WACO, Texas — Normally, when you think of law enforcement and what they do, you think of officers with badges making arrests and investigating crime scenes.
However, there is another side of law enforcement with test tubes, microscopes and lab coats.
This is the Waco DPS crime lab.
“Right now, they do drug analysis, DNA analysis and breath testing," Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Ryan Howard said. "On a monthly basis we received 415 seized drug cases and 55 cases of DNA.”
The lab tests bodily fluids and substances on clothing and other evidence to help solve cases.
“They’re working diligently trying to get these cases processed so we can go to the next step of the process, and we’ve seen a turnaround time of about 90 days,” said Howard.
The testing and analysis they do, can identify a suspect and send them to jail or prove someone’s innocence.
Sgt. Ryan Howard with DPS said they can test dozens of items at a time, depending on the case.
“We have seen a case that came in where the person doing the analysis had hundreds of items, almost 300 they had to test," Howard said. "It just depends on the type of case, number of evidence received and types of case that need to be done.”
Even though the lab is here in Waco, they handle cases from several other counties.
”Waco DPS crime lab actually services approximately 23 counties," Howard said. "It is a 90-mile radius, and it is all the law enforcement agencies within those counties."
As you can imagine, there are some smart people that work here a lot of them have degrees in forensic science with focus in chemistry and biology.
Once you get the job, you also must get a license and continue to do on-the-job training.
