Advancing Forensic Science Since 1995

In 1995, members of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) realized the need for an organization with a focus on elevating the quality and consistency of forensic services in our nation’s crime labs.  Out of that realization was born the National Forensic Science Technology Center, a non-profit organization with one staff person, $1500 and a charge to ‘do good things’ for the industry. 

Offices for the NFSTC were established at St. Petersburg College, in St. Petersburg, Florida.  The early years were focused on laying the ground work for future programs.   The fledgling organization was supported by dozens of off-site consultants who focused mainly on performing fee-for-service laboratory auditing projects for the unit referred to as Forensic Quality Services (FQS).  In 2004, FQS emerged as a stand-alone, not-for-profit corporation, independent of NFSTC. 

William Tilstone, PhD, an experienced forensic scientist with extensive operational and academic experience, was the first Executive Director and travel led extensively throughout the United States conducting continuing education workshops, quality systems laboratory audits and reaching out to the forensic community.

Growth

As public interest in forensic science began to grow, NFSTC moved beyond solely serving crime laboratories and became involved in curriculum design for forensic science programs, assisting with the development of an associate’s degree in Crime Scene Technology at St. Petersburg College, a bachelor’s degree in Criminalistics at the University of South Florida and master’s degrees in Forensic Science at the University of Florida at the University of Central Florida (DNA Track).  This work established NFSTC as a leader in instructional design and development for the forensic science field and the organization grew to begin providing training, technology evaluation and transition, assessment services and consulting in nearly every area of forensic sciences. 

The current chief executive officer, Kevin Lothridge, joined NFSTC in 1998.  His extensive experience in forensic services and participation in the establishment of NFSTC made him a perfect fit to continue the vision of growth and service.    

In 1999, NFSTC received congressional earmark funding and, working closely with the Office of Science and Technology, a division of the National Institute of Justice, through a Cooperative Agreement dramatically expanded forensic products and services at no-cost to all publicly funded crime laboratories in the U.S.  With funding through this agreement, the NFSTC relocated its offices in May 2000 to the Pinellas STAR Center in Largo, Florida, where it remains today. 

Since that initial relocation, NFSTC facilities have grown tremendously, providing space for the nearly 50 employees currently on staff as well as training and production space.  Capabilities include:

• Fully operational chemical and DNA laboratories, used for teaching but available for continuation of operations in an emergency
• Flexible classroom space to accommodate up to 30 students in a session
• A large, indoor warehouse for hands-on training in custom crime scene scenarios
• Audio, video and web design studios for online training development and delivery

Innovation

NFSTC has also been on the forefront of training and technology development.  Innovations developed or adapted to forensic use by NFSTC include:

• Online training of core forensic disciplines available to industry professionals, officers of the court and the general public at no charge. 
• Deployable Forensic Laboratories for at-the-ready laboratory facilities in cases of natural disaster, terrorism, backlog management or capability expansion.
• Field Investigative Drug Officer program (FIDO), allowing straightforward drug possession cases to be analyzed at the investigative level, potentially streamlining the adjudication process.
• Development of Sensitive Site Exploitation program of instruction for the Department of Defense.
• Development and operation of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) for the National Institute of Justice, centralizing information on missing persons and unidentified decedents cases nationwide.

Services Delivered in 2009

• NFSTC brought more than 1,200 people from around the country to Pinellas County for training events of various types. Individuals from law enforcement, crime labs, medical examiner/coroner offices and other institutions attended classes, symposia and workshops at no cost to themselves or their agencies.
• Nearly 200 professionals received hands-on training at our Largo facility in areas of forensics such as fingerprints, tenprint, footwear and tire track, evidence collection, laboratory auditing, biological screening, technology transition and DNA analysis and statistics.
• NFSTC audited 42 public DNA labs across the country to ensure FBI lab standards are being met.
• Through the Grant Progress Assessment (GPA) program, NFSTC reviews all open NIJ grants every two years. In 2009, NFSTC reported on the progress of 212 grants across the country.

NFSTC also significantly expanded its relationship with the defense and homeland security communities. In August 2008, the organization was a key participant in a maritime homeland security exercise utilizing a deployable forensic lab developed in partnership with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). In 2009, NFSTC provided site exploitation training to military service members that could prove crucial for protecting the homeland from terrorist threats and for developing actionable intelligence on the battlefield.

A Center of Excellence

In September 2007, NFSTC applied through competitive bid and was honored to be named Forensic Technologies Center of Excellence by the Office of Justice Programs—National Institute of Justice (OJP-NIJ). One of four centers of excellence created by the OJP-NIJ, NFSTC is the only center focused on forensic research and development. The FTCOE hit its stride in 2008, providing coordinated services and knowledge to an industry through the partner organizations:

• National Forensic Science Technology Center
• Marshall University Forensic Science Center
• National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law
• National Center for Forensic Science
• Midwest Forensics Resource Center

NFSTC strives to serve all stakeholders with timely, necessary services to improve the practice and quality of forensic science at every level.  

2009 Awards

• A Tampa Bay Business Journal 2009 Best Place to Work
• Excellence in Technology Award for Innovation, presented by the Law Enforcement Information Management section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
• Dennis Thureson, Finance Operations Manager, named a finalist for CFO of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal
• Fifth Place, Ultimate Management Team, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Business Journal
• August Vollmer Excellence in Forensic Science Award for contributions to forensic science by the International Association of Chiefs of Police

Our Vision

For the forensic science community and its users to have complete confidence in the quality of the science services provided to the justice community as it strives to ensure the public safety.

Our Mission

We are dedicated to supporting the justice community in ensuring the public safety by assisting the forensic sciences in the achievement of the highest level of quality services.