Police ready for DNA testing

Charleston police are ready to submit a first batch of evidence for DNA analysis through a program aimed at using genetic clues to solve burglaries, car break-ins and other property crimes.

Police worked with other area law enforcement agencies to cull 66 evidence samples from 33 unsolved cases in Charleston County, said Judy Gordon, director of the city's forensic service division. Also involved are the Charleston County Sheriff's Office and police from North Charleston and Mount Pleasant.

Police focused on cases in which criminals left behind blood, cigarette butts or other evidence that could contain their genetic fingerprint.

The samples are scheduled to be shipped next week to the Marshall University Forensic Science Center in West Virginia. The university's lab will test for DNA and, if successful, forward the results to the State Law Enforcement Division.

The state crime lab will verify the laboratory's findings and enter the genetic profile into the national DNA database for convicted offenders.

Police hope the system will find matches between known offenders and the crimes investigators want to solve, Gordon said.

Investigators likely will learn sometime in February about matches from the first batch of evidence, Gordon said.

Police plan to submit new batches of case samples to the Forensic Science Center every six to eight weeks for the course of the yearlong program.

The effort is part of a $3.3 million program at Marshall designed to assist crime labs. Funding comes from the National Institute of Justice.

Police and Marshall recently conducted a trial run with test samples. SLED officials are expected to visit Marshall's lab later this month to iron out the final protocols, Gordon said.

"It will be interesting to see how useful this is," Gordon said. "But even if we don't get a hit right away, we will still be generating profiles to be added to the (DNA) database."

"Hopefully, that will generate a hit for some agency down the line on another crime," he said.

In the past, police department's have had few places to turn to analyze DNA evidence from property crimes.

SLED's heavily used crime lab, like most state-run laboratories, focuses on testing DNA from homicides, rapes and other violent crimes. Property crimes take a backseat.

North Charleston Assistant Police Chief Arthur Smalls said property crimes have been difficult to solve without a witness, but DNA testing offers promise "because criminals do leave things behind."

"We really think this is a good thing, and we are hoping it can help us resolve some of these old cases," he said.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.