Shelby Co. DA says a crime lab would be a ‘game changer’ for Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is joining the push for Memphis to open its own forensic crime lab.
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DA Mulroy said the city could fight crime much better if it had a local facility to test evidence.
Currently, the Memphis Police Department and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office must use the TBI lab in Jackson, Tennessee, about an hour away, and results often take months, sometimes years, to come back.
DA Mulroy’s proposed lab would offer:
- Rapid DNA testing with results in 90 minutes
- Ballistics testing in non-homicide cases
- Cell phone digital forensic analysis
- And new testing in auto theft and auto break-in cases.
“These new abilities, I think, would be a game changer, increasing our clearance rate, our solve rate, which is unacceptably low right now in Memphis,” Mulroy said. “And in my view [that] is the key metric that we need to be focused on improving if we’re going to bend the curve on crime in Memphis.”
DA Mulroy would like the state to give Shelby County an old building and initial funding.
The lab’s annual operating expenses would be shared by the Memphis City and Shelby County governments.
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