Original Release Date: February 11, 2022
In episode six of our Perspectives on At-Home Sexual Assault Kits season, Just Science sat down with Jay Henry, the former Crime Laboratory Director of the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Mr. Henry, an experienced forensic scientist and former crime laboratory director, understands the complexities that surround the collection and testing of evidence, especially biological samples. Listen along as he discusses the critical role forensic laboratories have in the sexual assault kit testing process as well as his perspective on the considerations for testing at-home sexual assault kits in this episode of Just Science.
This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].
Some content in this podcast may be considered sensitive and may evoke emotional responses, or may not be appropriate for younger audiences.
View or download the episode transcript here:
Transcript
Guest Biography
Jay Henry retired as the Director for the Utah Department of Public Safety crime laboratory system in 2021 after serving 31 years, . His responsibilities included operations, training, curriculum development and legislative advocacy. He led Utah’s only “full-service” forensic provider which is composed of three laboratories with 55 employees and serves 140+ law enforcement agencies with a population base of approximately 3.1 million people. Mr. Henry worked cases and maintained proficiency in each of the following forensic disciplines: chemistry (controlled substances), serology (stain identification, ABO and polymorphic enzyme testing) DNA (RFLP-based typing), firearms/tool marks and crime scene response. He has been accepted in court as an expert in each of these disciplines. He also continues to maintain an active interest in casework which includes crime scene, investigative genetic genealogy, firearms, ballistics and reconstructive aspects of criminal events. Mr. Henry has been involved in the accreditation process of Utah and other laboratories since 1998. He was the quality assurance manager for the Utah system from 1997-2005. He has participated in numerous site inspections and functioned in the capacity of inspector, site leader and team captain. The Utah laboratory system was accredited in 1996 in the ASCLD/LAB legacy program and transitioned to the ASCLD/LAB-International (now administered by ANAB) program in 2007. This newer accreditation program is based on the ISO-17025 guidelines. Mr. Henry is certified by the American Board of Criminalistics and holds memberships in the Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists (NWAFS), American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD). He has served in various capacities within these organizations including President of the Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists (2002) and President of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (2013).
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast episode are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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