SANTA BARBARA – On May 20, 2015, the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) and its affiliate, Association of Criminalists for The Department of Justice (AC-DOJ), held a site visit and lunch for criminalists at the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services Santa Barbara Regional Lab.

“Sending a CSLEA team of representatives out to our criminalists throughout California has been a plus, for CSLEA and for our AC-DOJ members,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “We have now visited our criminalists and latent print examiners in Riverside, Richmond, Fresno, Sacramento and Santa Barbara.  It’s vital that we share all the benefits and services CSLEA offers and just as important that we hear from them, especially as we approach contract negotiations next year.”

AC-DOJ President John Miller spoke to the criminalists via Skype addressing affiliate news, a board report and the CSLEA website.   CSLEA Senior Legal Counsel Jim Vitko addressed legal and contract issues.  CSLEA Field Representative Shelley Bishop  shared information about the CSLEA mobile app, the Arcadia membership appreciation day, and CSLEA scholarships.  Also in attendance were CSLEA Secretary Bernadette Gonzalez and CSLEA Supervising Field Representative Richard Carrillo.  

“It was an interesting experiment to use Skype, since I couldn’t attend the meeting, and I think a successful one,” said AC-DOJ President John Miller.  “Since being able to see facial expressions is a big part of communicating with others, it was great to see our members’ faces instead of just being a disembodied voice on the phone. I prefer to visit in person, but in those instances when that’s not possible, Skype works fairly well.”

AC-DOJ plans to set up meetings with labs not yet visited, in the coming months.