When it comes to making a case against a criminal, properly collected DNA evidence can be as good or better than a suspect's confession, area law enforcement officials learned Tuesday.
"If you seize the evidence and get it to the lab correctly, there are amazing things we can do," said Scott Teeselink, Kansas Bureau of Investigation senior special agent.
A Kansas Bureau of Investigation class at Kansas University gives law enforcement agencies from northeast Kansas some instruction on handling crime scene evidence. Tuesday, Lisa Burdett, KBI forensic scientist, demonstrated collecting DNA evidence during investigations.
Forensic scientists from the KBI instructed 100 law enforcement officers from across northeast Kansas on proper procedures for collecting biological evidence, which includes bodily substances such as blood, hair, saliva and semen.
"Basically, we're just keeping them up to date with what's been going on in the lab," Teeselink said. "Our capabilities just keep getting better and better. It used to be, we needed a drop of blood the size of a quarter (to detect DNA). Now, all we need is (a sample) the size of a pinhead."
Three agents assigned to the KBI's biology section taught the class, conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nichols Hall on the Kansas University campus. They demonstrated procedures for taking biological samples, including how to moisten a cotton swab before examining a handgun for skin cells, how to use the various envelopes designed to collect hair and fluids in a rape investigation and the different methods for collecting evidence from surfaces as varied as concrete, dirt, snow or a tree trunk.
One officer asked if he should worry about contaminating biological evidence when collecting it, especially if he had a cold.
"It's a good idea to turn your head, if you have to cough," said Barbara Crim-Swanson, KBI forensic scientist. "Otherwise, we'll have to worry about your DNA as well. But unless you have a tendency to spit when you talk, you should be OK."
Tuesday's class was the first of four scheduled. Three more are planned within the next few weeks in Wichita, Pittsburg and Great Bend.
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