Tempe Police showcases relaunched Forensic Services Unit

Tempe Police officials resurrecting forensics unit

After a two-year hiatus, officials with the Tempe Police Department have brought back their forensics unit, and FOX 10's Steve Nielsen has more on why the department needed to start from scratch.

TEMPE, Ariz. - After a two-year hiatus, the Tempe Police Department has brought back its forensics unit, and the unit is already back on the streets.

What we know:

On July 1, our cameras rolled as Crime Scene Specialist Alyssa Grzesiowski took evidence at an alleged road rage scene, in a sign that the department's newly-constituted Forensic Services Unit is back in action.

The unit that previously offered forensic services was shut down by Tempe Police Chief Kenneth McCoy.

"Several deficiencies were brought to my attention, and we evaluated the unit, and we saw that there were some gaps, and so really we just called a big timeout," said Chief McCoy.

Dig deeper:

According to a July 25, 2025 news release by the Tempe Police Department, the old Forensic Services Unit faced a number of issues, which included having no formal policies and procedures, expired or inadequate equipment, and a lack of advanced training requirements.

"The stakes are too high, and again, the work they do is incredibly important for major crimes such as homicide and sexual assault, so the evidence is critical to bring justice to our community, and so we have to have the best of the best doing the work," said Chief McCoy.

By the numbers:

Per Tempe Police's news release on the new unit, it is staffed by four Crime Scene Specialists who completed a six-month preparation process that was described as "rigorous," which included three months of academy training at Mesa Police's Forensic Services Lab, as well as three months of field training.

"They are now capable of processing crime scenes from start to finish—documenting, collecting, and preserving a wide range of physical evidence that is vital to investigations," read a portion of the news release.

Tempe Police say the unit began responding to crime scenes on June 16. Only one member of the newly rebuilt team was on the previous forensics unit.

What they're saying:

"Having a rebuild is one of the best times to come into a unit, because you’re a part of the rebuild and the re-imagining," said Alyssa Grzesiowski, who is one of the crime scene specialists.

Grzesiowski said it’s not like the movies, as the work is actually slow and methodical.

"We don’t have any special machines to turn around and get a DNA sample or a latent print back in five seconds, 10 seconds," said Grzesiowski. "Nobody pops up on the screen and we say, ‘that’s the guy.’ It’s about documentation, and then the analysis takes time for people to do."

Mesa Police was handling crime evidence while the new Tempe team underwent training.