DNA testing resumes at NM crime lab
Posted at: 12/10/2009 8:08 PM
By: The Associated Press
Department of Public Safety spokesman Peter Olson says the New Mexico Forensic Laboratories received accreditation Thursday from the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors international program.
The lab stopped analyzing DNA evidence at the end of October when its accreditation expired. That resulted in a backlog of 124 cases.
The lab halted testing to protect the integrity of the DNA cases by not processing case work in the event that a sample would need to be entered into a national database used to identify suspects in crimes. Federal requirements demand that DNA data must be entered into the database by an accredited lab.
Olson says the pending cases will be analyzed and returned to investigating agencies within weeks.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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