Local leaders call for crime lab in Memphis
by: David Royer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More local leaders say Memphis needs a local crime lab to help officers solve cases.
Right now, investigators have to take evidence back and forth from Jackson, Tennessee because it’s the closest place where the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation can test for DNA.
“If we’re not taking finger prints, if we’re not processing stuff in a crime lab, then we’re not gonna catch these criminals. And they are going to continue to commit crimes with impunity,” City Council member Jerri Green said Tuesday.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy on Tuesday added his voice to the list of leaders calling for a local crime lab in Memphis. He’s said it before in 2022, and now says the need is urgent.
Mulroy said he believes the city with the “worst crime problem” in the state should also have the best crime lab.
“Given the volume, and the demand, and the need we have in Shelby County, it makes little sense for us to have to ferry samples back and forth between Memphis and Jackson on a regular basis,” Mulroy said.
Mulroy says a local crime lab would have three distinct benefits:
– Rapid DNA testing with a 90-minute turnaround.
– DNA testing on “spent shell casings” recovered after shootings.
– DNA testing for “property crimes” like car break-ins.
Mulroy is even urging state and local leaders to work together to re-open the old crime lab here in Memphis.
He says it would take a one-time investment to get it going and that ongoing costs could be split between the city and Shelby County.
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