Local CSIs Hit Road Blocks In Their DNA Investigations
By Angelique Gonzalez
NBC 25 (Hagerstown, MD)
November 23, 2006
WASHINGTON COUNTY, MD - Imagine you are the victim of a brutal crime and investigators have evidence that could implicate a suspect, but they cannot make an arrest.
“In today’s investigations DNA evidence is better than a fingerprint,” says Chris Weaver of the Washington County Sheriff’s Dept.
But as helpful as forensic evidence has become, it has also created an obstacle for investigators.
“The major problem is enough resources to handle the forensic case work,” says Jeff Kercheval Western Maryland Crime Lab.
"The DNA evidence that we need, it all goes to the Maryland State Police Crime Lab as well as most of the police departments in the state rely on the state police crime lab,” says Weaver.
This has left investigators waiting for results that could help convict dangerous criminals for up to a year.
“I do have an investigation right now that is open that I am relying on a certain type of lab evidence to come back before I can make an arrest in the case,” says Weaver.
But even before evidence ever makes its way to the Maryland State Police Crime Lab forensic scientists say they are backed-up for weeks.
“We get approximately 1,000 subpeonas a year because every case that we work on we get a subpeona for and not only do we work on the cases but every case that we do have to be reviewed by a competent scientist,” says Susan Blankenship of the Western Maryland Crime Lab.
And even though Washington County's forensic scientists say they do what they can, they admit they cannot do it all.
"The frustrating part is knowing that you could do more if you had more resources," says Kercheval.
But justifying that expense is not always easy.
"The private labs can usually turn around our DNA in about two weeks, but we're paying about $1,000 to $2,000," says Blankenship.
Investigators say more needs to be done at the state level.
“It would be very rewarding for me to see the state come together as a whole and maybe develop a unified department or division of forensic scientists where the entire states resources could be pulled,” says Kercheval.
But for now, local CSI’s say they will do their best with what they have.