The Evidence Receiving Unit (ER) is the first point of contact for all agencies submitting evidence to the lab. This unit ensures proper storage and chain of custody of all evidence. ER receives evidence from local, federal, and state agencies.
The majority of cases submitted to the DSS are from local agencies. In special cases, the Division of Scientific Services has done testing for out-of-state agencies. Some of these cases have included arson, gunshot residue (GSR), and video analysis.
Most forensic cases submitted to the Division of Scientific Services are for:
- Forensic Biology/DNA
- Toxicology/Controlled Substances
- Latent Prints
- Firearms tests
Cases have included sexual assaults, property crimes, homicides, and DUI-related incidents.
The ER also maintains long term storage evidence and ensure that completed evidence is returned to the appropriate agencies.