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Ground Breaking Ceremony for New Crime Lab

New lab begins construction this year.
Sunday, October 07, 2012
By: Special to The Laredo Sun
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LAREDO, TEXAS - In 2010, State Representative Richard Peña Raymond (D-Laredo), Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Sheriff Martin Cuellar and Department of Public Safety officials among them Department of Public Safety Deputy Assistant Director of Crime Laboratories, D. Pat Johnson discussed the need of implementing a Laredo Crime Lab to assist law enforcement agencies with the expertise of forensic specialists in order to submit and expedite evidence.

The meeting resulted in the approval by the 81st Texas Legislature to appropriate $6.1 million for the state of the art facility and has allowed for construction to begin this year.

The new Laredo crime lab will be 17,143 square feet. Completion is projected to be in September 2013. Initial staffing level is to be 10 lab employees with room to increase to 15 employees.

Services offered in the Laredo lab will be controlled substance analysis, firearms/tool mark examinations and serology/DNA analysis, all provided at no cost to law enforcement agencies.

Law enforcement officers served by the Laredo crime lab will no longer have to submit evidence for these services to existing labs located 100-150 miles from Laredo.

Congressman Henry Cuellar will also announce the secured funding of $250,000 federal dollars to be used for the new extended DPS Crime lab in equipment, as allocated by Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar.

Edited by: C.R.

 

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