DNA results in under 90 minutes. Here's how DASO thinks new tech will lead to more arrests
LAS CRUCES - Tucked into a closet-sized room deep inside the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office is one expensive piece of technology. With a new appropriation from the federal government, the sheriff said Thursday that the technology is now ready for action.
The machine, just bigger than a shoebox, is a rapid DNA testing device. The product is made by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and it allows deputies to test DNA samples within 90 minutes, according to DASO Sheriff Kim Stewart and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. That's a big difference from the current timeframe, which can take 18 months.
"I found out about rapid DNA and the process over two and a half years ago. I came back and said, 'We're going to do this'," Stewart said.
On June 2, Stewart and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., held a joint news conference at the Doña Ana County Government Building to promote the $350,000 appropriation, the final step in utilizing the machine. Stewart and Heinrich said the money will primarily be used to pay for tests, which cost about $100 each, Stewart said.
"I've told everyone in the world you're responsible," Stewart said, referring to Heinrich.
With the appropriation, Stewart said that her deputies can now collect DNA, test it in Las Cruces, run it through national and local databases and know if the DNA matches their suspect. Previously, that DNA sample would have to be sent to the Northern Forensic Laboratory in Santa Fe for testing.
The Santa Fe lab, operated by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, is the only lab in the state with that capability. While the southern half of the state does have a similar crime lab, it is incapable of testing DNA, Stewart said. The southern New Mexico Crime Laboratory is primarily set up to process drug samples.
Stewart said she hopes the machine will help reduce the amount of time it takes to match DNA samples. She added that that device will also reduce a backlog of samples and lessen the financial burdens of testing at a lab 280 miles away.
Stewart said she also hopes the machine will lead to more arrests in property crime cases in the county. She used an example of car thefts and suggested that suspects in those sorts of relatively minor crimes would be easier to identify with this machine.
DNA evidence in court
The device does not alleviate all the issues created by the distance between Las Cruces and the lab in Santa Fe. For example, the DNA tested and matched by DASO's machine cannot be submitted as evidence for prosecution. Currently, only the state's main forensic lab, four hours from Las Cruces, functions as a validator of evidence.
In this light, Sgt. Abel Rodriguez, a supervisor in DASO's Criminal Investigations Division, asked Heinrich for support in adding more services to the southern lab.
"The average turnaround is about 18 months," Rodriguez said. "So, if we want to send six DNA swabs to (the lab in Santa Fe), it could take four and a half years for them to process it."
"That doesn't work," Heinrich responded.
Rodriguez said that having a more capable crime lab in Las Cruces would be a boon for all of southern New Mexico. Heinrich agreed.
"I'd be more than happy to work with you on this," Heinrich said.
Stewart said her department has also reached out to other area police departments to set up agreements for using the machine. She said those departments could use the machine as long as they pay Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc for the tests they wish to conduct.
