The Saint Paul Police Crime Lab:
An Evolution In Forensics
by
Edward J. "Ed" Steenberg
Saint Paul Police Historical Society
Part VI: The Saint Paul Police Crime Lab Timeline
Circa 1854 
Circa 2016
| March 4, 1854 | March 31, 2016Saint Paul incorporated as a "City" and William R. Miller appointed City Marshal (later to be designated Chief of Police) by the Common Council. |
| April 26, 1864 | Saint Paul Police Detective Bureau created, consisting of one sleuth. |
| Circa 1880 | Saint Paul Police Division of Criminal Identification created. |
| April 1987 | Purchase of the first Rogues' Gallery cabinet. |
| January 1, 1901 | The Bertillon System of Identification placed into use, and the department joins the National Bureau of Identification (N.B.I.). |
| Circa 1915 | First Saint Paul Police Emergency Car placed into use. |
| October 1917 | The Henry Fingerprint System placed into use. |
| Circa 1935 | Saint Paul Police Crime Laboratory created; first in the state, and regional in scope. |
| October 25, 1935 | Expert Criminologist John B. Dalton, B.S., M.A., Ph.D., appointed first Saint Paul Crime Lab director. This was the first of a series of three civilian directors covering some 38 years. |
| March 16, 1961 | Criminalist III Theodore R. Elzerman appointed second Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| June 10, 1967 | Criminalist III Harold M. Alfultis appointed third Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| November 26, 1971 | Voiceprint (spectrogram) analysis authorized by Minnesota State Supreme Court. First state court to allow such evidence (murder of Patrolman James T. Sackett). |
| March 24, 1973 | Detective Gerald A. Hanggi appointed forth Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director; followed by Lieutenant Russell R. Walker. This was a series of at least six sworn officer directors (40 years). |
| Circa 1977 | Advent of a computerized program providing access to criminal history record information from outside jurisdictions. |
| August 1, 1979 | The Saint Paul Police Crime Lab begins charging outside agencies for laboratory services. |
| February 12, 1979 | MN Automated Fingerprint Identification Network (M.A.F.I.N.) officially operational; first in the nation. |
| April 21, 1986 | Lieutenant John C. McCabe appointed Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| Circa 1988 | First "inkless" fingerprint system for capturing, storing, and displaying fingerprint images placed into use. Only one other metropolitan agency had this technology at the time. |
| April 15, 1990 | Lieutenant Michael R. Morehead appointed Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| Circa 1994 | Consolidation of Identification Unit responsibilities with and under the command of the Ramsey County Sheriff. |
| June 26, 1994 | Sergeant Colleen M. Luna appointed Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| July 17, 1999 | Sergeant Shay L. Shackle appointed Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| July 21, 2012 | Commander Colleen M. Luna reappointed Saint Paul Police Crime Lab director. |
| April 22, 2013 | Rosanna M. Caswell, B.S., appointed Saint Paul Police Forensic Services Unit "Manager" (note unit name and title change). |
| December 8, 2014 | Saint Paul Police Forensic Services Unit accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board in the field of Forensic Inspection. |
| March 31, 2016 | Rosanna M. Caswell named "SPPD 2015 Civilian Employee of the Year". |
Terrance P. Carroll, Rosanna M. Caswell,
Joseph K. Corcoran, and Kurt W. Moline
contributed to the writing of this article.