Forensic DNA From Shell Casings! Karin Crenshaw - BSO Crime Lab Unit Mgr DNA

Forensic DNA from spent shell casings!!

Many major law enforcement agencies have their own crime lab, including a DNA lab. This is a major expense but the advantage is cases can get processed faster, the local agency has more control over what evidence is processed, and sometimes research can be conducted between departments. This is what happened with the Broward County Sheriff's Office recently. The DNA/biology section of the crime lab and the detectives of the Crime Scene Unit were able to join forces and research new ways to collect forensic DNA from spent shell casings.

Karin Crenshaw is the BSO Crime Lab Unit Manager DNA, and she worked extensively with Detective Chris Williams of the Crime Scene Unit to take existing protocols, such as the Bardole Method, and put their own ideas into the method to further enhance the lab's ability to collect DNA from a spent shell casing. They presented their findings at the 2020 ISHI Conference, and the forensic and law enforcement communities are putting the new protocol into practice. Here is a link to the publication:

https://www.ishinews.com/maximizing-dna-yield-from-fired-cartridge-casings/

Of note is the following: "The Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory and Crime Scene Unit have worked together to optimize a DNA collection method that allows for approximately 41% higher DNA recovery when compared to swabbing techniques and yielded DNA profiles consisting of approximately 68% more alleles."

All Things Crime is a new, comprehensive video series that will explore every aspect of crime and the ensuing investigation, one video interview at a time. The host, Jared Bradley, is the President of M-Vac Systems, which is a wet-vacuum-based forensic DNA collection system and has experience traveling the world training all levels of law enforcement and crime lab DNA analysts in using the M-Vac to help solve the crime. Along the way he has met people from all walks of life and experience in investigating crimes, so is putting that knowledge to use in another way by sharing it in these videos.

If you are interested in more videos about the M-Vac, DNA, and investigations, also check out the M-Vac's channel https://www.youtube.com/@UC4TgqlFFXuAoTPD-QkDKyog

#coldcase #homicide #murder