Wake County has opened its first crime laboratory. The $1.6 million facility was partially funded through grants.
Wake was one of 99 counties in North Carolina using the state crime lab. Sam Pennica, the director of the Wake County Bureau of Forensic Services, said with Wake getting this new crime lab, it will be beneficial for other counties across the state.
“As we slowly wean ourselves off using the state laboratory, we will be using less and less of their resources, which those resources then will be available to the other agencies across the state,” he said.
The lab opened last week on Thursday, and has already started analyzing DNA evidence. Wake County Bureau of Forensic Services’ main priority, at this time, is sexual assault cases and then analyzing evidence in crimes against persons. Pennica said now, he expects to get results in days rather than weeks.
“We now have control over the timeline in which Wake County cases get analyzed, because the only thing standing in line is another Wake County case,” said Pennica. “Not all these other jurisdictions. And it also gives us the flexibility to move cases in the order that they're done, depending on a need or priority.”
Wake County is the second county in North Carolina to open a crime lab. Mecklenburg County is the first.
