An Evidence Response Team (ERT) is a group of
highly-trained and well-equipped FBI personnel who specialize
in organizing and conducting major evidence recovery operations.
They manage the identification, collection, and preservation
of evidence at crime scenes. Their services are in great demand
by local, state, and foreign law enforcement agencies. ERTs are
prepared to respond to major case situations in an efficient
fashion to ensure that critical evidence is identified and gathered
for forensic analysis. Each of the FBI's fifty-six Field Offices
has an ERT, consisting of eight to fifty members. These teams
undergo continuous training to develop and maintain their organizational
and forensic skills.
ERTs have been involved in many domestic operations,
such as the investigation into the explosion of TWA Flight 800,
and in international operations, such as the investigation of
U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa. A team composed of personnel
from the Cleveland and Washington Field Offices also was deployed
to accommodate a UN request for investigative support.
In 1993, the FBI Laboratory's Forensic Science Research
and Technology Section (since renamed the Investigative Response Section)
established the Evidence Response Team (ERT) Unit. This unit was created
to provide guidance to FBI Field Offices in the formation of ERTs. Additionally,
the ERT unit provides assistance during ERT operations; helps define
ERT responsibilities and budget formulations; provides training and
logistical support; and coordinates the establishment of standardized
ERT protocol. The ERT Unit also conducts research to identify new equipment
and techniques to ensure that ERTs are conducting search warrant executions
and crime scene investigations in a safe and efficient manner.