The DNA forensic crime lab in Greenville County should help investigators speed up the fight for justice. Other than SLED, it's only the second one in the state.
Capt. Jackie Kellett, Greenville County Sheriff's Office, said they hope to have the lab complete the rigorous accreditation program within the next 9 months.
An important addition, she said, because the backlog of DNA testing slows down cases.
Dr. Jagannandha Kandala, the lab's technical leader, has 35 years of experience in DNA research and 12 years in the field of forensics. He said the process from examining the evidence, extracting DNA to the final analysis can take a month.
With four cases requiring DNA analysis just for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office this month, the backlog can mean criminals on the streets or innocent people behind bars.
Dr. Kandala said it's so valuable because you only need a small bit of DNA- just one or two nanogram. A nanogram is a billionth of a gram.
"As it is becoming more and more sophisticated and a more useful tool, it is solving a lot of crimes," said Dr. Kandala. "Not only the big crimes like rape and homicides, even burglaries and other cases."
Capt. Kellett said once accredited, lab will alleviate some of the burden of DNA testing for SLED, which has 14 analysts analyzing evidence from across the state.
She said The Greenville lab will be able to handle testing for any law enforcement agency in Greenville County.
The only other lab in South Carolina, other than SLED, is in Richland County.
Click the video tab to get a look at Greenville County's DNA lab.
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