The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab is the first in the country to receive approval from the FBI to conduct rapid DNA booking operations. Sgt. Dustin Dwight said the technology has the potential to keep criminals from being unknowingly released prior to the return of traditional DNA results.
“Essentially you’re arrested and then that sample is collected, processed thru this instrument, and within 90 minutes we should have a result if you’re somebody tied to a crime if that DNA is linked to a crime,” said Dwight.
Dwight said for more than three years the state crime lab has been working with the FBI and other states to develop the Rapid DNA program. He gives the crime lab full credit for the achievement of being the first state in the country to implement the program.
“It really speaks to how proud we are of our people at the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, they’ve done a phenomenal job in securing this technology, implementing this technology, and ultimately it’s designed to keep the people of Louisiana safer,” said Dwight.
When a qualified arrestee’s DNA sample is collected it’s run in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and if it’s linked to a sample collected at a previous crime scene Dwight said all the involved law enforcement agencies are alerted.
“They’re notified, our agency is notified, and the agency that entered the DNA into the database is notified as well,” said Dwight.
The first Rapid DNA instrument was installed at the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and the state crime lab will add three more at other agencies in the state by the end of 2023.
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