Law Enforcement Resources

The Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division (FSD) laboratory system is accredited by ANAB (ANSI National Accreditation Board) to internationally accepted standards. Some of these accreditation standards have recently changed and necessitate a customer communication and agreement. This letter details specific information regarding confidentiality, reporting of results, and selection of testing methods that will be agreed to with every login to the Laboratory Online Information System (LOIS) and by a signature on the current version of the Forensic Services Request Forms when a request for laboratory analysis is submitted.

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This page, developed for our customer agencies, will continue to grow and change to share information as the field of forensic science is expanding at a rapid rate.

The value of properly collected physical evidence followed by examination and interpretation by the forensic laboratory cannot be over-emphasized. New techniques and procedures are constantly being developed, providing new capabilities or refinements to existing capabilities. Techniques, procedures, and capabilities contained herein may change in the future.

All agencies are encouraged to keep in regular contact with their local laboratory to stay informed of any changes.

The purpose of this manual is to educate our customers in the Criminal Justice System regarding the services provided by the Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division, and the recommended methods of documenting, collecting, and preserving physical evidence to ensure the best analysis results.

The OSP FSD no longer provides DNA analysis services related to Unidentified Human Remains or Missing Persons. Latent Print services are still available.

Missing Persons

For resources for Missing Persons Investigations, please contact the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office (OSME) Human Identification Program/Dr. Nici Vance.

If a Missing Person case remains active and unresolved after 30 days have elapsed, a DNA sample directly associated with the missing person should be obtained. DNA analysis of missing person cases may be performed by a designated CODIS-participating laboratory. When this service is needed, contact the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) at https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/services#namus-investigative-support.

Please note: a Missing Person Profile must be uploaded and active on the NamUs website in order to initiate free DNA services. We strongly encourage all agencies to create and upload their missing person cases into NamUs for tracking, comparison, and possible resolution.

Continue to collect DNA family reference standards from the biological relatives of missing persons, and follow these steps to advance your case:

1. At the time of FRS collection, fill out the entirety of the new submission paperwork,

OR HIP_FamilyReferenceSample_2023.pdf
2. Scan the completed submission paperwork and upload it into the NamUs Missing Person profile.
3. Notify the NamUs Oregon Regional Representative (contact info located in NamUs) that the DNA has been collected, and your case needs triage.
4. Retain the swabs in your evidence locker until NamUs notifies you with a request for DNA submission.

Unidentified Remains

Refer to ORS Chapter 146 - Investigations of Deaths, Injuries and Missing Persons. All unidentified human remains will be submitted to and analyzed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner's (OSME) Office. The OSP Forensic Laboratories will not accept human remains except for human hands for identification purposes.

“Unidentified human remains" do not include human remains that are part of an archaeological site or suspected of being Native American. Archaeological remains are covered under ORS Chapters 97 and 390 and ORS 358.905 to 358.961.

Human Identification Program Contact information:

Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office
ATTN: Dr. Nici Vance
13309 SE 84th Avenue, Suite 100 Clackamas, Oregon 97015
Nici.vance@osp.oregon.gov
Desk: 971-673-8202
Cell 503-932-8130 (mobile)

WHAT IS LOIS?
LOIS, or Laboratory Online Information System, is a web-based tool provided to customers of the Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division that allowing users to check the status of lab requests and retrieve signed copies of final lab reports. In addition, LOIS includes communications with OSP’s law enforcement partners and allows printing of ICP certifications and assessments.

WHO CAN ACCESS LOIS?
Anyone who is a member of a law enforcement agency serviced by OSP’s Forensic Services Division who needs access to the work done on behalf of their agency.

ESTABLISHING A LOIS ACCOUNT
Contact your local agency administrator to establish an account. If you do not know who your agency administrator is, or if you want to arrange access for your agency, contact the OSP LOIS administrators at lois.info@osp.oregon.gov

ACCESSING LOIS
If you receive an email notifying you that a report is available in LOIS, you may click directly on the link in the email or go or access LOIS directly here: https://xn.osp.state.or.us/LOIS/Login.aspx

To log in, type your User Name and Password and click the Log In button or press Enter.
To leave LOIS, click Logout on the top navigation menu within any of the screens within the program.
If you have forgotten your password or user name, or your login has been inactivated, click the link on the login page to reset your account. You can also contact your local administrator for help resetting your account.

FORENSIC DOCUMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Once you log into LOIS, you will be on the “Home” screen. From here, you can view any current announcements as well as documents such as communications to law enforcement partners and the OSP Forensic Services Request Form (Form 49).

SEARCHING FOR A CASE
Click on the Case Search tab on the top navigation menu to search via the available fields shown below When Begin Search is pressed; the system will search for case information based on the criteria entered by the user.

When searching via the Forensic Lab Case Number, enter the two digit year, the originating laboratory’s letter designation, a hyphen, and sequential number (e.g., 18A-3124).

When searching via the Agency Case Number, enter only numbers and place a hyphen between the year designation and the subsequent number, and drop all leading zeroes. For example, 1800007890 would be entered as 18-7890.
Searches may also be conducted using persons listed on the evidence submission documentation.

To conduct another search, select Back to Search Screen. If you are unable to locate a request or case information in LOIS, do the following:

Verify that an analytical request has been made to the forensic lab and has not been canceled. Try entering less information in your search criteria as there may be a difference between the information you have and what was provided to the laboratory.
Verify you are searching for information that you have rights to view.

Read more about accessing and using LOIS in our newsletter.

Oregon Regional Forensic Academies
Held in various locations across Oregon each year, these classes provide training to local law enforcement in the identification, collection and preservation of evidence. They are designed for new investigators or as refreshers to more experienced officers.

Contact DPSST for the most update infomation here

Webinars and Training Videos

Packaging Drug Evidence for Submission
Webinar #1: Trace Glass Paint, April 8, 2021 (90 minutes)
Webinar #2: Trace Paint, April 15, 2021 (90 minutes)
Webinar #3: Physical Fits & Make/Model/Year searches April 22, 2021 (75 minutes)
Webinar #4: Trace Miscellaneous April 29, 2021 (75 minutes)