Crime

Mapp Approves Bill Allocating Funds For Future Forensic Lab

ST. THOMAS -- Governor Kenneth Mapp has approved two measures to support efforts of local law enforcement, a press release Government House issued late Sunday has made known. According to the release, on Thursday evening the governor signed into law bill no. 31-0145, sponsored by Senators Novelle Francis and Neville James, which will fund the first phase of a forensic crime lab. Local law enforcement officials have long stated that sending evidence away for forensic analysis is both problematic and costly. The bill also calls for the lab to be “accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (LAB), Laboratory Accreditation Board, the National Forensic Science Technology Center, or other nationally recognized accrediting organization that has requirements that are substantially equivalent to or more comprehensive than those of the Society or the Center.” “This bill provides a first phase of funding to support our law enforcement efforts through forensic science,” the go...