Former employees say scope of proposed crime lab too big

April 06, 2010

Robert Shem, a forensic scientist at the lab, shows the cramped areas where they store evidence. (Rich Jordan/KTUU-DT)

by Christine Kim
Tuesday, April 6, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Plans to build a state crime lab four times the size of the current one are being met with controversy.

Two former directors of the lab say the multi-million dollar project would be a misuse of millions of dollars.

The proposal for a new crime lab started years ago during the Palin administration.

The Department of Public Safety is waiting for more funding to start construction on the new facility, but some former employees say there's no need for a new lab.

"We're seeing more and more of this large volume of work out there that needs to be addressed, that is not being addressed because we don't have the capacity to do it," said Orin Dym, the crime lab's manager.

Dym says the lab needs $75 million more to construct a new crime lab.

He says he expects a 20 percent pickup in efficiency with the new building.

"We don't want to be doing DNA on a case after someone's incarcerated. We want to be doing this before we get to court," Dym said.

The lab is currently 84,000 square feet, which is a little smaller than the size of the Egan Center.

The state has already funded $16 million dollars to work on design and the land.

But Chris Beheim, a former crime lab director, says the project is too much in both cost and size.

"The $16 million is more than the combined cost of both the North Dakota crime lab and the Missouri Highway Patrol crime lab and all we have is a set of blue prints and a site prepared for this giant structure," he said.

Beheim is joined by another former director, George Taft, who wrote a letter to the governor.

Both agree that the crime lab does need more space, but that this proposal is over the top.

"In my opinion, put the money into functionality rather than aesthetics," Beheim said.

Dym says with better technology the space is essential to keep up with providing information and answers to questions.

"Even if nothing ever changed today in the number of crimes, the juries know that science is out there and it can provide those links between people, objects and places," he said.

A spokesperson for Gov. Sean Parnell says the administration reduced the price tag by roughly 20 percent, to $75 million.

The crime lab manager says once it gets the funds, construction could begin in 30 days.

If the state doesn't give the funding to start construction on the crime lab, it will still need $12 million to fix the ventilation systems and to renovate the roof of the current facility. Dym says that would mean more backlog on cases and a halt in plans for the new crime lab.

Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com

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