The Restless Sleep:

Denver Post Article about Evidence Storage

Two Denver Post staff writers, Miles Moffeit and Susan Greene, did a really great job on a piece about evidence storage around the country. From their article: "Authorities across the country have lost, mishandled or destroyed tens of thousands of DNA samples since genetic fingerprinting revolutionized crime solving 20 years ago ... In some evidence rooms, chaos and disorganization make searches futile. Others are purged of valuable DNA samples, leaving cases unsolvable.

They did get one thing wrong, but it's a minor thing compared to all the excellent research they did for the rest. They got a hold of an NYPD memo about dumping property, but property is not the same as crime scene evidence. Bottomline, the NYPD did dispose of most of their crime scene evidence, it's just that that memo covers things like lost or stolen property, or, in some cases, things that might have been recovered at a crime scene but later turned out to not be relevant. (But perhaps I'm mistaken about that memo. I'd love to see the whole thing.)

Again, it's a minor point, the article is well done. Click here for the complete piece.

NamUs.gov

A new database called NamUs.gov has just been launched by the U.S. Department of Justice. Combining two databases of missing persons and unidentified dead cases into one, it will be open to both law enforcement and the public and searchable.

From the website:

"When fully operational, NamUs will link these databases to provide a powerful tool for families, law enforcement agencies, medical examiners and coroners, victim advocates, and the general public. It will allow searches for matches between missing persons and unidentified human remains records. NamUs also will provide central access to information from other Web sites, State clearinghouses, and other important resources."

Sad, but this could evolve into an incredible resource. Some may watch TV and think something like this is already ubiquitous but it's not, except for largely volunteer efforts as far as I can tell (but this is not an area I've researched extensively).

Suggestions for Baltimore from Former Police Commissioner

Former Police Commissioner Reveals Crime Plan, by Anna Ditkoff, June 27th, 2007, the Baltimore City Paper. 
 
"At a press conference on Tuesday, June 19, former Baltimore City police commissioner Ed Norris unveiled before an audience of four TV news crews and three print journalists a plan to combat the wave of homicides and shootings that has swept the city this year. Held at the WHFS (105.7 FM) studio in Mount Washington, from which Norris hosts a weekday radio program, he detailed a seven-point plan of attack that, among other things, calls for an independent audit of crime statistics, increased police salaries, focus on violent crime instead of drugs, and processing the police department's backlog of DNA evidence."

The complete article is here.

Ed Norris was the first commanding officer of the NYPD's Cold Case Squad, and I wrote about him in The Restless Sleep. In 2004 he was sentenced to prison for six months, to be followed by six months of home detention for using up to $30,000 of police funds for personal use while Police Commissioner of Baltimore, and for filing false tax returns. I really don't know the whole story behind the prosecution, I'm guessing politics were involved in some way, and I'm not excusing bad behavior, but I was very impressed with his police work and his management of the people working for him. He was smart. I couldn't help feeling that in the end it was a loss to law enforcement. I hope he can help again in Baltimore, because crime-wise, they are in serious trouble there these days.

(The top picture is of Norris in his NYPD days working homicide, and the picture below is of him and his father.)