Scientific Investigation Division

Scientific Investigation Division
Abbreviation	SID
Organizational structure
Part of	Los Angeles Police Department Office of Operations Detective Bureau
Headquarters	Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, 1800 Paseo Rancho Castilla, Los Angeles
Command staff
Commanding Officer	Police Administrator I (civilian)

The Scientific Investigation Division (SID) of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is responsible for collecting evidence at crime scenes or from suspects and victims, and later processing it at the Regional Crime Laboratory.

Criminalistics Laboratory

Blood Alcohol Unit

The Blood Alcohol Unit is responsible for analyzing of breath and blood for alcohol.

Courier Unit

The Courier Unit is responsible for moving evidence to be analyzed between the divisions and property rooms.

Field Unit

The Field Unit is responsible for preservation, collection and booking of evidence from crime scenes.

Firearms Analysis Unit

The Firearms Analysis Unit is responsible for test firing all firearms that come into department custody, unloading unsafe firearms, restoring of obliterated serial number and re-stamping firearm identification numbers, trajectory analysis of fired bullets, analysis of any firearms-related evidence as necessary, and entry of evidence images into electronic firearms database.

Forensic Photography Unit

The Forensic Photography Unit is responsible for providing specialized photography outside the scope of the Technical Laboratory, Photographic Unit.

Narcotics Analysis Unit

The Narcotics Analysis Unit is responsible for photographing and analyzing narcotics evidence.

Questioned Documents Unit

The Questioned Documents Unit is responsible for examining handwriting, handprinting, signatures, indented writing, typewriting, rubber stamps, printing methods, fracture matches, alterations, and obliterations. In addition, the Questioned Documents Unit is responsible for obtaining handwriting samples from suspected writers for comparison and maintaining files of handwriting exemplars.

Serology/DNA Unit

The Serology/DNA Unit is responsible for analyzing evidence for the presence of body fluids, analyzing body fluids for genetic markers (DNA profile), and entering profiles into electronic database.

Special Services Unit

The Special Services Unit is responsible for making surveys at the scenes of major crimes and preparing maps or sketches as required. The Special Services Unit is also responsible for preparing composite drawings of suspects.

Toxicology Unit

The Toxicology Unit is responsible for analyzing body fluids for drug abuse.

Trace Analysis Unit

The Trace Analysis Unit is responsible for analyzing evidence including hairs, fibers, gunshot residue, arson residue, explosives, shoe prints and tire tracks.

Technical Laboratory

Photographic Unit

The Photographic Unit is responsible for all photographic work related to crime scenes; evidence; dead bodies; aerial photography; arrestees; victims; department employees; photographic documentation of latent evidence; photographic prints, copies, and enlargements, as required; and surveillance photography of gang funerals.

Latent Print Unit

The Latent Print Unit is responsible for investigating crime scenes for latent print evidence; chemical processing of requested evidence for latent prints; Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) latent print inquiries; comparison of suspects’ prints with latent prints obtained at crime scenes; taking plaster casts of shoe and tire impressions; fingerprinting dead bodies; and maintaining files of latent prints obtained at crime scenes and palm print cards of arrested persons.

Electronics Unit

The Electronics Unit is responsible for installing and removing electronic investigation equipment; temporary issuance of electronic investigation equipment to other divisions; and providing electronic countermeasure sweeps (debugging) for department entities and city government.

Polygraph Unit

The Polygraph Unit is responsible for interviewing suspects, victims, and department applicants and employees, when requested by investigating officers; and operating polygraph equipment and instructing department employees as to proper methods of preparing persons to be interrogated.

Known Personnel in the Major Crimes Universe

• Lieutenant Michael Tao, at some point in his career, has worked at SID. He has since held detective assignments in the Vice Division and the Robbery-Homicide Division. When in RHD, Mike was selected to join the new Priority Murder Squad (later known as the Major Crimes Division).

• Buzz Watson is officially part of the Scientific Investigation Division but he is exclusively assigned to the Major Crimes Division as their tech manager and crime scene photographer.

• "Firearms" Francine is assigned to SID's Firearm Analysis Unit on Major Crimes.

Facilities

The SID's Criminalistics Laboratory, along with the SID's headquarters, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Scientific Services Bureau are located in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center (aka the Regional Crime Lab) on the campus of California State University Los Angeles. FSC also houses CSULA's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, which has among the most highly regarded degree programs in both forensics and criminalistics in the U.S. Opened in 2007, the FSC was conceived as a regional crime lab designed to promote collaboration between the LASD and LAPD while fostering development of new generations of experts.

The SID's Technical Laboratory is located at the C. Erwin Piper Technical Center, Piper Tech for short. The Technical Laboratory was originally located at the Parker Center, but it was not included in the plans for the new Police Administration Building. When the PAB opened in 2009, the Technical Laboratory was moved to Piper Tech and to the spaces vacated by the Criminalistics Laboratory after their move to the FSC.

Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center

Piper Tech

Notes

In the real world, SID was administratively transferred from the Administrative and Technical Services Bureau of the Office of Support Services to the Detective Bureau in 2009. In 2016, after SID had grown to a division of nearly 400 members, it was divided into two separate divisions: the Forensic Science Division (formerly the Criminalistics Laboratory) and the Technical Investigation Division (formerly the Technical Laboratory). This reorganization has not happened in the Major Crimes Universe.

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