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FBI eyes 4 more regional crime labs
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Posted on Apr 05 2006
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working to put up four regional crime laboratories that are expected to help expedite the processing of evidence in the CNMI, according to FBI special agent Joseph Auther.
Auther, in an interview with the Saipan Tribune, said the FBI is making an effort to regionalize the crime laboratories by opening up labs in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, and another in the Midwest.
“So that’s something that’s in the works and hopefully that will help expedite the processing of evidence,” said Auther on Tuesda, soon after the bureau donated four FBI surplus vehicles to the Department of Public Safety and Office of the Public Auditor.
Auther admitted that it takes a long period for the FBI lab to release results of evidence, mainly because of a huge backlog in the crime lab, as well as the priority on terrorism cases.
Auther cited that it took them two years and a half to get the DNA results from the fatal robbery at Candi’s Poker in Tanapag in May 2002.
With terrorism cases being on priority, Auther said there are a lot of lab cases in Baghdad and in Afghanistan.
Auther also said that the FBI is still actively involved in the investigation of poker robbery cases.
He said that they just finished the prosecution on the Capitol Hill poker robbery where a security guard was shot in the hand. All three individuals involved were prosecuted, he said.
Auther said the FBI and DPS conducted a joint investigation into the Candi’s Poker robbery, which is pending in the Superior Court.
“We’re waiting to see how that goes,” the special agent said.
He stressed that the FBI does not get involved in cases where there is no interstate commerce that occurred.
“For instance, if a security guard was killed or individuals were killed in a poker establishment and robbery was not the motive, then we would not necessary have the jurisdiction,” Auther said.
He said the FBI is involved in what they call domestic police cooperation cases, where their role is primarily to facilitate forensic analysis of evidence in their lab.
“So we have some cases where videotapes, fingerprints, hair and fiber evidence, or DNA are being processed in our lab in Washington in an effort to help them,” he said.
