Accredited by the American National Standards Institute National Accreditation Board Certificate of Accreditation Scope of Accreditation

Pinellas County Forensic Lab

The Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory accepts evidence submissions and provides forensic analysis in the disciplines of controlled substances, fire debris, toxicology, serology and DNA to any public law enforcement agency operating within Pinellas County.  Additionally, PCFL provides post-mortem toxicological analyses to the District Six Medical Examiners Office, which serves both Pinellas and Pasco Counties.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory is to provide impartial scientific support, professional training, public relations, and other forensic
related services to the Pinellas County Criminal Justice Community.

History of Pinellas County Forensic Lab

PCFL was officially began February 1973 as a one person drug chemistry laboratory under the authority of the Pinellas/Pasco State Attorney's Office. The laboratory was housed in rented space in All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. Late in 1973, laboratory management moved to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The lab was relocated to the basement at the Sheriff's Administration Building. After various moves within the Sheriff's building, the laboratory functions and oversight were finally moved to the Medical Examiners Office in October 1985.

In 2003 the laboratory went through yet another relocation to its current home, the Pinellas County Forensic Science Center. Laboratory management remains with the District Six Medical Examiner.

In 1973, the laboratory conducted analysis on 130 cases, but today, the laboratory analyzes approximately 10,000 cases and in excess of 25,000 pieces of evidence each year. Laboratory services have expanded from drug chemistry, to fire debris analysis (1993), to forensic toxicology (2005), and DNA and Serology (2010).

PCFL has always been committed to quality work. The laboratory was the first in Florida and 56th in the world to become accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). The laboratory now maintains the highest possible level of forensic laboratory accreditation by ANAB to the ISO/IEC 17025 Standard.