The Rapid City Police Department Evidence Section provides certain services to outside agencies for compensation. Our price list reflects that we are willing to assist outside agencies, but wish to pass on the related expenses to that agency. A fee schedule is available by calling (605) 394-6033 or by fax (605) 355-3099. or by e-mailing evidint4@rcgov.org

Services

The Rapid City Police Department Evidence Section’s primary responsibility is to the City of Rapid City and Pennington County. Our primary function is twofold: Management of evidentiary property for the Rapid City Police Department and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office; Laboratory services and response to major crime scenes for both agencies. Our primary laboratory services include latent print processing and comparison, drug analysis of controlled substances, and blood-alcohol analysis. We provide forensic examinations to other local, state and federal agencies in Western South Dakota for a nominal fee.

Sergeant Mike Jordahl is shown here making fingerprint comparisions.

• Latent Fingerprint Analysis & Comparison
  The fingerprint lab offers latent fingerprint examination, as well as expert comparison of latent and inked fingerprints. Our examiners use a wide variety of processes such as conventional powders, fluorescent powders and dyes, magnetic powders, ninhydrin, iodine fuming, silver nitrate, and superglue fuming. Sergeant Mike Jordahl is an IAI Certified Latent Print Examiner (CLPE) and has been recognized in state and federal courts as an expert in latent print analysis and comparions for several years. He is the only IAI certified latent print examiner in South Dakota. Forensic Examiner Jon Eizinger joined the Evidence Section in 2003 and one of his specialities is in latent print examination and comparison. He is also recognized in state and federal courts as an expert in fingerprints.
  
• Local AFIX® Tracker Finger Print Database
  We have an ever-increasing database of adult and juvenile offenders for the Rapid City / Pennington County area. The AFIX Tracker helps investigators solve crimes that would have not been solved without it. The AFIX Tracker enables latent print examiners to scan unknown latent prints from crime scenes into the computer and search the tens of thousands of ten-print cards and major case prints in the database for possible matches. The AFIX Tracker searches with a full 360 degree rotation and provides printable reports of search results and final side-by-side comparisons.
  
• Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)
  Since September of 2005, the Rapid City Police Department Evidence Section has had a local remote connection to the IAFIS system allowing authorized personnel to search latent prints of unknown suspects in the national fingerprint database. Sgt. Mike Jordahl worked with both the FBI and the State of South Dakota to set up the workstation.
  
• Controlled Substance Analysis
  Dr. Jack Gaines, an Organic Chemist, started analyzing drug evidence for law enforcement in 1970 while he worked for the SDSM&T. In 1996 he retired from the School of Mines and started working for the Evidence Section analyzing controlled substances. In 2001, Forensic Examiner Richard Wold, who holds a Master’s of Science degree in Chemistry from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, joined our staff, and in 2003 he took over as the primary analyst in the drug lab. Dr. Gaines remained on staff as a consultant until his retirement in December 2005.
  
• Blood Alcohol Analysis
  The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Program was implemented at the Evidence Section on January 2000. Dr. Robert Looyenga, an Analytical Chemist, retired from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and helped start the blood alcohol lab here. Dr. Looyenga has been the sole source for blood alcohol testing for Pennington County agencies for more than 30 years. The instrumentation used in this work is a state-of-the-art heated headspace gas chromatograph system by Hewlett-Packard. When FE Wold joined the Evidence Section in 2001, he worked closely with Dr. Looyenga in the blood lab and he is also able to conduct sample testing and testify to the results in court.

Personnel

• One Lieutenant
• One Evidence Sergeant
• One Forensic Chemist (Analytical)
• Two Forensic Examiners
• Two Evidence Specialists
• One Administrative Secretary