St. Paul crime lab to seek national accreditation

A year after release of a report critical of the St. Paul police crime lab, the department may be poised to win new respect.

The lab recently helped solve a kidnapping case believed to involve the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel.

Later this month, the lab will seek accreditation through a national board that evaluates forensic testing, department spokesman Howie Padilla said.

"Exactly how long that may take to be accredited, we don't know," Padilla said. "The process is they have to review our documents. They will schedule some kind of an on-site visit and we'll go through that."

Accreditation would go a long way toward demonstrating that St. Paul police have turned around the embattled crime lab, which the department shut down in 2012 after a Dakota County court case revealed widespread problems.

Last month, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill that required crime labs across the state to be accredited to test drugs or conduct other forensic analysis.

•Previously: New Minn. law requires crime labs to meet national standards

Experts found shortcomings in nearly every aspect of the lab's work, including drug analysis and fingerprint evidence and documentation. The city spent nearly $1 million and a year of work to clean up the scandal that prompted the review of thousands of criminal cases. It also brought in a new lab manager.

Police Chief Tom Smith said the lab that reopened last August already is breaking major cases, leading to recent arrests like those linked to the drug cartel.

"That's why I'm so proud that going through all the pains that we did with the crime lab," Smith said. "We will shortly be putting in for and going through the process of accreditation, in our lab. All the things that I told the citizens in St. Paul that we were going to do, is paying dividends."