The Las Vegas Crime Lab is a scientific laboratory located in Las Vegas, Nevada, which uses primarily forensic science for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases while determining who is responsible for the crime that has been committed.
Employees of the Crime Lab are known as criminalists; this includes both CSIs doing mostly field work and lab techs doing mostly lab work.
CSIs are equipped with guns in the field, but are not considered police officers. CSIs often mention this to suspects to make them feel more comfortable.
The Crime Lab is headed by Sheriff Conrad Ecklie and reports directly into the Sheriff's office. Ecklie was once the Assistant Director and also former Day Shift Supervisor of the Crime Lab, but was promoted to Undersheriff after former Undersheriff Jeffrey McKeen was arrested for killing CSI Warrick Brown in the Season 9 opening episode, "For Warrick", and eventually got promoted to Sheriff.
In addition, all CSI personnel, including some of the techs, wear stab proof vests while in the field, which have multiple pockets to hold items they need for collecting evidence, as well as the CSI's last name.
Shifts
The Crime Lab has three shifts:
- Day Shift - 7 am to 3 pm
- Swing Shift - 3 pm to 11 pm
- Night Shift - 11 pm to 7 am
Known Employees
Supervisors
- Karson Hess - Day Shift (returned after Conrad Ecklie became Undersheriff)
- Catherine Willows - Night Shift Supervisor
- Greg Sanders - Night Shift Assistant Supervisor (presumably)
Investigators
- Sean Yeager - Day Shift
- Morgan Brody - Night Shift
- Lindsey Willows - Night Shift
- David Hodges - Night Shift
Detectives (LVPD)
- Jim Brass - Captain, Homicide Unit
- Sofia Curtis - Deputy Chief
- Kevin Crawford
Sheriffs and Undersheriffs
- Conrad Ecklie (Signed the papers to become Sheriff in "Last Woman Standing")
Lab technicians
- Henry Andrews - DNA/Toxicology
- Xiomara Garcia - Ballistics
- Mandy Webster - Fingerprints
- Archie Johnson - Audio/Video/Handwriting
Coroners
- Sylvia Sloane - Day Shift Coroner (mentioned in Genetic Disorder)
- Al Robbins - Night Shift Coroner
- David Phillips - Night Shift Assistant Coroner
Former Employees
Supervisors
- Gil Grissom - (Night Shift season 1-9; eventually married Sara Sidle and left the Crime Lab to go guest lecture).
- Catherine Willows - (Swing Shift in season 5 and night shift season 9-12; Resigned to go accept a position in the FBI; returned in the finale and become the Night Shift Supervisor again).
- Karson Hess - (Day Shift pre-season 1; resigned to accept position at the Los Angeles Crime Lab; returned after Ecklie became Undersheriff)
- D.B. Russell (Transferred to the FBI's Cyber Crime Division to be the Director of Next Generation Cyber Forensics)
Investigators
- Riley Adams - (Resigned due to issues with Catherine Willows's leadership as well as feeling that the team was not working together and accepted a law enforcement position in the Midwest).
- Warrick Brown - (Deceased; murdered at the hands of ex-Undersheriff Jeffrey McKeen)
- Raymond Langston - (Left the Crime Lab after his IA inquiry and moved to Baltimore to be with Gloria).
- Nick Stokes - (Left to become the Director of the San Diego's PD Crime Lab)
- Sara Sidle - (Left to be with Gil Grissom and possibly restart their marriage)
- Julie Finlay - (Deceased; was beaten and murdered by The Gig Harbor Killer)
- Michael Keppler - (Deceased; was shot by Frank McCarthy)
- Holly Gribbs - (Deceased. was shot while investigating a crime scene)
Lab technicians
- Chandra Moore - (Resigned and moved back to Connecticut)
- Jacqui Franco - (Possibly transferred or resigned; hasn't been seen since season 5)
- Mia Dickerson - (Resigned)
- Wendy Simms - (Resigned from the Crime Lab to accept a position at a Crime Lab in Portland where her sister lives)
- Bobby Dawson - (Presumably transferred or resigned)
Detectives
- Ray O'Reilly
- Sam Vega
- Lou Vartann
- Carlos Moreno
- Frankie Reed
- Daniel Shaw
- Chris Cavaliere
- Cyrus Lockwood
Sheriffs and Undersheriffs
- Brian Mobley
- Rory Atwater
- Jeffrey McKeen (Undersheriff; incarcerated for the murder of Warrick Brown, among other crimes)
- Sherry Liston
Inside the CSI Las Vegas Crime Lab Building
- Break Room: Where all personnel in the Lab go if they need something to eat or drink or just regroup in general during or after a very tough case.
- Senior Supervisors Office: Formerly belonging to Gil Grissom, which was decorated with various pieces of his bug and insect collection. In seasons 9 to 12, this office belonged to Assistant Night Shift Supervisor Nick Stokes. From season 12 to the show's finale, the office belonged to Supervisor D.B. Russell.
- Intermediate Supervisors Office: Formerly belonging to Day Shift Supervisor Conrad Ecklie and quite possibly the Night Shift Assistant Supervisor Julie Finlay prior to her death in season 15.
- Junior Supervisors Office: Formerly belonging to Catherine Willows before she resigned. Now assumed to belong to Day Shift Supervisor Karson Hess.
- DNA Lab: Where Greg Sanders and his replacements (Chandra Moore, Mia Dickerson and Wendy Simms) once worked. Henry Andrews, the Crime Lab's expert on toxins, current works here, having been chosen as the permanent replacement.
- Trace: Where David Hodges works.
- Ballistics: Where Bobby Dawson and his night shift replacement, Xiomara Garcia, do various tests on different kinds of weapons to see which bullets were fired from which rifle or gun.
- Fingerprints: Where Mandy Webster works. Jacqui Franco formerly worked there too.
- Audio/Video: Archie Johnson works here.
- Handwriting: Archie works here too.
- Evidence Garage: Where the team usually work on various vehicles related to current cases.
- Layout Room: Where various photos relating to the team's current case(s) are usually displayed. Sometimes they review the evidence they have so far, compare notes and/or look for new ideas/evidence. The table is often used to draw out rough sketches, mostly on maps.
- Locker Room: Where the CSIs store their personal belongings.
Known Vehicles
Used by Las Vegas Crime Lab
Season 1 to 2:
- Grey/Silver Jeep Cherockee - Very beginning of the show
- Blue/Black Chevy Tahoes
Seasons 3 to 6:
- 2002 Black GMC Yukon with push-bar and
- Silver 2005 GMC Yukon XL Mobile Crime Scene Unit.
Seasons 7 to14:
- 2007 Black/Gray GMC Yukon Hybrid with push-bar
- Silver 2007 GMC Yukon Mobile crime scene unit with push-bar
Season 15:
- 2015 Black GMC Yukon with push-bar
Used by Las Vegas Police Department
Season 1:
- Silver 2000 Buick Park Avenue (Driven By Jim Brass)
Seasons 2 to 7:
- Gray 2001 Buick LeSabre (Driven by Jim Brass)
Seasons 8 to 10:
- Gray and Black 2006 Dodge Chargers (Driven By Jim Brass)
Seasons 11 to 14:
- 2011 Dodge Charger (Driven by Detective Jim Brass)
Season 15:
- 2002 Ford Crown Victoria Black and Gray (Driven by Kevin Crawford)