Forensic Technology Center of Excellence Introduces Workforce Calculator

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) recently released a workforce calculator, housed on the FTCoE website. This beta version of the calculator helps laboratories identify the personnel required to support a given level of casework within each area of identification and the associated investment in capital equipment needed to support that level of activity. As a proof of concept, the calculator was developed from a selection of laboratories that met a standard of 90-percent laboratory-wide efficiency, using the American Society of Crime Lab Directors Maximus award criteria. An econometric analysis examined laboratory performance in light of the type of jurisdiction (state, metro or regional), size population served and state crime rates (violent and property). Resulting econometric models estimate the relationship between the full-time equivalent workforce and achievement of the 90-percent efficiency standard for laboratory analysis.

Laboratories are encouraged to test the calculator and report findings to principal investigator Paul Speaker (paul.speaker@mail.wvu.edu). Their insights will be incorporated into a more detailed econometric analysis used in the final version. For more information and to download the beta tool, visit https://forensiccoe.org/workforce-calculator-project/.