RICHMOND - If you ever want to meet a group of serious and successful crime fighters and crime solvers, walk into the California Department of Justice(DOJ), Bureau of Forensics Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory in Richmond and introduce yourself to any one of the criminalists there.

"These are public safety employees.  They may not carry guns, they may not have badges, but what they do is just as important," said Senior Criminalist and President of the Association of Criminalists-DOJ John Miller.  "There are cops, there are courts, there are correctional institutions and there are crime labs."

On November 18, 2015, criminalists and senior criminalists at the lab in Richmond discussed with the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) their role in making or breaking cases by examining and processing evidence for DNA.

"I want to thank our CSLEA members at the lab for sharing with us the very important forensic work they do to fight crime, exonerate the innocent and bring to justice the guilty," said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  "I can humbly say, I am in awe of their knowledge, their science and their ability to contribute to our safety from inside a lab.  The work they do is phenomenal and often goes unseen by the citizens of California."

Now you can  walk inside the Jan Bashinski DNA Lab with us via our video and view the work that criminalists do to help investigators solve crimes and to bring answers to victims of crimes or their grieving relatives.