The Forensic Unit of
the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office utilizes the most current
technology and equipment to obtain physical evidence for use in
criminal investigations. Among the items the Forensic Unit may be
relied upon to seize, analyze or compare are the following:
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Biological and
Serological evidence (blood, semen, saliva);
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Fingerprints;
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Impressions (tire
markings, shoeprints, depressions in soft soil and other forms of
tracks, glove and other fabric impressions and bite marks);
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Hair and Fiber;
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Firearms and
Ammunition;
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Powder Residue (any
item suspected of containing firearm discharge residues);
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Tool marks;
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Petroleum Products
(most common example is gasoline removed from the scene of an
arson).
The Forensic Unit
responds to the scene of major crimes and is responsible for the crime
scene examination. Additionally, this unit:
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Assists all other
investigative units of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office as
well as local, county and federal law enforcement agencies in
Somerset County as needed;
-
Attends autopsies
in cases of homicide or suspicious deaths;
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Prepare crime scene
diagrams;
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Photographs scene
and evidence;
-
Obtains DNA samples
for testing.
The investigation of
arsons and suspicious fires in Somerset County are conducted by the
newly formed Arson Task Force. The Arson Task Force is supervised by
members of the Forensic Unit, who are recognized experts in fire
investigation. The Arson Task Force is comprised of individuals
from both the Law Enforcement and Fire Services community throughout
Somerset County.
The Somerset County
Prosecutor's Office has recently purchased an Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (A.F.I.S.) terminal that will be directly
connected to the New Jersey State Police A.F.I.S. The State Police
operate a database of fingerprints on all persons arrested in the
state. When a latent fingerprint is located at the scene of a crime,
it can be sent through this terminal to the state and searched against
the entire database in an attempt to identify the suspect.
Ballistic
examinations are performed by the Forensic Unit to determine:
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Operability – Is
the weapon capable of firing.
-
Serial Number
restoration – A chemical process is used to restore serial numbers,
which have been deliberately defaced or obliterated.
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Microscopic
Comparisons – Compare bullets and shell casings in an attempt to
identify weapons used in a specific crime and to determine if there
is any connection between this weapon and other crimes.
The Somerset County
Prosecutor’s Office has entered into a partnership with the Federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to operate the Integrated
Ballistic Identification System (I.B.I.S.).
I.B.I.S. is a
computerized weapons imaging system. As bullets and cartridge casings
are received in the lab each is analyzed and each striation or
marking, is measured, documented and stored in the I.B.I.S. database.
Each marking pattern is unique to a particular weapon. The
striations, which are like fingerprints, can be compared to those
submitted into this national database.
