on
behalf of law enforcement agencies from Barrow to Unalaska and Kotzebue to
Ketchikan, the crime lab makes a difference in the lives of Alaskans every
day. All Alaskans can take comfort knowing they have some of the best lab
employees in the country living and working right here in Alaska.