News

The Milwaukee conference marked a milestone for SPEX Forensics.  We attended our 20th consecutive meeting of the IAI Parent Body.  This year was an excellent meeting with nearly 1,300 attendees.

We would like to thank everyone who stopped by to say "Hello".  Ron and Brooke had a great time meeting everyone who stopped by the tent.  This was the largest IAI they have attended so far and they can't stop talking about what a great time it was.  Jon, Walter, and I would also like to thank those of you who attended our lectures and workshops.  We hope they were both informative and interesting.  My personal thanks to Kenny Martin of the Massachusetts State Police for presenting a workshop with me.  As always, it was a lot of fun.

As always, we would like to thank the Board of Directors of the IAI for all their efforts in making the IAI Conference the indispensible meeting it is.  Thanks to Jim Gettamy for putting together a great educational program and our thanks and deep gratitude go out to Jim and Candy Murray and their Staff for everything they do for us as both members and vendors.

SPEX Forensics First Annual Best “Worst Latent hit in PrintQuest” Contest.

This year we held our first contest.  We were looking for the Best “Worst latent to hit in PrintQuest.”  We have heard horror stories from our user’s for years.  They would have a latent of such poor quality that they would enter it into PrintQuest thinking all hope was lost and then beyond all belief, the latent actually hit.  We had wanted to start a contest among our Users and this year we did.

So the call went out to our Users to look through their Confirmed IDs to find the “Worst Latent” they could find. Now keep in mind, when SPEX Forensics speaks of “Hits” we mean CONFIRMED IDENTIFICATIONS.  Those matches made by PrintQuest AND confirmed by a User. During our Annual PrintQuest User Conference this past May, we displayed the matched sets that were entered into the contest.  We asked the Users in attendance to vote on a first round to narrow the field to 3 finalists and then on the last day of the conference the Users voted for the winner.

And the winner of the Inaugural SPEX Forensics Annual Best “Worst Latent hit in PrintQuest” Contest is…

Renee Minella of the City-County Bureau of Identification, Raleigh, NC.

These are the charted and uncharted versions of the “Worst Latent Hit” of 2011.  Note that the match took place in Joint 2.  Based on what Renee saw from the latent, she entered it as both a finger and a palm.  Because the latent came from Joint 2, it hit as a palm.  Subsequently, Renee confirmed the identification which lead to the arrest of a suspect.  Ultimately, the suspect pled guilty to Larceny charges and Habitual Felon Status.  He received a 90-117 month prison sentence.

The two images below are of the uncharted and charted match.  In each image the latent is on the left and the ten-print is on the right.  Click on either image for a larger version.

SiteBloc provides for the quick and easy establishment of a 6’ tall x 36’ long privacy screen that is flexible in 12’ sections.

View product.

The flexibility provided by SiteBloc makes it a powerful tool for recreational use, crime and accident scene containment and preservation, keeping tactical information "private", establishing a Public Information Center, a quick Haz Mat changing area, crowd containment, media relations center, and many other uses as well.

Easy to Assemble & Transport
SiteBloc is easy to assemble, transport, is self-contained, and can be fully erected and in use in less than ten minutes. The carrying case can easily fit into the trunk of most sedans, vans, SUV's, and other vehicles.

Highest Quality Materials
SiteBloc is constructed of the highest quality materials including corrosion resistant, power-coated tripods, cross members, and angle braces, to stainless steel hardware and long lasting, weather resistant nylon screens which are available in a variety of colors and mesh.

Essential in a Variety of Applications
SiteBloc provides the essential privacy and boundary control for crime and accident scenes, but its uses don't stop there. SiteBloc is useful in recreational activities and other applications as well:

• Conventional Booth Area
• Traffic Accident Concealment
• Medical Triage Boundary
• RV Cover for Privacy
• Haz Mat Changing Area
• Public Information Center
• Command Center

View product.

The Forensic Entomology Kit is for the collection of insects and related arthropods that are associated with death investigations.

View product.

Forensic Entomology Kit provides specific instructions on the procedures to collect specimens for evaluation. The customized forms were written clearly and concisely in order to provide step-by-step directions that investigators will find easy to use. Even investigators with limited experience utilizing forensic entomology kits will find the kit to be straight-forward and designed to walk them through the process with confidence.

Kit Components

• 1 ea. Kit Case
• 10 ea. Entomology Log Sheet for Samples
• 10 ea. Forensic Entomology Data Form
• 10 ea. Temperature Calibration Form
• 1 ea. Instruction Booklet
• 1 ea. Set of 7 Nesting Specimen Containers
• 1 ea. ABFO Photomacrographic Scale
• 2 ea. Blunt Tip Disposable Forceps
• 1 ea. Killing Jar - 16 oz.
• 1 ea. Insect Net
• 1 ea. KAA Chemical - 12 oz.
• 1 ea. 80% ETOH - 12 oz.
• 1 ea. Ethyl Acetate - 12 oz.
• 4 ea. Vented Container - 16 oz.
• 1 ea. Trowel 10 ea. Plastic Spoons
• 1 ea. Dial Thermometer
• 1 ea. Vermiculite - 16 oz.
• 1 ea. Sawtooth® Evidence Tape - Red
• 3 ea. Wide Mouth Sample Containers - 90 ml
• 16 ea. Vials with Cap - 20 ml
• 15 ea. Aluminum Foil Squares
• 50 ea. Non-Adhesive Paper Labels
• 50 ea. Adhesive Paper Labels
• 2 ea. Mechanical Pencils
• 24 ea. Towelettes
• 12 ea. Large Nitrile Barrier Gloves
• 12 ea. X-Large Nitrile Barrier Gloves

View product.