Some deleted Pa. crime lab records ‘no longer accessible,’ State Police say

The data that haven’t been recovered involve evidence logs that contain details including the time and place evidence was collected, who handled it, and where it was sent for analysis. Some law enforcement officials who spoke to Spotlight PA on condition of anonymity believe those missing logs could pose a problem in future prosecutions, as defense lawyers could raise doubts about whether evidence had been properly handled.

Kelly Callihan, who heads the association representing Pennsylvania’s district attorneys, told Spotlight PA earlier this week that her organization believes there should be “minimal impact” on cases.

State Police labs, she said, “have policies for internally tracking evidence and documenting forensic testing that is done; often referred to as the ‘old-fashioned-way’ of managing evidence in terms of chain of custody.”

The accidental data erasure affected at least one other state agency: the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS).

There, sign-in data that allowed users to log into the system to review their pension and other benefits were lost, according to SERS’ website. Those people will now have to reset their personal identification numbers.

“No pension or other retirement benefit data was impacted,” SERS’s website said.

Staff writer Danielle Ohl contributed to this story.

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