MEDIA ADVISORY
DNA, the D.A., and Cal State L.A. – Sept. 16
Forum will focus on latest techniques, honor University’s contributions to criminalistics, and hear from alumnus/police-novelist Wambaugh
Note to editors and news directors: For insights into the latest in the securing and analysis of DNA evidence to solve crimes, reporters are welcome to cover the 8th Annual DNA Awareness Educational Forum and Awards Luncheon at California State University, Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16. Sponsored by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the event will be in Cal State L.A.’s Golden Eagle Ballroom.
To make advance arrangements to cover the forum, contact the L.A. District Attorney’s Bureau of Community Relations, (213) 974-7401
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., the forum’s sessions will cover such topics as “Rape Kit Testing,” “Collection of Evidence for First Responders,” and “Retrospective of the Last 20 years of DNA Evidence.”
At a luncheon, Cal State L.A. as an institution and two individuals – L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Lisa Kahn and L.A. County Sheriff’s long-time crime-lab director Barry Fisher – will receive the forum’s 2009 DNA Awareness Awards for achievements in advancing DNA understanding.
Renowned police-novelist Joseph Wambaugh—author of “The Onion Field,” “Hollywood Station” and more than a dozen other best-sellers—will speak at the luncheon. A former member of the Los Angeles Police Department and later a production consultant for the Police Story television series, Wambaugh earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at Cal State L.A. (in 1960 and 1968).
WHAT: 8th Annual DNA Awareness Educational Forum and Awards Luncheon
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sessions start at 8:30 a.m. Luncheon begins at noon.
WHERE: Golden Eagle Ballroom, on the Cal State L.A. campus. The University is located at the Eastern Avenue exit, San Bernardino (I-10) Freeway, at the interchange of the 10 and 710 Freeways. To arrange for media parking, call the CSULA Public Affairs office at (323) 343-3050.
DETAILS: For details or registration info: http://da.lacounty.gov/cji/dna091609.htm or
the L.A.DA.’s Bureau of Community Relations at (213) 974-7401.
CAL STATE L.A.’S PROGRAMS:
The School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, housed within the College of Health and Human Services at Cal State L.A., offers programs that prepare students for successful positions in law enforcement, corrections, criminal justice planning and/or law. The curriculum provides intensive study in criminal justice theory, research methodology and data analysis, criminal law, organizational functioning, program planning and criminalistics. The School enhances students’ understanding of key criminal, legal, and scientific issues affecting contemporary urban society and promotes their respect for racial, ethnic, cultural and gender diversity.
Dedicated May 11, 2007, the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, which serves as the Los Angeles regional crime laboratory, was established through a joint-partners collaboration among California State University, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department. The facility also includes classrooms and teaching laboratories, opportunities for research and student internships, employment networks and public education programs.
The California Forensic Science Institute (CFSI) at Cal State L.A. is the academic, in-service training, applied research, and public education arm of the Los Angeles Regional Crime Laboratory. It serves as a vital resource for law enforcement and an advocate for the interests of public safety. CSFI seeks to bridge the gap between scientific advancements and their effective use in crime laboratories.
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 210,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu