San Diego County Sheriff's
Regional Crime Laboratory

5255 Mt. Etna Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117

Phone:  (858) 467-4600
For Official Business Only

E-mail the Crime Lab

Note:  Due to safety and security concerns, we do not offer public tours.

 

The San Diego Sheriff's Regional Crime Laboratory provides forensic science services to over 30 law enforcement and criminal justice agencies -- including every city (other than the City of San Diego) in San Diego County, the District Attorney, state agencies, and Sheriff's detectives and field deputies, as well as to federal law enforcement upon request. The lab's Crime Scene Investigation team responds to homicides and other serious crimes countywide. The jurisdiction covers over 4,000 square miles, including the Mexican international border, federal military installations, Indian lands, the Anza Borrego desert and the Pacific Ocean.

The San Diego Sheriff's Crime Lab provides specialized analysis in controlled substance and alcohol, DNA and trace evidence (including arson, explosives, fibers and paint), latent fingerprint development and comparison, questioned documents (including handwriting comparison), firearms and tool marks.

The San Diego Sheriff's Crime Lab is fully accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). This means that the lab's standards and practices meet the highest level of professionalism and it maintains a regular program of quality assurance.

In 2004, the San Diego Sheriff's Crime Lab created the first Cold Case Forensic Team that investigates unsolved homicide and sexual assault cases.

 

The Forensic Biology Rapid Response Unit was created in 2008 to address the time sensitive needs of law enforcement.  The Crime Laboratory management achieved the desired backlog reduction by bringing in new staff and tasking the unit with the responsibility for forensic DNA analysis on property crimes where completed work can be expected within two weeks.