*Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson*

Office of Communications

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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

December 2, 2020

*Governor Parson Attends Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab Expansion*

"8,000 Square-Foot Expansion Will House Five New Full-Time DNA Analysts and Expand DNA Processing Capabilities and Efficiencies"

*(JEFFERSON CITY, MO)* Today, Governor Mike Parson attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for an expansion of the Missouri State Highway Patrols main crime lab, which will increase DNA processing capabilities and efficiencies. The 8,000 square-foot expansion will be devoted entirely to DNA processing and house 20 full-time employees, including five new DNA analysts who are currently completing training.

This crime lab expansion and the additional lab personnel will allow the Highway Patrol to process more sexual assault and other critical DNA cases more quickly and efficiently, *Governor Parson* said. Fighting crime and bringing criminals to justice takes more than law enforcement officers alone. Were extremely appreciative of all the crime lab and other civilian personnel who help solve crimes and make Missouri safer.

The DNA Section is a laboratory setting with highly trained analysts and technicians, but the crime lab team never loses sight of the fact that each case they process represents an opportunity to help bring justice to an innocent victim, the people for whom we work, *Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten* said. We are very fortunate to have the skilled team we have, and that theyll now have a state of the art facility in which to do their invaluable work.

"The Missouri State Highway Patrol appreciates the General Assembly and Governor Parsons strong support for this project," said *Missouri State Highway Patrol SuperintendentColonel Eric Olson*. "Previously, the DNA Section at General Headquarters operated in about a 3,000-square-foot area on different floors of the building. The increased capacity will make the laboratory more effective and efficient in handling cases.

The area the DNA Section vacates will be utilized by other lab disciplines, including latent fingerprints, firearms, and trace evidence, which will allow these disciplines to expand and be more efficient and effective, too.

The Highway Patrols main crime lab is located in the General Headquarters Annex in Jefferson City. Funding for the addition was appropriated in FY 2019.Environetics Inc., of Kansas City, designed the space, and Cahills Construction Inc., of Rolla, served as the contractor.The total project cost was approximately $2.7 million, including both design and construction, and took roughly a year to complete.

The five additional full-time employee positions were appropriated in FY 2020.These new employees are currently trained to a level that allows them to participate in limited casework. It is expected that they will complete their full training in the next eight to ten months.

Over the next few weeks, laboratory personnel will performa comprehensive cleaning process and environmentaland performancetestson all instrumentation before moving in lab equipment and personnel. It is expected that casework will begin in the new lab area by the end of the month and reach existingcapacitybyearly January 2021.

Today's ribbon cutting event was held indoors. Face masks were required and proper social distancing was observed. Photos from the event will be available on Flickr [ [link removed] ].

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* MSHP Ribbon Cutting.jpg [ [link removed] ]
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*Contact: Kelli R. Jones*

Communications Director

Work: 573-751-0765

Mobile: 573-508-9072

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.governor.mo.gov


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This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Office of Governor Michael L. Parson PO Box 720 Jefferson City, MO 65102 (573) 751-3222 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]