Multi-Agency Crime Lab Seeks LEED Silver Certification
LOS ANGELES — A new $102.5 million crime lab in Los Angeles County designed to meet LEED certification recently opened its doors, changing the way law enforcement in the region handles criminal cases and the way students learn their trade.
The new Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at California State University, Los Angeles, houses a crime laboratory for the Los Angeles Police Department and the sheriff’s office, along with the university’s School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics and the California Forensics Science Institute.
Four of the five floors at the 209,000-square-foot Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center will feature the largest regional crime laboratory in the United States, according to university officials.
Steps were taken during planning and construction to enhance indoor air quality and daylighting and improve HVAC and water efficiency.
In addition to meeting requirements for LEED certification, the design of the facility had to be flexible due to the ever-changing field of forensics.
“The technical work performed in these labs must be able to withstand any evidentiary challenge,” says Lou Hartman, PE, principal in charge of the project for architectural firm Harley Ellis Devereaux. “From a design standpoint, this means that the labs must be highly flexible to accommodate new advances in technology and equipment.”
(Above) The forensic center contains an area for ballistics testing. (Below) The 209,000-square-foot facility is located at the California State University, Los Angeles campus. |
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The building at the south entrance to the CSULA campus is operated by a joint powers authority, the Los Angeles Regional Crime Laboratory Facility Authority, and serves as a model program for applied research and development and for educating law enforcement agents in the field, according to officials.
“This unique partnership will serve as a valuable experience-based component of our academic program,” says Joseph Peterson, the director of the criminal justice school. “Cross-fertilization will occur via research, student internships, employment networks, continuing education and public education.”
The multi-agency approach to the crime lab is one that is taking hold throughout the United States and in other countries, according to planners.
“Combining multiple agencies under one roof is a trend that is gaining momentum in laboratory design across the country as well as internationally,” says Steve Moodie, project manager with Harley Ellis Devereaux. “The multiple agencies combined within this facility will benefit from an ongoing exchange of information, sharing of ideas and expertise as well as invaluable education and training opportunities.”
The lab includes equipment for analysis of DNA, vehicles, fingerprints, blood, firearms and other types of evidence. The building also houses lecture halls, a library, a computer lab and academic offices.
Cal State L.A. has one of the oldest academic programs in the United States with an emphasis on criminal justice and criminalistics.