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On September 9th, Chief John Neu accepted the 2008 DNA Awareness Team Achievement Award at the 2008 DNA Awareness Education Forum hosted by the Criminal Justice Institute. The Criminal Justice Institute was established by Los Angeles County District attorney Steve Cooley in 2007 and this year's Education Forum was held at California State University, Los Angeles.
Special Operations Bureau Commander Marc Wilkins and Detective Division Commander Steve Unglaub spoke to a group of over 500 attorneys, law enforcement officers, criminalist, victim advocates, and health care professionals about the Department's DNA Program that was established in 2003. The Torrance Police Department recognized the need for a dedicated criminalist to review cold case homicides and sexual assaults. The Department entered into a contract with Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca for a criminalist to exclusively work its cases. In addition to the Department's great success using DNA on violent crimes, Torrance PD now also uses DNA evidence in property crimes, including burglary and auto theft. For more information, watch the following video:
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