PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE

BUREAU OF FORENSIC SERVICES

1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110 -9758
PHONE: (717) 783-5548

January 22, 2024

Dear Law Enforcement Partner:

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Bureau of Forensic Services utilizes two
applications to manage evidence submissions and assist law enforcement agencies.
One of the applications is an internal laboratory information management system (LIMS)
to manage evidence submissions and the other, known as Prelog, is used by law
enforcement to log evidence into PSP labs and to view laboratory results. On January 3,
2024, the Office of Administration made an error during routine server maintenance
resulting in the inadvertent loss of some data from both applications.
Work is continuing to restore data, and the Prelog system is expected to become
accessible in the coming days. Though most electronic records stored on the LIMS will
be restored, it is evident that some data will no longer be accessible. It will take time to
identify all cases affected and to notify those who submitted each specific case. In the
interim and for your awareness, some records associated with cases in possession of
the PSP laboratories between June 15, 2023 and January 3, 2024 are no longer
accessible in the LIMS and may include the chain of custody, communication logs,
and/or digital images.
Technical records such as test results and the supporting data are not impacted. All
physical evidence in possession of the Bureau of Forensic Services remains secure and
was never compromised.
We stand committed to resolving this issue quickly and returning to normal operations to
provide the criminal justice system reliable and competent service with the highest
degree of integrity.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please contact Ms.
Deborah A. Calhoun, Scientific Services Division Director, at 717-705-8096.

Respectfully,

Major Colette M. Smith

Director
Bureau of Forensic Services

An Internationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency