DNA backlog causes agencies to look for alternatives

Published: Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 06:05 PM.

Anyone who has watched a crime show knows that in TV-land, DNA is collected and processed within a neat and tidy one hour show.

Unfortunately, in the real world, with backlogs at most state labs and more and more cases coming in, the process isnt nearly as fast.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesperson Samantha Andrews said that the average turnaround for the state labs is 79 days.

However, that is just the average and some cases can take longer.

Walton County Sheriffs Office has made the decision to look to use a private lab accepted by FDLE as a supplement to the state lab.

They do the best they can, said WCSO Chief Deputy AJ Smith of the state lab. What were looking to do is just have another avenue.

Andrews said that FDLE does have private labs that they have approved and will outsource DNA evidence to. Those labs can be used to supplement the state labs for a fee.

FDLE has six state-operated labs around the state, with the nearest in Pensacola.

Because of the high demand, they are not accepting touch DNA on non-violent crime cases, like burglaries.

Continue reading here:
DNA backlog causes agencies to look for alternatives