The Wake County Bureau of Forensic Services will now analyze DNA in-house rather than relying solely on the state crime lab, which handles evidence from 99 counties. Director Sam Pennica said the new facility allows the county to prioritize its caseload.
"We're able to control the workflow. We're able to prioritize cases and move them up or down depending on the need," he said.
Pennica said the state lab's heavy volume often forces counties to wait in line.
"By having our own capability, we're now not waiting in line with all those other hundreds of agencies that need to have evidence analyzed," he said.
The new lab has three forensic DNA analysts. Pennica said staffing the lab was one of the biggest challenges.
"We don't have anyone here that can train to be an analyst. So we had to find recruits for DNA analysts that were experienced," he said. "I think they, too, were intrigued with the fact they get to start something from the ground up."
Mecklenburg County is the only other county in North Carolina with its own DNA laboratory.
The bureau is working with the district attorney's office to identify pending cases that have not yet been analyzed, with sexual assault cases receiving top priority.
"We set a sort of protocol that we will not accept evidence of any sexual assault cases until the investigators have a conversation with the district attorney's office about the matter," Pennica said.
That includes active cases, open investigations, and cold cases. Pennica said the ability to test DNA locally will have a direct effect on victims.
"I think the victims and families would be very pleased," he said. Faster results could mean quicker arrest and quicker movement through the courts," he said. "It would help lead to an arrest much sooner and be able to move the cases through the judicial system much faster because we're able to get the answers on DNA.
"DNA is such a powerful evidence when you put that in front of a jury," Pennica added.
The lab opened last week and has already accepted its first three sexual assault cases. Analysts have obtained a DNA profile in one of them. Pennica said the lab will experience growing pains as it builds capacity and expands capabilities, noting it does not yet have all the resources available at the state lab.
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