Work on crime lab almost done

By Malynda Fulton

June 20, 2009 11:55 pm

— VALDOSTA — Local law-enforcement officers anticipate the opening for the new Valdosta-Lowndes County Joint Crime Lab as the renovations on the McCranie Building near completion.
The new lab will house lab equipment and crime-scene investigators from the Valdosta Police Department and Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. Although the primary focus of the lab is to solve criminal cases in Lowndes County, the lab will also serve most of the South Georgia and North Florida region, said Valdosta Police Department Cmdr. Brian Childress.
The first floor of the lab includes an indoor shooting range and water tank for ballistics testing as well as equipment for fingerprint analysis; tire and shoe print analysis; photo, audio and video enhancement and retrieval; and cold storage for bodies until they are moved to the state crime lab. The first floor also includes equipment that will identify substances like explosives and illegal and prescription drugs, and equipment that will analyze blood, semen and vaginal fluids.
The second floor includes a conference room for the lab technicians to consult as well as office space for technicians and the crime lab director. The lab technicians will consist of crime-scene investigators from the police department and sheriff’s office. The technicians will report directly to the crime lab director, Childress said. The crime lab director, who has not been selected yet, will report directly to Valdosta Police Chief Frank Simons and Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine.
“About one-third of the building will be left unfinished for future expansion,” Childress said. “The building is pressurized for forensic analysis because each room requires a certain draft of air. Through this lab, we will be able to do almost everything except analyze DNA.”
Childress added that vehicles that await testing will be stored in a next-door vacant service station that is owned by the city.
The facility is tied to federal law-enforcement agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In cooperation with these entities, the lab will help expedite court proceedings and reduce criminal case costs.
The sole purpose of this crime lab is to process evidence accurately and effectively, and help alleviate the state crime lab of its backlog in cases, Childress said. He explained that several court cases have been delayed because the state labs are overwhelmed with evidence that is sent to them on a daily basis.
“When we send evidence to a state crime lab, we wait anywhere from three to 12 months routinely for it to be processed,” Childress said. “This creates a major delay for everyone in the criminal justice system.”
The delay also creates an influx of inmates who have to be housed in the county jail while they await trial.
“The state labs may also choose not to process a piece of evidence based on the type of crime or the factors involved in a case,” Childress added. “A main benefit to this local lab is that the decision to process any piece of evidence is ours.”
So far, the city and county have put approximately $2.75 million into the new lab.
“We have also received approximately $750,000 for equipment,” Childress said. “This lab has been the vision of Chief Simons for years, but it would not have been possible without cooperation from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. We also appreciate the support from the city of Valdosta and Congressman Jack Kingston’s office.”
Aside from the crime lab director position, the crime lab will potentially create four new jobs, Childress said. Positions include an evidence custodian/receptionist, two forensic analysts and a possible maintenance custodian job.
The new joint crime lab is located at 1708 N. Ashley St. Childress said that the building is expected to be operational by mid-September.

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