The county forensics lab in the 1600 block of Ritner Highway in Carlisle opened last year, following decades of planning and the receipt of about $700,000 in state grants.
Cumberland County’s lab is one of only four accredited facilities in the state, according to a county news release. The others are in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the greater Allegheny County.
The county hosted an open house Tuesday, followed by a press conference in the attached garage where forensic investigators examine cars that have been stolen or crashed.
Cumberland County’s lab processes and tests drugs; runs toxicology tests for suspected DUI cases; examines and extracts data from technological devices; and provides crime scene services, including the examination and processing of fingerprints.
The County’s first crime lab opened in 2003 and until last year was based in the county jail with toxicology equipment stored in vacant jail cells.
“It was so crammed and very hard to work,” said Taylor Yurasits. “[Moving] was a huge upgrade, for sure.”
District Attorney Sean McCormack said Cumberland County’s facility has assisted police departments in surrounding counties before, and will continue to do so as time and resources allow.
Cumberland County has 23 police departments with regular access to the crime lab. These departments are serving about 246,000 people, according to government data.
“The goal is to solve the crimes, and more than that, make sure the victim’s whole. It’s very satisfying,” said Bob Johnson, a fingerprint expert who has worked for Cumberland County for 24 years.
McCormack said the county having its own full-service facility will ensure investigators don’t have to wait in line at the Pennsylvania State Police lab, behind other departments that rely on the state to process all of their forensic evidence.
“The Pennsylvania State Police laboratory is top-notch, and they’re great, but they have limited resources like everybody else,” McCormack said. “That puts the citizens of Cumberland County in a unique situation.”
McCormack credited the Cumberland County commissioners for supporting the lab’s expansion, as well as former district attorneys Skip Ebert and David Freed.
“It’s fair, it’s accurate and it’s reliable,” Commissioner Gary Eichelberger said of the lab.
“Juries increasingly rely on [forensic] evidence. Prosecutors know how important it is to try to get that evidence presented to a jury,” said Greg Rowe, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. “It’s pro victim rights and pro conviction integrity. That’s something to be proud of.”
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