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December 16, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Ramit Plushnick-Masti
Public Information Officer
media@houstonforensicscience.org
713-929-6768
The Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC) has issued a Request for Qualifications
(RFQ) as the first step toward building a new forensic facility that will allow the
regional operation to grow and meet the needs of the Houston Police Department and
other law enforcement agencies in the coming decades.
The Center is looking for a firm qualified to perform a broad needs assessment before
HFSC moves toward designing and building a new facility. Responses to the RFQs are
due by January 15, 2015, at which time a four-member HFSC team will review the
proposals based on a pre-determined point system and invite the highest-ranking firms
to make an oral presentation to the team. HFSC’s goal is to have a contract in place by
February 2015 so the needs assessment can begin.
The needs assessment is likely to require three to six months to complete. It will include
a thorough review of the city’s growth projections over the next 30 years, the
technology expected to come on line during that time and the lab’s expansion to meet
the demographic growth. Once this assessment has been completed, HFSC will seek
bids from architectural and construction firms to move toward having a new facility
that will meet Houston’s needs today, tomorrow and in the future.
This new facility is part of the process of making the city’s forensic operations
independent of law enforcement and prosecutors.
The Houston Forensic Science Center, Inc. officially took over management of the
former Houston Police Department Crime Lab, parts of the police identification division
and the Crime Scene Unit on April 3, 2014. HFSC currently operates in eight forensic
disciplines and is expanding.
Further information regarding HFSC is available at hfsctx.gov.