Broward Crime Lab Gets 1st Nationwide Re-Certification
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4)- It may look like something you see on the hit CBS show CSI, but the Broward Sheriff's Office Crime Lab is being re-accredited.
The laboratory was the first law enforcement lab to be awarded international accreditation for forensic testing back in 2005, and the lab is recognized as one of the nation's best.
"Putting the criminal in jail is the easy part of our job.... but keeping them there isn't so easy," Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said.
And that's what Broward's crime lab works to do.
They've just received the first nationwide international re-certification in the field of forensic testing by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors.
"It's the accreditation on steroids, and we're so proud of it," Lamberti said.
The more than 51 forensic specialists working in the lab deal with controlled substances, DNA and much more.
"With an effective crime lab guilty people go to jail and innocent people go free," Lamberti said.
Last year the lab worked on more 28,000 cases from 24 different agencies.
Lamberti said it's the real life CSI Miami.
"If you watch any of the CSI shows it's not far fetched," he said. "We have the same capabilities here in Broward County."
Ralph Keaton with the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors said, "You can be assured that an accredited laboratory has met very rigorous standards and is performing quality work constantly."
