Development of State Crime Laboratories in Illinois: A Historical Perspective

• NCJ Number: 172589
• Journal: 10-43 Illinois State Police Magazine Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: 1997 Pages: 11-16
• Author(s): D Murphy
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper traces the history of the Illinois State crime laboratories from the late 1920s through 1996.

Abstract

The public outcry that resulted from a mob mass murder in Chicago, the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre," which occurred on February 14, 1929, led to the creation of the Nation's first major crime laboratory. Called the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory and located in Evanston, the lab was affiliated with Northwestern University School of Law. Opened in July 1929, it was staffed by 14 permanent and 15 associate members. Legislation creating the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation was signed into law July 2, 1932. The Bureau's first superintendent, T.P. Sullivan, focused on expanding the availability of scientific investigation to all Illinois law enforcement agencies. In collaboration with Governor Green, he developed a mobile crime laboratory that began operating September 12, 1942. In 1951, a gubernatorial-appointed commission ordered the crime laboratory moved from State highway police auspices back to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Although crime detection services in Illinois progressed haphazardly for three decades, 1960 was a pivotal year for the crime laboratory. A highly publicized murder case prompted Governor Otto Kerner to appoint a committee to assess the lab's shortcomings. The committee recommended a new facility with better management controls and upgraded equipment. By 1969, the new bureau superintendent had devised a plan that is the basis of current bureau philosophy. A statewide system of crime laboratories was planned. The 1970s expansion of the crime laboratory was overseen by the newly created Department of Law Enforcement. A regional network of crime labs has the following sections: Firearms and Toolmarks, Documents, Latent Prints, Polygraph, Microscopy, Forensic Toxicology, and Forensic Imaging.