The Forensic Services Unit is comprised of 8 officers and 1 detective, who serves as the unit supervisor. Each member has received advanced training in forensic techniques and equipment. Currently, three technicians have graduated from the 10 week National Forensics Academy hosted by the University of Tennessee. The unit is tasked with 
responding to crime scenes that require more specialized equipment than the responding patrol officer has available, as well as to larger, more complex scenes requiring several officers in order to efficiently collect and preserve existing evidence. At the crime scene, technicians identify, process, and collect all types of evidence using various forensic techniques including photography, alternate light sources, various chemicals, and many other methods. Collected evidence could include, but is not limited to: weapons or items used in the commission of a crime; fingerprints; trace evidence such as hairs, fibers and bodily fluids. The Lebanon Police Department has many advanced chemicals and equipment available to process evidence in house; anything not able to be processed in house is taken to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
If you find yourself the victim of a crime, please take the following precautions to preserve evidence: do not touch anything; limit your movement through the crime scene; do not attempt to clean anything up (glass, dirt, broken windows/doors, etc) and call immediately. The longer you wait to report a crime, the less likely it becomes that we will be able to recover probative evidence.
