Crime scene DNA, forensic evidence, criminal profiling to be addressed at annual forum

Sept. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- For insights into the advancement of DNA analysis as a crime-solving tool, media representatives are welcome to attend the 10th Annual DNA Awareness Educational Forum and Awards Luncheon at California State University, Los Angeles, TODAY, Sept. 15. Sponsored by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the event will be held in Cal State L.A.’s Golden Eagle Ballroom.

Beginning at 8:30 a.m., the forum’s sessions will cover such topics as “DNA: From ‘The Blooding’ to the Grim Sleeper,” “Let’s Talk C.H.O.P (Cold Hit Outcome Project),” “Crime Scene DNA: Swabbing for Answers,” “A Double Twist of Fate: DNA Evidence and the Westside Rapist,” “John Doe Warrants: Putting a Face to a Profile” and “Learned Lessons from O.J.”

During the luncheon, the California Forensic Science Institute (CFSI) at CSULA will be presented the forum’s 2011 DNA Awareness Institutional Achievement Award for its remarkable efforts in advancing DNA understanding. Other honorees include the L.A. Police Department’s (LAPD) Registration Enforcement and Compliance Team, and LAPD’s Detective Rick Jackson of the Robbery-Homicide Division.

Led by Executive Director Rose Ochi, the CSFI seeks to bridge the gap between scientific advancements and their effective use in crime laboratories by providing in-service training, and serving as a public education arm of the L.A. Regional Crime Laboratory. Housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center (HDFSC), the institute serves as a vital resource for law enforcement and an advocate for the interests of public safety. It also seeks to supports career development and forensic research.

The HDFSC was established in 2007 through a joint powers authority with CSULA, the LAPD, the L.A. Sheriff’s Department (LASD), the City of L.A., and the L.A. County. Along with the University’s School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, the state-of-the-art facility also features classrooms and teaching laboratories, opportunities for research and student internships, employment networks, public education programs, and the crime labs of the LAPD and LASD.

WHAT:           10th Annual DNA Awareness Educational Forum and Awards Luncheon.  

WHEN:           Thursday, Sept. 15, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sessions start at 8:30 a.m. Luncheon begins at noon.  

WHERE:         Golden Eagle Ballroom, on the Cal State L.A. campus.  The University is located at the Eastern Avenue exit, San Bernardino (I-10) Freeway, at the interchange of the 10 and 710 Freeways. To arrange for media parking, call the CSULA Public Affairs office at (323) 343-3050. For campus map: http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/maps/cslamap.php.  

DETAILS:       For other details or registration info, go to http://da.lacounty.gov/cji/dna091511.htm or call the L.A. District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Institute at (213) 893-2222.

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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 220,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students, opening in fall 2011. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center.