Brady Discusses New Crime Lab

By Leslie Howland
Huntsville Item Staff Reporter

KBTX-TV (Channel 3) reporter Kristen Ross interviews Kevin Brady.

Richard Ward, SHSU associate vice president for research and special programs, said for the past several years, the university has been working to explore the possibility of developing a crime lab.

“Crime labs have become extremely important in law enforcement today,” he said. “The workload in Harris and Montgomery counties has increased dramatically so the need for a laboratory in this region is extremely important.”

On behalf of the university, Brady (R-The Woodlands), requested a $1.5 million grant from Congress to build the laboratory. The request was included in both the House and Senate appropriations bills for the 2007 Justice Department programs.

The House has already passed the bill, but the Senate still needs to vote.

Brady said the new regional crime lab will help bring criminals to justice more quickly.

“Law enforcement officials and agencies in smaller communities experience long waits and backlogs when requesting services from crime labs in major cities,” he said. “The regional crime lab will give local law enforcement in surrounding counties new tools to help better protect the communities they serve.”

The laboratory will provide forensic services such as drug identification, toxicology and finger print matching.

Huntsville Police Chief Jean Sanders said anything which can expedite investigations is a good thing.

“But we can’t forget the victims,” she added. “They need closure and peace of mind. With this ability to expedite those cases, we can provide some closure for them.”

The Walker County Sheriff’s Office uses medical examiners from both Harris and Dallas counties and the Texas Department of Public Safety for narcotics analysis.

“Due to the volume of case loads, by the time it takes to get your report back, we have suspects walking our streets,” said Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae. “There is definitely a demand for it and keep in mind we have the same crimes here in Walker County that they have in Dallas and Harris counties, just on a smaller scale.”

Brady called the situation win-win.

“You are tying the nation’s foremost criminal justice university together with local law enforcement,” he added, “both to speed up the data and testing and also relieve some of these other major labs who have huge backlogs.”

Vincent Webb, dean of the SHSU College of Criminal Justice, said graduate student internships will provide staffing to the crime lab to provide students with experience and provide law enforcement agencies with data collected from testing.

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SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
Oct. 31, 2006
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