DETROIT – The American Society of Crime Lab Directors has granted Oakland County DNA testing certification.
The county's DNA testing program is expected to be active within a year.
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The Michigan State Police crime lab has a backlog of about 10,000 cases. Investigators said sometimes there is a long wait, as long as eight months for DNA test results, due to the MSP's backup.
The estimated start-up costs for adding DNA testing at the Oakland County lab is about $3.6 million, which will be covered by federal grants.
The lab will employ two or three people for DNA processing. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the lab is all about easing the MSP's workload to get criminals off the street faster.
"We had a rape in Oakland County, submitted the DNA for testing and waited about eight months," Bouchard said. "In the interim two more sexual assaults occurred and when the results came back we were able to arrest the person pretty immediately. Had those results been more timely, you can see the real world implications of technology in policing."
Turnaround time in the city of Detroit has been a major problem since the city's crime lab shut down in 2008. Since the MSP's DNA testing lab won't have to handle Oakland County cases anymore, the state lab should be able to get Wayne County cases faster.
The same goes for Macomb County and others across the state.
The Oakland County DNA testing lab could take on cases from outside the county but it would be a cost-per-case basis.
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