Evidence

The Rapid City Police Department Evidence Section serves the City of Rapid City and Pennington County.  The Evidence Section is committed to the unbiased search for the truth.  Impartiality, in the form of being directed by science, and not personal belief, is the foundation of our work.

We provide management of evidentiary property, laboratory services and response to major crime scenes. Our laboratory services include latent print processing / comparison, analysis of controlled substances, blood-alcohol analysis and digital media forensics.  We also provide forensic services to other local, state and federal agencies in Western South Dakota for a nominal fee.

In June of 2015, the ANSI National Accreditation Board or ANAB (formally known as the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors – Laboratory Accreditation Board) certified that the Rapid City Police Department Forensic Lab is in compliance with internationally recognized standards for forensic testing laboratories and granted the Evidence Section accreditation in Controlled Substance Testing, Blood Alcohol Analysis, Latent Print Analysis, and Crime Scene Investigation. 

Address: The Evidence Building is located at 625 1st Street.

Hours: The Evidence Building is open from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday-Friday (closed on weekends and city/federal holidays).

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 from conventional powders to more advanced chemical processing of evidentiary items.

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 the search of latent prints of unknown suspects in the national fingerprint database.

Blood Alcohol Analysis
The Blood Alcohol Concentration Program was implemented at the Evidence Section in January 2000. The analysis utilizes headspace gas chromatography instrumentation to determine BAC. We serve multiple western South Dakota counties in our area.

Controlled Substance Analysis
The Evidence Section offers chemical analysis for both prescription and non-prescription drugs. Testing is performed using the modern benefits of UV, FTIR and GCMS instrumentation. These serve in confirming the identity of various controlled substances and contraband seized by officers.

Digital Multimedia Evidence
The lab regularly processes Digital Multimedia Evidence including digital video, audio, and still images in many formats. The Audio/Video unit is responsible for the processing of digital evidence from incident scenes which can assist investigators and the courts. The unit clarifies digital evidence using a variety of forensic tools and computer programs when required.