DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38901
title: Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2020
title: Archival Version

description: This data collection contains data from the 2020 Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories (CPFFCL). The CPFFCL collected data on organizational characteristics, functions, budget, staffing, workload, resources, and quality assurance practices of publicly funded forensic crime laboratories operating in the U.S. and serving federal, state, and local jurisdictions. The CPFFCL includes crime labs that employed one or more full-time scientists who possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree in chemistry, physics, biology, criminalistics, forensic science or a closely related field and whose principal functions are examining physical evidence in criminal matters and providing reports and testimony to courts of law with respect to such evidence. Private laboratories were excluded from the CPFFCL. Laboratories may operate independently or as part of a larger system. Respondents to the CPFFCL could choose to respond as individual labs or as one system. A total of 423 individual labs, constituting 326 standalone labs and multilab systems, received the questionnaire. A total of 382 (90%) individual labs responded to the 2020 CPFFCL and 293 (90%) standalone labs and multilab systems responded. For the 2020 study, data were collected from July 2021 to February 2022.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) first surveyed forensic crime laboratories in 1998, focusing solely on agencies that performed DNA analysis. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded the 1998 study as part of its DNA Laboratory Improvement Program. The BJS' National Study of DNA Laboratories was repeated in 2001. An expanded version of the data collection, called the Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, was first conducted among all forensic crime laboratories in 2002.
description: The Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories (CPFFCL) was conducted as a cooperative agreement (2018-85-CX-K037) with RTI International acting as the data collection agent for BJS. The frame of publicly funded forensic crime laboratories was developed using the 2014 CPFFCL, a list of Paul Coverdell laboratory grantees provided the National Institute of Justice, a list of labs participating in Project FORESIGHT provided by Dr. Paul Speaker from West Virginia University. The project team conducted verification calling by calling each eligible laboratory to verify contact information and eligibility to participate in the CPFFCL. All eligible laboratories first received a link to complete the survey online and in follow-up received a paper copy of the survey.
description: To adjust for unit nonresponse, data were weighted based on nonresponse weights. Labs were divided into weighting classes (strata) based on jurisdiction (federal, state, county, municipal), and number of full-time-equivalent employees (fewer than 10, 10 to 24, 25 to 49, and more than 50). In some cases, when weighting classes were small, they were combined with similar classes to form a larger group. For example, two federal labs with fewer than 10 FTE employees were combined with federal labs that had 10 to 24 FTE employees. FBI labs and labs in U.S. territories each had their own weighting classes. For nonresponding crime labs, employee counts from the 2014 or 2009 CPFFCL were used. If these were unavailable, the project team conducted web searches to confirm the number of FTE employees. This process resulted in 17 weighting classes and one weight variable ('WEIGHT').
description: Response Rates: Of the 423 individual labs 382 (90%) responded, either as a standalone lab or were incorporated into a multi-lab system response. Of the 326 standalone labs and multi-lab systems, 293 (90%) responded.
description: Data were collected from all eligible publicly funded forensic crime laboratories.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2020
description: Publicly funded forensic crime laboratories operating in the U.S. at federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Smallest Geographic Unit: United States
description: paper and pencil interview (PAPI); self-enumerated questionnaire; web-based survey