San Diego County Sheriff’s Crime Laboratory
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department is one of the largest in the U.S., with a service area that covers approximately 4,200 square miles. The Crime Laboratory provides forensic science service to more than 30 law enforcement agencies.
Client
County of San Diego Crime Lab
Location
San Diego, California
Markets/Services
Architecture, Forensic, Lab Planning, Landscape Architecture, MEP Engineering, Programming, Science & Technology, Forensic
Size
158,000 SF
Featured Awards
Engineering News-Record (ENR), California Award of Merit Green Project, 2019
One building with a defined footprint. Three Sheriff’s office divisions with distinctly different needs for ground-level space. Multiple user groups moving through the facility, each separate and secure. To solve a puzzle like that, SmithGroup pulled together an integrated team of specialists in interiors, engineering, planning and architecture from its offices across the country, who understand the unique requirements of law enforcement and forensics facilities.
The resulting County of San Diego facility created a state-of-the-art building for three key divisions—Crime Laboratory, Major Crimes, and Property & Evidence—with a carefully choreographed design that responds to their very specific needs.
The building design allows for a secure and efficient flow in and out of the building at grade, with separate entrances for criminal evidence, suspects, the general public and other disparate entities.
