The mission of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department Clandestine Lab Team is to identify, process for evidence, and eradicate all actual and suspected illegal clandestine labs within the jurisdiction of Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, or when called upon to aid another jurisdiction.

A clandestine laboratory (“meth lab”) is an illicit operation consisting of a combination of equipment and chemicals that either has been or could be used in the manufacture or making of a controlled substance. 

With the increase in the number of Meth Lab seizures throughout the country, there has been an escalation of problems and hazards confronting law enforcement agencies.  Often, it is law enforcement officers who first encounter the Meth Labs and must ensure that they are investigated, dismantled, and disposed of appropriately.

To meet this need, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office currently has twelve certified Clandestine Laboratory Technicians.  This consists of two team commanders, one Evidence Technician and Entry personnel from the SRT Team.  Clandestine Laboratory Technicians are trained to enter, seize, dismantle methamphetamine laboratories.  Clandestine Laboratory Technicians also handle a wide variety of hazardous chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine and are issued specialized equipment to protect them during this task.

All SRT Team members make up the Meth Team.  They are required to attend forty-hour specialized training, put on by MERIT.  They must also participate in an eight-hour refresher course yearly, to update them on the latest trends used to manufacture methamphetamine.