The bureau of criminal investigation within the AG’s office runs three state crime labs that serve 90 percent of law enforcement agencies statewide without charge, DeWine said. Urban areas such as Dayton and Cincinnati have their own crime labs but often charge fees for their services.
Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab based in Dayton serves 110 law enforcement jurisdictions, according to its website.
As BCI’s labs have sped up the turn around time for drug and DNA analysis, 82 jurisdictions have left local labs and opted for BCI’s free services, DeWine said. “We are not looking for their business.”
DeWine said it makes sense to study what is the best way to provide crime lab services in the future, whether that be building a new state crime lab between Dayton and Cincinnati or having BCI partner with existing regional labs or some other scenario.
Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab Assistant Director Denise Rankin said the Dayton area lab hasn’t lost any customers in the past two years and received evidence from more than 120 law enforcement agencies last year.
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