Forensic Services Division

The Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) Forensic Services Division (FSD) is a provider of support and assistance to the SPD and the community. The FSD is committed to responding to requests for service in a manner that is courteous, helpful, and timely. The FSD is also committed to providing the highest quality forensic science services available to department personnel, community members, and the criminal justice community. The FSD accomplishes this through performing highly accurate, objective, and timely forensic examinations, including scientific analysis and crime scene processing; providing expert testimony; and presenting training and instruction to its customers and the community. The FSD also provides criminal history fingerprint identification and evidentiary and property storage.

In the FSD mission to provide such service, the Scottsdale Police Department Crime Laboratory and the Crime Scene Services has obtained accreditation from ANAB following the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17025 and ANAB 3125 Supplemental Requirements, as well as the FBI Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories.

Mission:

Provide quality forensic services with integrity and excellence.

Vision:

Provide high quality service for our customers while maintaining and acquiring state of the art technology and exceptional employees.

The Crime Scene Unit is responsible for identification, preservation, and collection of evidence. The Unit may respond to a vast spectrum of scenes throughout the city, including homicides and other death investigations, various types of assault and abuse cases, and property-related crimes such as burglaries, robberies, and fire investigations. Crime Scene Specialists (CSSs) employ various methods and techniques, including fingerprint processing, collection of biological and trace evidence, footwear and tire tread collection, photography, diagramming, and the utilization of a 3-D laser scanner. Additionally, they utilize an alternative light source for the detection of biological fluids and perform presumptive biological testing. Evidence collected by CSS personnel may be further analyzed by forensic scientists throughout the various sections of the laboratory.

The blood alcohol unit consists of three analysts and one working supervisor. The unit offers support to the officers of the Scottsdale Police Department as well as the neighboring Salt River Pima Indian Community for DUI cases. The analysts share the responsibility of the approximately 65 blood alcohol cases received each month. Blood tubes are collected from drivers suspected of a drunk driving to determine their ethanol concentration. Blood alcohol content is determined using HSGC (headspace gas chromatography). The analysts then provide expert testimony in court regarding their scientific analysis as well as the signs and symptoms of ethanol impairment, specifically regarding the task of driving.

Transparency is important in this field due to the high volume of jury trials the unit supports so all of the batch data from blood alcohol runs as well as all records for quality controls and instrument maintenance are disclosed on a public website for defense attorneys. Two of the units analysts are certified by ABFT (American Board of Forensic Toxicology) to perform forensic alcohol analysis (D-ABFT-FA) making them only 2 of 4 analysts in Arizona to obtain this certification.

The controlled substances unit consists of three analysts and one working supervisor. The unit offers support to the officers of the Scottsdale Police Department as well as the neighboring Salt River Pima Indian Community. The analysts share the responsibility of the approximately 60 controlled substance cases received each month. Drugs are often seized from a person’s car or person during a traffic stop or from a search warrant of someone’s home or from an investigation of drug sales/trafficking.

This unit analyzes drug evidence for the presence of controlled substances as categorized by federal and state statutes including but not limited to fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, mushrooms, and opioids. The unit uses preliminary screening such as color tests and then proceeds with confirmatory testing including GCMS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). The unit members also provide expert courtroom testimony regarding the identification of controlled substances. Two of the units analysts are certified by ABC (American Board of Criminalistics) to perform drug analysis (ABC-DA.)

Latent Print Examiners offer support services to the officers and detectives of the Scottsdale Police Department and the neighboring Salt River Pima Indian Tribal Community. The Latent Print Unit develops latent prints left behind on items of evidence and conducts comparisons to the prints of known individuals. Examiners utilize a variety of physical, chemical and lighting techniques to develop latent prints and preserve them through digital photography.

Unidentified prints may be entered into the Arizona Automated Biometric Information System (ABIS) or the federal Next Generation Identification (NGI) system to search for potential comparison candidates. Discriminating details observed within friction ridge skin allow examiners to compare prints for the purpose of identifying or excluding an individual as the source of a latent print.

Latent Print Examiners provide expert courtroom testimony regarding their findings; they assist jurors in understanding how fingerprints are left behind, developed, preserved and compare

The Digital Forensics Unit is comprised of a Police Sergeant, two detectives, two forensic computer examiners, and two digital technicians. This highly specialized team is responsible for recovering and analyzing digital evidence from a wide range of electronic devices.

As technology continues to evolve, so does the unit. Members undergo continuous training and receive regular equipment upgrades to stay at the forefront of digital forensic capabilities. Detectives and forensic examiners maintain industry-standard certifications and pursue advanced training in areas such as hard drive forensics, mobile device data recovery, and network analysis.

A key asset to the unit is the deployment of an Electronics Detection K9, specially trained to locate hidden electronic devices such as cell phones, USB drives, and SD cards. This capability significantly enhances the unit’s effectiveness during search warrants and evidence recovery operations.

The unit plays a critical role in supporting investigations involving narcotics, violent crimes, financial fraud, and Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC). Detectives and examiners also provide expert courtroom testimony to support the prosecution of digital evidence.

In addition to forensic work, the unit’s digital technicians offer professional photographic services to both the Police Department and the city. These services include high-quality photography, digital image processing, and large-format printing for major events such as Barrett-Jackson, the Arabian Horse Show, and Scottsdale Police Department functions.

The Forensic Biology unit, or DNA, is composed of four forensic scientists and a working supervisor/technical lead. This unit, in addition to the laboratory accreditation, is also accredited to the FBI Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories. The unit performs serology examinations of evidence items obtained from crime scenes to identify biological fluids such as blood or semen. If identified, then the identified stain is analyzed for DNA. Evidentiary items, such as guns or items without visible stains, may be swabbed and analyzed immediately for DNA.

Once a DNA profile is developed, it can be compared to known persons to identify a suspect or exonerate a person of interest. If there is no known person for comparison and the sample meets certain criteria, the profile may be entered into the Combined DNA Index System to see if a person of interest can be identified or linked to another unknown profile in the database from another case. The unit members also provide expert testimony regarding their analysis in court.

The Fingerprint/AFIS Unit, better known as the ID unit, has the responsibility to provide accurate criminal history by establishing identity of arrested persons through the process of fingerprint comparison. The unit operates five days a week between the hours of 0600 and 1800. They collect, process, store, preserve, and disseminate arrest and disposition information, ensuring its completeness, accuracy, and security in a timely manner, following state statures and the Federal Privacy and Security Act.

In an average month they will process 500 arrest packets, which involve the initial creation of criminal history records for new arrestees, and the update of criminal history for arrestees who have prior arrest incidents in the State.

Property and Evidence personnel receive, itemize, barcode, store, retrieve, and dispose of all evidence and property seized and impounded by the Department. They maintain the highest level in the standards of accountability and security, while providing traceable chain of custody movement at every step. Each day they travel to five other Police facility locations throughout the City of Scottsdale to pick up and deliver items.

Currently the unit maintains over 200,000 items. Over 40,000 items are received each year, at a rate of approximately 3,300 items per month. These items are filed in 1,127 different storage locations, which include six refrigerators, one walk-in refrigerator, three freezers, four walk-in freezers, a weapons vault, a climate-controlled drug room, oversized safes, two vehicle bays, and a vehicle impound lot. In an average month, they will send 266 notification letters to claimants and serve 276 citizens at the customer service window. The item release rate is 1,186 items per month by way of release, destruction, and auction.

View more Property & Evidence Information (PDF)

The quality assurance unit is responsible for ensuring the laboratory maintains and adheres to all accreditation standards. The Crime Laboratory, Digital Forensics Unit, and the Crime Scene Unit are accredited by ANAB meeting the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and the supplemental requirements of the testing accreditation program. The current certificate and scope of accreditation can be obtained through the ANAB website.

Learn more at anab.org

The Scottsdale Police Department provides tours to the laboratory so that community members or persons interested in a career with forensics may become familiar with day-to-day forensic operations.

Eligible citizens are those at least 14 years of age, meet at least one of the requirements listed in the applicant request type, and have not previously toured the Forensic Laboratory. For more information on eligibility, reach out to the Forensic Services Division at 480-312-5335.

1. Scottsdale resident
2. Scottsdale business owner
3. Scottsdale city employee
4. SPD relative or friend
5. Student with an interest in forensics.
6. Program or organization with a forensic focus.
7. Visiting employee of another domestic law enforcement agency.

Processing time for approval and scheduling may take 1-2 weeks from receiving your request.

Note: Tours are normally conducted on a quarterly basis in January, April, July, and October. Non-laboratory personnel are not allowed in the laboratory workspace; therefore, the tour is conducted in the hallways. A tour of the Crime Scene area is dependent on staffing and callouts.

The Police Department reserves the right to reject any requests for a tour with or without cause. Approved tour applicants will be contacted by a member of the Forensic Services Division with information as to when the next available tour has been schedule.