Forensic Laboratories: Handbook for Facility Planning, Design, Construction, and Moving
National Institute of Justice
Executive Summary
it meets the current and future needs of the occupants.
Designing and building a forensic laboratory is a complicated undertaking. Design issues include those considerations present when designing any building, with enhanced concern and special requirements involving environmental health and safety, hazardous materials, management, operational efficiency, adaptability, security of evidence, preservation of evidence in an uncontaminated state, as well as budgetary concerns.
To help laboratory directors get through the process, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES), and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) held a joint workshop November 13–14, 1996 at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to develop guidelines for planning, designing, constructing, and moving crime labs.
The guidelines serve as a general tool to which forensic laboratory directors can refer when considering building a new laboratory or refurbishing an existing one. There is not one universally correct plan for forensic laboratory design. No two labs are the same. Technical laboratories such as toxicology, biological science/DNA, firearms analysis, or trace evidence have specialized needs unique to their areas of work. Ultra-clean rooms or higher levels of containment may be required for some analytical procedures. Highest performance standards are required for cleanliness, temperature, humidity, and vibration controls to create an environment suitable for forensic science.
Staff needs and functional processes are the driving factors. From the start, the scientists who will occupy the building should be involved with the design/build team to explain their special requirements for the laboratory.
Flexibility is also a key element in driving a forensic laboratory’s design and configuration. Crime labs must be designed with the flexibility to support adaptability and change or risk obsolescence in a few years.
At the beginning of the process, it should be decided whether the project is driven primarily by needs or budget. Will the needs of the laboratory determine the budget, or is the budget preset and the laboratory economically limited to a specific amount at the outset?
The technical work performed in forensic laboratories must be able to withstand any evidentiary challenge. When detailing the needs of the laboratory, be ready to defend those needs against questions that will arise because of the cost involved. Quality laboratory service is expensive, and the buildings in which these services are provided tend to be expensive as well. Cost-cutting that would jeopardize the lab’s testing quality cannot be an option.
The guidelines in this handbook are designed to empower laboratory managers to improve their situation. They are designed to safeguard the integrity and objectives of the profession, maximize organizational efficiency, ensure economical expenditure of resources, and provide a safe working environment for employees.