WORCESTER — The addition of another civilian within the Worcester Police Department's Latent Print Unit continues a nationwide policing trend of having highly trained civilians — instead of police officers — perform tasks in specialized fields such as fingerprint and DNA analysis. The Police Department now has two civilians working in the fingerprint unit, Jenna Alimberti and Hemali Gunaratne. Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said that after Lt. David P. Grady and latent print examiner Detective Darlene A. Rocheford retire, the entire unit will consist of civilians. “They've performed beyond our expectations,” Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said of the civilian hires. “They quickly are acquiring the expertise that would take many more years, if we were training officers that didn't come on the job with the background and training these individuals have.” Mrs. Alimberti, who was hired by the Worcester Police Department as a laboratory technician in 2008, became a latent fingerprint examiner for the Latent Print Unit in July 2010. She received the promotion after undergoing training through the National Forensic Science Technology Center, a program that joined with the National Institute of Justice. Read more: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120702/NEWS/107029917/1116
